Fireboy DML impresses with sophomore album APOLLO

Searching for new music is an ongoing challenge, but finding something great that you weren’t initially seeking out makes it worth the effort. Nigerian singer-songwriter Adedamola Adefolahan, better known by his stage name Fireboy DML, fuses Afrobeats, a contemporary West African music style, with pop, hip hop and R&B elements on his new full-length album “APOLLO.”

The album starts off with “Champion,” a powerful and triumphant track that features D Smoke, an Inglewood, California native. Though including a feature on the first track of an album can be a risky move, Fireboy pulls it off perfectly. D Smoke’s choppy flow remains melodic enough to avoid diverting attention from Fireboy.

On the last verse of the track, Fire- boy sings about his humble beginnings, which grounds the track in reality and keeps it from becoming boastful. This song kicks the album off on a high note, and D Smoke’s rapping complements Fireboy’s singing prodigiously. The synergy between artists, along with an infectious chorus makes the lead-off track one of the most memorable on the entire album.

Something that makes this album stand out from others like it is the high production quality. Prominent Nigerian producer Pheelz produced 9 of the album’s 17 tracks, and hits his mark on every track he worked on.

Pheelz’s synths, drums, guitar and bass converge to provide a strong backbone for the energetic tracks like “Champion” and “Favorite Song,” while he builds a solid foundation for Fireboy’s crooning on the calmer ones like “Dreamer” and “God Only Knows.”

Pheelz is typically known for producing high-energy tracks for Fireboy, allowing him to lay down bubbly pop vocals, so hearing his producer tag on the track “Airplane Mode” was surprising. It’s a somber and reflective track that deals with the stress and pressure that comes with the rapid pace of modern life.

Fireboy cleverly uses “Airplane Mode” as a metaphor for temporary reprieve from the aforementioned type of stress. With solid production, expertly performed vocals and a refreshing take on a common topic, this track stands out as possibly the best on the album.

Another producer who elevates the quality of the album is Iambeatz of Lagos, Nigeria. His beats on the tracks “Lifestyle” and “Afar” are some of the catchiest on the album.

The production style, along with the alteration between rapping and singing, make these tracks reminiscent of Drake’s stylistic approach to music on recent albums, specifically 2017’s “More Life.”

Though the melodies and vocals on most tracks are clean and simple, they remain fresh even after several listens. Fireboy’s standalone vocals are great, though most tracks have backing vocals that create entrancing harmonies, the best examples of this being on the tracks “Lifestyle” and “Shadé.”

Pheelz makes a unique creative choice on the beat for “Shadé” by incorporating guitar as the prominent instrument. This deviation from his typical reliance on synth-based melodies, along with the most complex vocals from Fireboy on the album, make this track the major highlight on the second half of the album.

Though my criticisms of this project are few and far between, I would have liked to see more tracks with the type of energy the album starts off with on the track “Champion.” I found myself hoping for more tracks similar to it during my first listen to the album.

Additionally, D Smoke and Olamide’s verses on “Champion” and “Afar” bring worthwhile value to their respective tracks, but they show through virtue of comparison that Fireboy has significant room to grow in his rapping abilities.

Finally, the album suffers a bit from bloat, and the album would have benefited significantly by cutting some of the weaker tracks, such as “New York City Girl” and “Go Away.”

The album’s best moments outweigh the growing pains that can be expected on any artist’s sophomore album. I would recommend this project to fans of melodic pop-rap who are looking for new music. 8/10.