Fireboy recently dropped his new album titled, PLAYBOY
The 26 year old singer who was once a nerdy kid who rarely ventured beyond school, church, and home, now finds himself at the forefront of the globalization of Afrobeats.
In the new album, I felt Fireboy tried to ditch his lover boy reputation for a “Star boy” suave rock star role.
Since the popularity of 2020’s Apollo, Fireboy DML has embraced the Afrobeats genre’s broad appeal and received favorable reception in return.
His globetrotting, snare-punctuated track “Peru” rose to stardom on TikTok and attracted the attention of Ed Sheeran, an Afrobeats fan and Ghanian flag tattoo devotee, who joined a remix.
Listen to Album below:
On “Ashawo,” Fireboy DML adopts a carefree attitude toward love as if to make up for the time lost searching for elusive women on his 2019 debut Laughter, Tears, and Goosebumps. He appears to reassure his partner, but it sounds more like he’s reassuring himself: “If I cheat on you, I’m sorry, and if you cheat on me, no worries.”
He struggles to maintain his feelings for women to a purely physical level, but on the smooth, R&B-influenced song “Diana,” where he collaborates with Dominican American rapper Euro, “Adore,” he lets his guard down and begs her not to leave. Fireboy is at his best when he yearns, as he has since his breakthrough track “Jealous,” even though doing so comes at the expense of a Chris Brown cameo. The lone female performer on the album, Jamaican dancehall singer Shenseea, provides the song’s fictitious muse with her honeyed vocals.
His presence with his people by his side is announced by the “Afro Highlife” song’s piercing horns and chorus of voices. The album reaches its climax with the stirring last track, “Glory,” in which Fireboy—who is still at heart a churchgoer—thanks God for his family, his success, his wealth, and his protection from foes. He writes lyrics that are unusually formulaic when he tries to spite his critics by flaunting his material status and fortune, such as “She feeling the juice/Feeling the sauce/Look at my shoes/Christian Dior.” But the Fireboy, who has a chip on his shoulder and wants everyone to know it, has a certain energizing quality.
Playboy, like Apollo, is notably apolitical in contrast to his earlier work, which frequently included social criticism about Nigerian society. There is no trace of the artist who remarked, “I assume it was Nina Simone who said that an artist’s duty is to reflect the times.” Instead, Fireboy keeps things light-hearted and chooses universally uplifting music to get on unknowing people’ playlists. He is at his most carefree in the song “Havin Fun,” which features the lines, “Me no dey stress anymore/’Cause I’m blessed and I’m young/And the benefits come from God… I’m just enjoying myself. Fireboy exposes the globe to the vibrant sounds of his hometown with quick-moving beats, light woodwinds, and passionate Yoruba vocals.
I would Rate the Album 8/10
On a Scale of 1 to 10, What would you Rate Fireboy’s “PLAYBOY”? – Let’s Talk
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