Afro Pop, Vol. 1

On his third album, Adekunle Gold shows off his growing versatility in a unique and experimental addition to his discography. Weaving threads of Afropop through a multitude of genres, the Nigerian artist avails himself of the joys of exploration. “Afro Pop, Vol. 1 is my freedom,” he tells with Apple Music. “I wanted to make sounds that have come out of Africa, but in my own voice. This is the one time I took all the risk in the world.” He talks us through his inventive sonic choices on the album’s 10 tracks below.
AG Baby “I’m feeling more like AG these days, and on this album it’s a different me entirely. I thought I should start with a song that talks about a new me, and the new energy that surrounds me. There’s this producer who’s been trying to work with me for a while, his name is TMXO. I was done with this album and then he sent me this beat. When I heard the beat, the melody just came to me, and when I recorded it I thought the best person to feature was my friend Nailah. I just knew she was the one! We’d worked together on a song by Washy Fire that isn’t out yet. I think it’s such a strong opener for the album, especially now that people call me AG Baby.”
Sabina “‘Sabina’ is beautiful. It was a victory for me—it’s Afrobeats, gqom and Afropop. I’m talking about a girl I used to know but I regret letting go. The song is rich in everything African. I was in the studio with my in-house producer and we were listening to some songs; I heard one bass line note and made it my own. After that, we called the bassist and guitarist and added some live drums to it. Now it started sounding like South African gqom and I was like, yeah! I’ve always wanted to make a gqom sound, and finally, I have it.”
Pretty Girl “When my sound engineer, who’s also a producer, sent me this beat I said, ‘Finally, I have my first dancehall song.’ I love dancehall, it’s such a vibe and energy-giver—when the beat drops you just wanna get into it no matter what mood you’re in. The hook came to me the moment I heard the beat and I didn’t think too far. I recorded it immediately and I sent it to Patoranking. My guy liked it and in less than one week…done!”
Okay “This song means a whole lot to me because it’s not something I made up. It was so positive and chill and that’s the kind of energy I have from now on. I wrote this outside my balcony in Miami, laying in my bathrobe. I was looking at the blue sea thinking, ‘In this life, I just want to enjoy. I don’t want to put what people think about me in my head.’ These are the thoughts that I had and they inspired this song. On the first line of the song I say, ‘I have death in my pocket, I don’t care…’”
Here For Ya “It took me two or three years to work on this album. This song I’d written in 2018! Diplo sent me a beat so I wrote this song to that. I wanted it to have a balance of Afropop, trance, dance and EDM. I just wanted to evoke some great emotions, so I got Pheelz to add something to it. Listen to the wind instruments, trumpets and the sax! I wanted the song to feel like you can drive to it in the summertime. Basically what I’m saying on the song is, ‘I’m here for you.’ I’m telling my African girls, ‘AG Baby is your baby.’”
Exclusive “I was in studio in Lagos with Pheelz for this one. As far as songwriting goes, the song was finished in 30 minutes. The most interesting part for me is the bouncing of words—I gave you that trap vibe! Olayinka has been my friend since 2016. I told her I wanted her to demo the second verse for a big R&B artist, and she didn’t know she was actually the feature! She recorded the verse and even changed some lines. She sent it back to me and I told her the artist had finally gotten the song. It’s not until the album track list dropped that she called screaming, ‘What’s going on?’ That was the plan along and I’m so happy that she nailed it ‘cause I wanted to surprise her!”
Firewood “This love thing! I didn’t really want to do it, but now that I have, look where it’s landing me. On this one I’m basically explaining how beautiful love is. I miss my girl and can’t wait to see her.”
Something Different “I was listening to my stuff that wasn’t released and I came across this song. I said, ‘This song is actually sweet, let me work on this one.’ Reekado Banks recorded some melodies and I did too. When I was in studio I wasn’t even thinking too hard, to be honest, I was just vibing to the beat. So for the first time I didn’t think too hard about writing. This song just gives me that good feeling. I was talking about a girl I like, that doesn’t like me. It’s really every guy’s story. We’ve all gone through it at some point.”
Water Carry Me “This song is so chill, it’s an absolute wedding song. I don’t know how I got the melodies here but I think it’s beautiful. I wrote this song on another beat but then I sent it to E Kelly. He came up with this chill highlife and Afrobeats vibe. ‘If I’m lying for your love, let the water carry me with it’ is what I'm saying on the track.”
My Ex “This song is about regret, but I’m also saying, ‘Don’t judge me.’ What I said on this song was, ‘You know everything is fine when the whisky is nice.’ I’m saying that I got tipsy and texted my ex and we ended up in bed with each other. The one thing that you try to run away from, once you’re high, starts to look good. It’s a pop song; alternative pop and R&B. I wanted to do this [the beat switch] with all the songs on this album. I didn’t want you to see what’s coming—that’s the essence of this album!”