From the wide-eyed optimism of 2019’s Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps to the contemplative mystery of 2020’s APOLLO and the self-confident streak of 2022’s Playboy, Fireboy DML has tinctured his Afro-life sound with immersive stories of living in the moment while sharing his thoughts on the evolutions in his life with a steadily growing audience. On his fourth album, adedamola, the YBNL star takes a nostalgic look at his past for inspiration in the wake of unprecedented global success and personal loss. “The whole idea for the album started around 2023, because it was a crazy year for me on all fronts,” Fireboy DML tells Apple Music. “I learned a lot. I lost friends and had a crazy ride. I had a lot of experiences that reminded me that I’m a full-grown adult. It made me realise, ‘Yo, you’re a full-grown man living in the world.’” Many times on adedamola, the singer references the lessons that his past offers without being consumed by them. “I feel like this album is me reconnecting with my roots on a more personal level because it has me reaching to my true self,” he adds. “After doing everything and achieving what you want as a man, you realise that there are way more important things that you should focus on, and that’s basically what this project is about.” Across the album, the singer’s priorities are crystal clear as he sings sweetly about love, clarity of mind and fostering healthy relationships while welcoming veritable music royalty like Lagbaja, Seun Kuti and Jon Batiste into his delicately crafted world. Read on as Fireboy DML takes us through key tracks from adedamola. “iseoluwa” “‘iseoluwa’ is the only standalone song on the album because of the message behind it. I recorded that song at one of the lowest points of my life. The song is about hope. Sometimes we have to look around ourselves and realise that most of the success that we have is not something that we can put a handle on. We can’t even explain most of it. So, it’s just saying God’s design is mysterious to man. It’s me giving glory to God, and there’s no better way to open a personal album than with that message.” “call me” “This is actually where stuff gets retro and nostalgic. ‘call me’ is a beautiful love-pop song that just reminds me of how love songs used to be made back in the day. It sounds like something you probably hear in a commercial or a random music video that you watch while you’re preparing to go to school in the morning, that’s the kind of feeling it gives. It’s a very happy song. It’s special. ‘call me’ was produced by Bassiqally and Nxrth. Nxrth is my immediate younger brother and Bassiqally is a very close friend. They basically produced most of the songs on the album because they spent a lot of time with me while making the album.” “ecstasy” (feat. Seun Kuti) “‘ecstasy’ is a very sensual record. It’s a song that sounds like sex—I always have a record like that on every album, because it’s somewhat a part of my personality. When Olamide and I finished writing the song in the studio, we sat back and I heard Seun Kuti on the record. It immediately struck a very visceral chord in my head and I had an image of him on the sax for the record. Everyone knows how sexy a saxophone sounds on any record. He’s an amazing person with a very crazy and colourful personality that resonates with me.” “hell and back” “‘hell and back’ was one of the songs that we created towards the end of the album-making process. It’s about a terrible breakup. Everyone knows that most breakups are messy and sometimes you move on from the relationship, but other people don’t. For me, I handle most matters of the heart with logic so it’s easy for me to detach myself from relationships, but for other people, it’s not doable. Sometimes you detach yourself and the other person hasn’t and they want you back in a toxic kind of way. This record is for anyone who has gone through that. I’m not necessarily saying I went through that, I’m just saying I put myself in the shoes of other people and I’m singing from their experiences.” “letting go” (with Lojay) “Lojay is one of the people I’ve been building a very strong relationship with. I’ve been taking the relationships that I’ve been building with people seriously. Lojay and I are very close friends and we’ve gone out a few times and spent a lot of time in the studio. Right now, we’re even working on a joint EP—it’s insane. ‘letting go’ is one of those songs that just came so easily to us. We were in the studio, Godomarr played the beats and we just slid and the rest is history. The chemistry was crazy.” “back n forth” (with Lagbaja) “This is probably going to go down as a classic record. The moment Lagbaja’s sax comes in, you just know. Lagbaja is the most meticulous artist that I’ve worked with in my entire life. His work ethic is insane, and it explains exactly why he’s regarded as a legend. I learned a lot in the process of working with him on this record, and I am super honoured to have him on this record.” “ready” (with Jon Batiste) “We created this record in Los Angeles this year. I was in LA with BlaiseBeatz and we had a camp. P.Priime and a lot of people were there. For ‘ready’, BlaiseBeatz started the idea on the first few chords and we had left it to continue later. So, Jon Batiste came in, [and] I played the record to him because he’s one of the most proficient piano players in the world. It was like a freestyle. It’s the interlude of the album, to be honest. The last song getting named ‘jon’s interlude’ was just some artistic mischief. ‘ready’ is the actual interlude for the album because it separates the album into two parts. After ‘ready’, what you are hearing is on a different plane.” “wande’s bop” (feat. SPINALL) “I wrote this in 2021, high off the ‘Peru’ wave. I just flew in from the UK where I had my sold-out show at Wembley Arena, so I was feeling good. I was feeling great, I was probably even tipsy in the studio on that night. I stayed up playing with beats and immediately SPINALL played me this beat, I heard 2015 and 2016 Wande [Coal]. In my head, I’m like, ‘What would Wande in ’15 or ’16 do on this beat? Let me try to put myself in my Wande bag.’ The fun [side] of Wande is so difficult to imitate. I think it came off great and that’s why it’s like a tribute to Wande. Most of the songs on the album are tributes to the legends of the game, the industry and the culture.” “obaa sima” “This is one of my greatest records of all time. Also, I think this record changed my mood. The moment I recorded this song was when I switched from wallowing to ‘You know what, let me pick myself up and try to fight back.’ So, this is a very special song to me.” “yawa” “I’m never one to respond to critics or anything like that, but I think when I made this song I just felt like having something to say. I felt like I had something to get off my chest. I was going through some serious identity crisis, I remember very well, when I recorded this song. So I felt, ‘Yeah, you deserve to be on the album. You sef don try.’ It tells a story. I love records that tell stories. Everyone knows that most of my records are love songs, but once in a while I like to tell stories.” “jon’s interlude” “‘jon’s interlude’ is actually Jon Batiste having fun with ‘ready’. He had a little fun with the melodies on ‘ready’ and it sounded like a lullaby to me. It sounded like something we should listen to to go to bed. I imagine people listening to the album before you go to sleep, and then when it gets to the end, it just slowly drifts you to sleep. It feels like it’s the end and then it wakes you back up again from the beginning. I wanted to create an effect, like, ‘OK, you’ve listened to greatness. Now relax and take a deep breath before the album starts again.’”