The singer spoke in an interview with Apple Music about his studio session with the legendary Lagbaja.
Nigerian ace singer, songwriter, and performer Adedamola Adefolahan, Fireboy DML, has explained why he mirrored Wande Coal on a song off his latest album, ‘Adedamola.’
The YBNL/Empire artist, who just dropped his 14-track fourth studio album, features the iconic Nigerian Afrobeat and Traditional Folk musician Lagbaja, American soul-stirring Grammy-winning singer Jon Batiste, Afrobeat veteran musician Seun Kuti, Afrobeats star Lojay, award-winning Nigerian disc jockey Spinall, and also a song that pays tribute to Nigerian Afropop star Wande Coal.
In the interview with Apple Music Africa Now’s South African media personality Nandi Madida, Fireboy revealed why he dedicated the song titled ‘Wande’s Bop’ after Wande Coal. The song, co-produced by ace Nigerian disc jockey and producer DJ Spinall alongside others like Semzi, is one of the bangers off the project, and it perfectly mirrors Wande Coal, whom many new age Afropop/Afrobeats acts including Fireboy, Wizkid, Oxlade, Joeboy, and others have often described as the “source”.
READ ALSO – Fireboy DML speaks on working with Lagbaja & whether the icon revealed his face
According to Fireboy, the song and the album are a tribute to legends who have shaped African music over the years, which is why he involved high-profile names like Lagbaja, Seun Kuti & Wande Coal on the project. He said:
“I recorded that in 2021 I think, in SPINALL’s studio in Lagos. I was like, “When the time is right, this record will come out”—it just made a lot of sense. I listened to the beat once and it just immediately took me back to 2015-2016, when I was listening to one of Wande Coal’s records. It just sounded like something Wande Coal would love, something he would have loved to have spit on. I was like, “What would Wande of 2016 do? Let me just try that.” It’s sort of like a tribute to him; [everyone] knows I respect him so much.
This whole album is more like a tribute to all the legends that shaped African music over the years, and also a testament to myself, of course, and my growth over the years.”
