Ideally, passion should be a prerequisite for artists. At least that’s what Tim Lyre believes. “I know it sounds cliché, but the truth is that you have to be passionate about doing it,” the Nigerian singer, rapper, and producer tells OkayAfrica. “You have to genuinely want it to be able to persevere and be consistent even when things are not going so well. I think that’s been most important, for me anyway.”

Lyre’s whole embrace of the process and dedication to creating music that can be appreciated for its singular vision is apparent in its output. Earlier this month, he released his third album, SPIRAL, a balmy soundscape featuring lilting neo-soul cuts, gently smoldering pop tunes, and smooth rap-indented highlights. The genre-hopping, now a trademark, is tied together by profound expressions of longing, loving, personal joys and anxiety, the constant search for self-fulfillment, and more.

Where his previous albums, Worry < and MASTA, were snappy affairs with runtimes hovering around the half-hour mark, Lyre’s latest is a double-sided effort that runs a few minutes shy of an hour. That extension doesn’t translate into any adverse effects; if anything, SPIRAL is a seamless listen that is effortlessly engaging. It’s an opus that reflects the accrued refinement and mastery Lyre has earned over the years, with some of his earliest releases dating back nearly a decade.

Lyre was among the dozens of young Nigerian artists who took to SoundCloud as their preferred platform for spontaneous drops, spurred by the need to create music outside what was popular in the mainstream. Across his early catalogue, Lyre ran through styles of music with a sometimes scattered twitch, to regularly strong results, if not wholly compelling.

“I think it was around that Covid-19 period,” he says, referring to the lockdown months as the period things clicked into place for him as a versatile artist. “I guess everybody just had enough time to reflect in general, myself included. I was in the studio as well, so I had time to think about how I wanted to sound. I’m someone who likes to try different things, and I had a lot of time to figure out what I wanted to take on and put all these things together. I’m someone who always just wants to improve constantly.”

The early 2022 release of Worry < was a remarkable showcase of Lyre as an artist with an elevated grasp of his abilities as a versatile artist, a streak that extended to MASTA and is foundational to the excellence curated on SPIRAL. The Tim Lyre experience since his first album has shown an artist comfortable with spotlighting his romantic scars, laying bare his yearnings, openly exploring his ambitions, and giving voice to his fears. Along with his ability to croon soulfully, rap with poise, and even dip into patois, these thematic threads make for a deeply relatable artist.

“[Introspection] is a very key part of what I’m trying to do as a musician,” Lyre says. “My favorite artists that I listen to, my best quality about them is the fact that they’re just so honest and vulnerable in their music, a lot of the time. There’s no shame when they’re talking about certain things. People can relate to that as well because we are all human beings; we all kind of go through the same things, you know, even if your circumstances are different. So I try to make it a point to keep that honesty about myself as much as I can.”

On “Rocketship,” the second song on SPIRAL, Lyre shares a heady portrait of the aftermath of a breakup where anxiety intertwines with an overreliance on weed. On the similarly forlorn “Storytime” with UK-based indie soul singer BINA, he asks, “What’s the worth of a love/that never gave you any peace of mind/until the day that it died?” It’s the kind of lingering thought that remains when you sit long enough to sift through an experience properly.

The first side of the album, largely self-produced, is heavy-hearted, filled with ruminative songs about finding perspective through the difficult weight of being jilted while also fighting for your dreams. The second side is lighter and more jovial without losing emotional lustre, from the devotional confessions on the house-infused “OMD” to the money-minded, highlife-pop swing of “Economy” with rap duo Show Dem Camp.

SPIRAL earns cohesion from being purposefully broad, a distinction that extends to the dozen featured artists, all well-placed and integral to the listening experience. “I’m lucky because I now get to work with more artists, and I’ve always been a collaborative type of artist,” Lyre says. “I’m also someone that just listens to a lot of music in general, so I feel like I know where things should go in terms of who should be on the feature.”

The collaborative spirit is aided in part by Lyre’s longstanding tilt towards community; MOJO AF, DAP the Contract, and Joyce Olong are frequent collaborators dating back several years. Meanwhile, Lyre credits a handful of the features to connections made by Outer South, the London and Johannesburg-based indie record label Lyre has been working with since his first album.

SPIRAL is “the biggest thing” Lyre and Outer South have done yet, putting more resources behind this album than his previous releases, seeing the traction the artist has slowly built up with a growing catalogue of quality releases. Those increased efforts include a headline show in late September at London’s Camden Assembly.

“I definitely want to perform my music as far as I possibly can, and just keep making good, quality music and collaborating with artists,” Lyre says as a ballpark answer for what he’s looking forward to next. He obviously wouldn’t mind scoring the kind of huge hit song(s) that vaults him from rising niche favorite to popular star, but it’s not an achievement he’s looking to force.

“With enough momentum and consistency, we can definitely get there. These things take time. It might happen one day, and people will think I’m an overnight sensation. I’m genuinely interested in making great music, and as long as that’s working out, I’m happy with life.”

Samthing Soweto had just stepped out of his Uber when we connected online to talk about his new album, Touch Is A Move (Good Morning). It follows his 2020 EP, Danko!, and marks his first full-length release since Isphithiphithi redefined the game for him in 2019. Spanning seventeen tracks, the album is pure bliss, dotted with skits that feel like overheard conversations, and music that moves fluidly between the ephemeral and the ethereal. It draws from a broad palette: hip-hop, Afropop, Amapiano, Kwaito, and more.

"I think it's just luck and favour, and the audience deciding, okay, we're gonna keep you around. We like what you do, we're gonna keep you around," he says, responding to OkayAfrica's question about what it is that has sustained him for so long without releasing a full album. There were singles in between, however. "Amagents" arrived in 2022 as a cautionary tale to his daughter about the trappings of romantic love. "Ayafana amagents, ayafana amajimbozi," he sang, essentially letting her know that the game is rigged and that all men are the same – in how they set you up, in how they lie to you, in how they steal your heart.

"Songs are more valuable now than they were before. It used to be entire projects. If you have a really good song, you're good for at least six months," says the artist. "If you make music that people like, they'll remember you," he says.

There's a certain ease that comes with knowing, like knowing the sun will rise and set, as it has since time immemorial. Ease also comes in trusting that your favorite artist will deliver stunning work, no matter how long they take between projects. Samthing Soweto is one of those rare artists—a soothsayer of song, a titan, and a juggernaut who holds our hands through chaotic times. Since emerging with The Soil nearly two decades ago, he has left his mark on at least four distinct South African genres and done so as a singular, genre-defying force.

With The Soil, he helped popularise a cappella music for a new generation, infusing it with street-corner harmonies and township soul. He carried that melodic instinct into his early solo works – cult classics like This N That Without Tempo (2010) and Eb'suku (2014), which blended folk sensibilities with poetic introspection. As a member of the alt outfit The Fridge, he crafted sweet, searching love songs that defined the Johannesburg underground for a time. The Fridge was part of an ecosystem that included acts like The Brother Moves On, Impande Core, and Blk Jks – all of whom helped write the script for an alternative cool that still echoes through today's generation of bold, Black musicians.

Then came the turning point. Between late 2017 and early 2018, a collaboration with Sun-El Musician changed the trajectory of both their careers. "Akanamali," which first appeared on SoundCloud, became a runaway summer anthem. What followed in 2019 was a string of hits – "Lotto," "AmaDM," and "Akulaleki" – all within the space of a few weeks. Isphithiphithi, which arrived in September of that year, cemented his place in the mainstream, proving him not just a genre chameleon but a pioneer. Samthing Soweto became one of Amapiano's most soulful and definitive voices. And that's not nearly it; he's done incredible work in hip-hop with Stogie T, and also helped produce Makhafula Vilakazi's earlier poetry outings.

Isphithiphithi thrust him into popular consciousness, which was a welcome relief from all the years he'd spent toiling in the underground circuit.

"It's nice, because that was the point. I was always an artist," he admits. "Even before I made money, I was an artist. As an artist, I've always done art, and I do as much as I can. But when my daughter was born, I had to make money. Then I started being a commercial artist, someone who would make money from the art." He says the process has been "crazy humbling."

"It changed for the better in the sense that I was able to make ends meet. If it weren't for that, I would have stayed the artist that I was and played for whoever needed to hear me play. I was shy, and kept myself away from people's eyes," he says, and ends with a gratifying "I am happy."

The album recording process started in earnest in 2021, but it was a start-and-stop process that tested the limits of his artistic resolve. The arrival of "Amagents" signalled that an album was coming, but there were just too many false starts for that to materialise. Relationships were tested, but he still found himself back to the matter at hand: making another groundbreaking album that would shift the paradigm yet again, because that's just what he does. "I just kept on giving up. I probably gave up five times," he says.

He takes time, lets ideas percolate, re-visits, and edits until it feels right. Something he did before the album release was announced was to leak snippets online as a way to gauge public reception. "Deda," the second single, was first released in August 2023 and has garnered over two million views on YouTube to date.

"I was trying to figure out what to do next. In 2021, I had the idea that this was the type of music I wanted to make. But I wasn't sure that people would like it," he says. So he read Ryan Holiday's book, Growth Hacker Marketing, about how multinationals grow their market share without using traditional marketing approaches. "When I read that book, it emphasised that instead of using big budgets, you can use what you have – from social media and stuff – to figure out what to do next. So you can ask your actual audience, and you'll find out exactly what they want based on the comments."

"This is all I have," he reveals amid our conversation, referring to the album. It's serious work to him, spirit work that requires him to reach within to pull out songs like the head-nodding kasi epic, "325", a reference to the BMW 3 Series 325i, otherwise known as a Gusheshe in South Africa. It's a song for the hood, for lovers, for those whose hearts haven't been made cold through contact with a harsh world.

"Ama Get Down," with Blxckie, is an instant hit. The harmonies at the beginning, Samthing Soweto's vocal inflections, more jazz than kwaito, are imbued with ancient spirits – the likes of Miriam Makeba, Victor Ntoni, and even Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Production duties shift and blend seamlessly between a cast of three producers: Christer ("Ndandatho," "Ama Get Down," and "Don't Wanna Let Go"), J Smash ("325," "Yebo," and "Come Duze") and John Lundun, who produced "Deda."

"I kept on giving up. Every time I would have a setback, I'd just be like, It's fine, I'll find something else. But I had to go back to the music," he confesses. Time and space did help, but he'd always run into the same set of problems. "The last time was in March. I thought, 'Let me try one more time.' It came together, and I was like, okay, it's done now."

What he learned from this trial-and-error process was that life doesn't always happen the way we plan for it to. "But the point is to do it. You have to not stop, per se. You have to do what you need to do, and some of the solutions will find you as you do it. But you should not stop. It's one of those things where it's like, if you can't fly, you run; if you can't run, you walk; if you can't walk, you crawl; if you can't crawl, you roll. You do something," he emphasises. "I missed every deadline you can imagine. I didn't even think it was gonna be released. At this point, I'm just happy it's gonna come out."

For now, Samthing Soweto is happy that people outside his immediate circle are listening to his work. "For a very long time, just a few people and I knew it existed."

Burna Boy is ramping things up ahead of the release of his eighth studio album, No Sign of Weakness, due July 11 via Bad Habit/Atlantic Records.

The African Giant has now shared the full tracklist for the forthcoming album, which reveals an eye-catching range of guests across its 16 songs.

Perhaps the most surprising and notable of them is rock legend and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who will appear on the album’s eleventh track, “Empty Chairs.”

Another noteworthy guest is Belgian pop star Stromae, who shares track billing on No Sign of Weakness track “Pardon.” Stromae has strong ties to the African continent through his Rwandan family background, and notably concluded one of his world tours in Kigali.

American breakout star Shaboozey (who has Nigerian roots) will appear on a track titled “Change Your Mind,” and we’ve already heard the Travis Scott-featuring single “TaTaTa.”

So far, Burna Boy has shared album tracks “Sweet Love,” “Update,” “Bundle by Bundle,” and “TaTaTa.” He’s also announced an upcoming North American tour in support of the album.

See the full tracklist for Burna Boy’s new album below.

Burna Boy's ‘No Sign of Weakness’ Official Tracklist

1. No Panic
2. No Sign Of Weakness
3. Buy You Life
4. Love
5. TaTaTa feat. Travis Scott
6. Come Gimme
7. Dem Dey
8. Sweet Love
9. 28 Grams
10. Kabiyesi
11. Empty Chairs feat. Mick Jagger
12. Update
13. Pardon with Stromae
14. Bundle By Bundle
15. Change Your Mind feat. Shaboozey
16. Born Winner

When Ckay released his second EP, Ckay The First, in 2019, he was still ingenious and, for the most part, underrated. He self-produced a large portion of the EP. He had already developed his unique, undefinable sound, which draws inspiration from a diverse range of influences, including sultry R&B and mellow Afropop.

But that EP would only change Ckay's life and the arc of his career two years after its release. In 2021, "Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)," the second song on the EP, found instant and inescapable fame on TikTok. It then became the first number-one song on Billboard's Afrobeats chart and the first Nigerian song to spend 52 weeks on the Billboard charts. It made Ckay an eight-times platinum artist and one of the crucial vehicles by which Afrobeats music found its global roots in the early 2020s. Now, more than six years after its release, Ckay is ready to share a rejoinder to it in the form of his latest EP.

Aptly titled Ckay The Second, this new EP, according to Ckay, is a continuation of the ideas and themes he generously explored in Ckay The First. Of course, he's no longer the person he was when he made Ckay The First. The trajectory of his life has shifted with dizzying speed, thrusting him to the forefront of Afrobeats music's expansion, along with the pressures and demands that come with it.

It's why Ckay The Second is a simultaneous attempt at returning to a former self but also slowing down for a second. "I was at a stage of my life where I felt like I had to shed off some old skin and step into a new phase," Ckay tells OkayAfrica just days before the release of the new project. "The headspace was basically to communicate that the first EP was to assert 'I am the first Ckay,' and the second is the continuation of that."

For this project, Ckay prioritizes live instrumentation, a key part of his sound. Here, he maintains the sonic architecture of his previous records. "I'll describe the sound as an advanced version of my signature emo-Afrobeats sound," he says. "I love live instrumentation. I love chords that make you vibe and feel something, as opposed to just making you dance. This EP is no exception. I dived deeper into the emo-Afro sound and took it a step further."

Born Chukwuka Ekweani, Ckay grew up in a home that nurtured his musical talents. His early days learning hymns and developing a prodigious understanding of music theory helped set him apart as an artist who understands the most technical rules of music and is unafraid to break them.

His music process is guided by instinct. There are no set formulas or patterns. "It could be anyway, you know," he admits. "Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes the music comes first. It all depends. Creativity is something you need to let free. You can't box or tie it down to the process. So I like to let the music flow regardless of the order, music or lyrics or whichever."

Insert EP Stream

A much-needed reminder

Although Ckay is one of the most important ambassadors of Afrobeats' global ascension, he's also the least recognized for it. It's an erasure that Ckay is deeply aware of but hasn't taken to heart. "I probably don't get enough credit for my contributions toward the advancement of Afrobeats, especially in the Nigerian space," he says.

Between 2021, when he blew up, and this year, Ckay's life has undergone an explosion that may have been too much for some to handle. He has scored hits with fellow stars like Davido and received a Grammy nomination for his feature on Janelle Monae's album The Age of Pleasure. He released his debut album, Sad Romance, in 2022, and Emotions, a genre-bending EP, in 2024.

Ckay has also, according to him, grown a lot. The most important part of that growth has been the need to keep pushing and to draw persistence from an unbreakable spirit. "I would say my artistry has evolved. I've learned a lot more than I knew at the time," he says. "Me being more exposed and seeing the impact of my music on people thousands of kilometers away, I think that gives me a different perspective."

If Ckay The First was a statement in establishing his name and marking out his creative territory, Ckay The Second is a reminder of where he's come from and a window into where he's going next.

More than anything, Ckay hopes that people can relate to the experiences he lays bare on this EP. "I make music about my own experiences and my life. I feel that, as human beings, we're all connected and share similar experiences. So I would say I hope people see themselves in me basically when they're listening to the songs, and they relate to the experiences."

Maleek Berry was starting to sense that something was missing. The British Nigerian singer-songwriter and producer was aware that the emotional and technical elements that once enlivened Afropop music were being overlooked by those who grew up with it.

"Good songs, great songwriting, great storytelling… Afrobeats fans are yearning for that right now. That's why I had to go away and put together a collection of amazing songs that people can relate to for years to come. Not only party to, but cry to, get married to, have babies to," Berry, born Maleek Shoyebi, tells OkayAfrica in an exclusive interview.

The result of that time off is Berry's debut album, If Only Love Was Enough. It's Berry's most anticipated work, which arrives just about a decade into his time in the industry as one of the most important pioneers of contemporary Afropop music.

A predominantly R&B and Afropop blend, 'If Only Love Was Enough' pays homage to the early 2010s Afrobeats sound with a strong awareness of the times. The album features new-age artists like Ruger, as well as longtime collaborators of Berry like Tiwa Savage and Wizkid. In a music landscape that has been hurtling towards global expansion and evolving its sonic identity at a dizzying pace, Berry wants to slow things down a bit. If the project sounds like a time capsule, it is likely because it has been in development for several years and incorporates a range of sonic influences from various eras.

"I've gone through so many different versions," Berry says. "I've gone through many phases of not liking a particular song or not liking a certain group of songs, and changing them over and bringing them back. The album was supposed to have dropped a long, long time ago, but I'm glad I waited this long, and I've finally arrived at this version now. I'm very proud of it."

If Only Love Was Enough is not, thematically or structurally, a cultural statement after all. The songs here explore unrequited love, romance, and existential reflections, all classic Maleek Berry themes, but the project is highly symbolic. It's a well-articulated response to the creative slump that Nigerian music has found itself in recently. Berry is aware that, on a sonic level, this project has the potential to kickstart a return to basics, reminding music makers and Afrobeats listeners of the magic and thrill of a musical era that should never have been forgotten. "In my opinion, it's going to bring a breath of fresh air and carve out a whole new direction musically and sonically for the space as well," he adds.

Berry from the past

Much of what has made Maleek Berry's sound distinct is his devotion to drawing from the past while keeping his ears open to what the present has to say. His journey into the Nigerian music scene began in 2011. While on vacation in Nigeria at the time, he would connect with some of the voices who were already molding the scene — Davido, Naeto C, Wande Coal, and Wizkid — and eventually got his first major hit with "Carolina," featuring Sauce Kid and Davido. Then there was 2013's "The Matter" featuring Wizkid. A recurrent feature of that sound was an intelligent blend of percussion and hip-hop flows. It was modern, quintessentially Nigerian, and helped blaze a trail for what the genre would go on to become.

On If Only Love Was Enough, Berry seeks the expertise of former collaborators who also ruled the scene in that era while also drawing from the R&B music he grew up listening to. "I wanted to bring those worlds together. I had to do a little bit of looking into myself as well and getting out of my way, listening to my previous projects, figuring out the greatest songs that I've written that people liked, and not overthinking it, and making sure I have something on the album for everybody."

For Berry, the sounds of the early 2000s are timeless because it was also a time with minimal distractions.

"People were writing some of the best music ever to come out. The world was a lot less distracted during that period. That was one of the main reasons for my prolonged absence. I had to go and live life to experience what it felt like to truly live the meaning of these songs. This is what real artists used to do back in the day."

Berry worked with longtime collaborators like Legendury Beatz to keep himself rooted in the sound he wanted to create. "All of us started together back in the day, working with Wiz during the Star Boy era. There were points where I was stuck, and I had certain creative blocks, and I'd go down and ask their opinion."

Berry was also tempted to jump on the amapiano wave, but his close collaborators were opposed to the idea. "We've had many moments like this during this album creation process. Legendury Beatz would sit me down and be like, 'You know you have a sound, right? You created something back then that is tangible.' Getting reminded about that and what that sound meant to people, and what it still means to people today, gave me the confidence to stick with this sound and stick with the theme."

Berry hopes that If Only Love Was Enough will be inspirational. "I always want people to be inspired by my music," he says. "I want my music to stand the test of time. So, the same way my fans are still listening to music we released in 2013 or 2016, I want to have the same impact with this music, if not more." Even more important to Berry is how this work might inspire his peers. "All of us are sharpening each other, and I want my peers to hear this album and be blown away just like everybody else."

In the Arabic-speaking world, Marwan Moussa needs no introduction. The Egyptian German rapper and producer has dominated the rap scene for years, rising to fame for his hard-hitting bars and effortless flow. A man who enjoys bragadociousness and does it well, Moussa is the third most-streamed Arab rapper of all time and has received three All Africa Music Awards.

After losing his mother to illness in October 2023, Moussa did not listen to music for six months. Then, he returned with "3AMEL EH" (What do I do) in July 2024, on which he opens up to his therapist about his depression, inviting listeners into a journey of climbing out of the darkness.

This week, Moussa revealed الرجل الذي فقد قلبه (The Man Who Lost His Heart), a conceptual framework for the introspective tracks he has been releasing. Throughout the album, the female voice we hear on "3AMEL EH" tells him that everyone deals with the same feelings in different ways. She introduces him to the five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance - which he adopts as an artistic lens for the 23 tracks across five discs.

"I wanted to make a sad album, but I cannot say accurately what I was going through," Moussa tells OkayAfrica. "I was creating as I went and tried to fit songs into categories. Maybe creating these songs was therapeutic, but I cannot say accurately which stage I went through with which song."

Each disc has stylistic elements that bring Moussa's emotions to life. Denial sounds like string instruments and trap shaabi, a mix of dark trap beats over traditional Egyptian rhythms. Anger rises with Arabic scales and instruments like the Oud. "I felt like [anger] is a very Arab emotion and state," says Moussa. "It's how we express grief the most, especially as men."

His favorite track on the album, "TAQATO3," is on the anger disc. Starting rap-heavy, the track samples the iconic song "Shagar El Lamoon" by Egyptian singer Mohamed Mounir, before ebbing into a vibe that Moussa describes as "melancholic, somehow sad but euphoric."

Moussa wrote and recorded "TAQATO3" between Thailand and Los Angeles; the album came together in studios all over the world. "We just recorded in the places that we happened to be at, and we let it add color and flavors to the album, which I think added diversity to the songs," he says.

Bargaining heavily features the piano, the instrument Moussa associates with questioning. While the other discs have at least one feature, bargaining is the only emotional state he navigates completely alone. With track three of that disc, "Fahman Donya," he recently became the first Arabic-language rapper to perform on the global rap platform From The Block.

Depression is characterized by ambient, mournful textures. Moussa sings and bears his soul over simplistic, repetitive melodies that feature string instruments and the piano, carrying a distinguishable Egyptian rhythm that embeds the universal experience of loss in a specific cultural context.

Throughout the album, a male voice tells Moussa "hawil tiftikir" (try to remember), reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar’s use of voicenotes. However, Moussa did not have any musical influences for this project. "In the beginning, I thought that was a bad thing. Everything just came from the mind," he says. "But I hope that it will become more timeless because there are no musical reference points."

Acceptance closes the album with Moussa emerging on the other side. This disc is more playful, incorporating jazz piano, Afrobeats, and the assertion that he must keep trying. "[The album] is not about being sad or breaking up with someone. It's about losing someone who dies, specifically, "says Moussa. "I would love it if it helps someone navigate through a period of sadness. Like a map."

Now that he has revealed this deeply vulnerable and raw side of himself, will Moussa continue along this path? "I miss doing an ego song," he says and laughs. "I want to do music that makes me feel confident. That's what I love about classic rap: you say stuff, you feel cool, and it feels good. But that's not how I felt the past year, so I couldn't rap like that."

There's a common concern that Egyptian rap lost its authenticity when it became mainstream, and some voices mutter that the genre is dying out. Moussa agrees that rappers have not been at their best in recent years, but he has noticed a brooding resurgence.

"I think people will become more competitive in the next few months. The action is going to come back," he says. "I think we'll see some battles and hear music that feels like more time has been spent making it. I can feel it and am excited to be a part of it." The Man Who Lost His Heart, with its poignant lyricism and expertly crafted sonic layers, can spearhead a revival of vanguard Egyptian rap, should it actually be on its way.

Femi Kuti sits in a modest room, cool and calm. On this Zoom call with OkayAfrica, the 62-year-old afrobeat legend speaks with the agility of a man assured in his craft. In a few days, he will release his eleventh body of work, Journey Through Life. As we begin our conversation, we first explore Kuti's intent behind the album title.

"I just thought it was important to talk about things that have guided me throughout my life," says Kuti, "that's why it's called 'Journey Through Life.' Just before the recording, my daughter had an operation and everywhere was just so … we were all very confused, everywhere was so emotional, and her bravery was part of the inspiration. The family was so tight and together in this period, and I thought it was important to sing about these virtues."

If you listen closely, you can hear the communal energy that flows through the 10 songs on the album. Vibrant percussion blends with bright guitar work on the titular track, "Journey Through Life," in which Kuti sings about the personal and familial ideals he speaks passionately about. "Keep all your loved ones by your side," he sings in his unshakable voice, a sweet salvo that soars with fiery purpose when required.

That energy often emerges when Kuti tackles the corruption of the Nigerian political class, as he does in "Chop And Run" and "Politics Don Expose Them," where he highlights the wrongdoings of politicians. Like a watchman from his tower, Kuti stands for the conscience of society.

"We're the ones that make up Nigeria," Kuti affirms. "All our issues, our joy, everything works hand in hand. I think I've understood long ago that this problem won't be solved in my lifetime. You see, when you're talking about not just Nigeria's problem but Africa's problem, you're talking about 400 years of slavery, a hundred years of bad, corrupt, evil African government, Western influence, greed, so it's not going to end in 50 years. It's not possible."

Highlighting the motives of pan-African leaders such as Patrice Lumumba and Malcolm X, he says that anyone who wanted Africa to grow was eliminated.

So why sing at all? The veteran knows it's impossible to change the world, so he has recently turned to more personal matters. "I think I would be quite stupid to think I can solve Africa's problem with my music," he scoffs. "But if you listen to the tracks, you'll see a record called 'Work On Myself.' The way I look at life is: 'Why do we like to superimpose our ideas on other people?' We need to superimpose those ideas on ourselves to make ourselves better. Probably that's the objective of life."

Journey Through Life is a compilation of Kuti's ideals. His political thoughts might occupy the frontline, but they stand visibly beside his musical mastery. Whether it's his early recordings after forming the Positive Force band in 1986 or almost breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest saxophone note in 2017, it's remarkable that Kuti has always continued making music. Nearly stoic in his dedication, he tells us it's a fight against monotony.

"It's very important for an artist not to remain stagnant or monotonous," he says. "Every project of mine, I try to do something different, or else it would be boring. Age and practice help you grow, so I still practice. I still do a lot of work, and hopefully, my sound will mature with age as time goes by. You see, music is like a flower. You have to nurture it; you have to give it water and sunlight, or else it will die. Your music will die off."

On "Corruption na Stealing," he moves beyond his famous baritone vocals, singing in a near-falsetto that shows just how impressive a singer he is. Amidst the grungy Afrobeat groove, which instantly situates listeners in Lagos' Afrikan Shrine, the musician brings to life one of the transcendent problems of African society. In the second verse, his phrasing takes after contemporary styling, as he upholds that "when money thief, we must find the thief to call am thief," however recognizing that the same rules are bypassed for the rich and influential, with the advantage of "big English to add to the thing."

During our conversation, Kuti goes into long analyses of the social world, all of which tie back to his life’s journey. Education, he infers, used to mean more than just certificates — it had to do with virtues.

"Nowadays, we have a lot of lousy professionals," he says. "In a classroom of twenty students, if one child fails, everyone fails. Maybe that guy who came last, or doesn't know it, probably would have become a surgeon if we had taught him well. He would probably treat one of us in the future, but we're making fun of him and bringing him down. For me, the teacher is wrong, and everyone in that classroom is wrong, for that child to fail. What kind of education is that? The African community is old. We grow together. Everybody has the potential to be successful; everybody is important in society. Everybody has a problem to solve."

Creating such a thematically and sonically rich work four decades into one's career is quite rare in music; furthermore, in the Nigerian music scene, where legacy is often attributed to the old, the dying, or the dead. For the Anikulapo-Kuti family, who have commandeered one of the strongest cultural legacies in the world, it seems fitting that an artist and personality like Femi Kuti would release this project now, four years after a joint project with his son, Made Kuti.

Our conversation ends with me asking about the importance of these familial connections. "I think legacy is important in that sense," he says. "But you don't force people to do what they don't want to do. Made did. He's playing music because he wants to. I have seven children. He's the only one ... Okay, one of the girls is showing interest, I don't know if she'll show it at the latter stage of her life. All of them have studied music, but the rest don't want to play music."

"To play music, you really have to be sure," he says. "It's not a bed of roses. You have to find your passion; when you discover what you love, even during tough times, your dedication will make time fly. You won’t even realize where the last 20 years have gone because you’re so engaged in your work. And if you even become successful, you'll see it in a different light. It's not about material things. In my family, success is never weighed by wealth; rather, it’s about your commitment to your work and the perseverance you demonstrate over time. This is how I see my life, and this is how Fela lived his life."