Fireboy’s new album “Playboy” has finally dropped after what feels like forever. If you’re like me, who has been counting down the minutes till I can listen to something fresh from Fireboy, you will not be let down.
Adedamola Adefolahan, also known as Fireboy DML, came into the limelight after his hit song “Jealous” blew up in 2019. He subsequently released two studio albums, “Playboy” being his third with a total of 14 tracks.
Fireboy tells Apple Music this album is not about him being a typical playboy with promiscuous ways as we may think. But as someone who tends to overthink a lot of things, he was ready to relax and let his more playful side come out to play. Do you think he portrays this throughout the album? You’ll have to stick around to find out.
track by track review of fireboy’s new album playboy
Fireboy’s new album, Playboy, doesn’t start out the way you’d expect a Fireboy album to start; it’s even better. It’s an uplifting, harmonious sound that takes you right to church. Talking about change, doing yoga in the morning, just the right pick-me-up if you ever felt like you were in a rut. Fireboy tells us his life is about to change and he is prepared for it. I loved “Change” right from when those drums came in, till the last note.
asake X fireboy
This banger needs no introduction; it is already an anthem on the streets. “Bandana” was released in early July, and we have already fallen in love with it. Fireboy was stuck and didn’t have a hook for the song until Asake came in, made a fire hook, and then the song was complete.
If you’ve ever been cheated on, or if you’ve ever cheated on your significant other, Fireboy is giving you the perfect out. On “Ashewo”, he is blaming relationship incompetence on alcohol. ”Na shayo, all of us we be ashewo”. I think the hilarious lyricism balances out with the upbeat rhythm to give us something laid back that we can laugh about and bop to at the same time. The dating scene is a mess at the moment, the least we can do is laugh about it.
The playboy
There can’t be a Playboy album without the “Playboy” song, can there? This is another song that needs no introduction. It dropped in March and stayed on the charts for a long time. He performed this song on the BET stage early this year… “So many hoes, they think I’m a farmer”. Can’t help but fall in love with the cockiness. But on a more serious note, Fireboy says this album is not about being a typical playboy with promiscuous ways, but that his more playful side is out to play. Do you think he portrays this throughout Fireboy’s new album, “Playboy”? You’ll have to stick around to find out.
“Sofri” is an embodiment of what Afrobeats is now, and where it is headed. Fireboy added his own unique style to those traditional drums in the back, with sublime production. I loved that at the end of the song we got to enjoy the harmony from the drums and the tambourines, and so many other instruments I had a hard time picking out. That’s how good the blend was.
International collab on fireboy’s new album playboy
“Diana” by Fireboy, Chris Brown, and Shenseea is just another proof of how well Afro-pop blends with just about any other genre. Chris Brown opens up this song and… whew! He even throws in a little bit of pidgin there. This is not really a surprise, with all his recent affiliations with Afrobeats artists. This is another romantic song that serenades Diana, a woman who wants to leave a cheating lover. When Shenseea comes in with her element of dancehall, I couldn’t help but feel like it might have been an unnecessary addition to the song, but the cultural mix of genres was not unpleasant to listen to.
Mavins x yBNL on fireboy’s new album
“Compromise” comes in next, featuring Rema. A song that sings about compromising in a relationship. The young Mavins star came into the limelight in 2018. This collaboration is one Fireboy says was easy to make. The hook didn’t really hit like I thought it should, but overall a good listen from Fireboy’s new album “Playboy”.
I’m not sure if Fireboy is encouraging Timoti in Yoruba to manya and shayo and let the gbedu enter on this one… but I’m still digging it. The flutes at the start of the song were surprising, but I absolutely loved them. It’s a short call and response song that goes right to the point and gets you in the vibe.
“Peru” was a song that got Fireboy out of the creative block where he thought he had lost his job. Fireboy recorded this song from a sad and depressed state of mind in San Francisco, and the song became huge. In his words, “The experience of seeing that song blow up opened my mind up again… it’s time to relax”. On another note, I know we all had this same thought when this song first dropped, but again, how much does Fireboy sound like Wande Coal on this? It’s not so farfetched though, Wande Coal is one out of the three musicians that Fireboy looks up to till today.
track 10
From the name of the song, you can already guess what the song is about… “Afro Highlife”. This is a fusion of Afrobeat and Highlife, two of the major genres in African music. Those guitars and trumpets, with Fireboy’s modernized twists, added to this song take us back to the 90s, and I can’t help but listen to it and dance. I imagine the video (if there’s ever any) will feature his backup singers of beautiful African women whose voices are prominent on this song from Fireboy’s new album “Playboy”.
It’s very obvious Fireboy was playing around with fusing his sound with different genres on this album. “Havin Fun” has a distinct reggae twist to it. While it might not be the strongest song on the album, it is groovy to listen to.
The “Peru” remix ft Ed Sheeran” was just as big a hit as the original song was. Fireboy speaks about how so many artists across the globe wanted to hop on the remix, but the collaboration that felt most organic was with Ed Sheeran. Yet another mainstream international artist that has embraced Afrobeats and does a mighty fine job at it.
The end
Fireboy ends his new album “Playboy” with “Glory”. A song that employs enough electric guitar riffs to make you want to hear the version with a live band. It’s only right to end the album with a prayer that gives accolades to the one behind Fireboy’s success so far… God.
I couldn’t help but notice how Fireboy’s new album “Playboy” was supposed to be about a metamorphosis of Fireboy’s coming out to a new playful side of himself. But many tracks still went back to singing about love, cheating lovers, and playboys. I think he should’ve still stuck with the original narrative of the album being about an actual playboy. In my opinion, the album would have still been good without some songs like “Glory”. And as for “Compromise”… A Rema and Fireboy collaboration should’ve sounded way better.
Still, one of the finest projects I’ve heard this year.
