In the past decade, we’ve enjoyed a mammoth feast of music made by Nigeria’s internationally renowned new school class, one that is notably characterized by experimentation with and fusion of foreign sounds. In this class, musicians have evolved over the years, digging into their beliefs and remaining contrarian in respect to the norms prescribed by the music industry. Multidimensional artist, Fuji is one of those contrarians challenging the norms. Having been on his music journey for more than a decade, Fuji has been able to craft a Trap, Afropop, and Psychedelia fused sound that matches his breezy persona to a T.
This advanced version of the singer-songwriter, who is also a producer is materializing and manifesting this week in a side of him, powered by fun, fate, and freestyles on Gbese! featuring BrisB, the genre-transcendent singer’s encapsulation of fun-time steeped in great vibes.
Influenced by the likes of Tame Impala, Rhye, Kanye West, and Travis Scott, whose Astroworld sound bubbles to the surface of the mind when Gbese! comes on, Fuji is charting a new path with this single. On his description of the creation of Gbese! Fuji reveals it was “just another day in the cave…”, “…one of those inspiring nights that started with friends relaxing, followed by vibing over an instrumental then a freestyle then a rap verse to close out a sprint session”. This blithe strategy is well defined by the initial outpour of chords that introduces it along with fuji’s first relatable and reachable line, “we vibe on a day to day”.
Gbese!’s title is self-explanatory, just as Fuji’s words do his intent, justice. The overall heady ambiance created by the fusion of these little but powerful elements allow said intent to be clear as day. According to Fuji, Gbese! simply means good vibes and the exploration of said vibes without inhibition. Being a lively song, it stems from nights spent sharing and creating with friends. While he believes the single’s title is a catch coupled with an instrumental that serves as his “main charge”, Fuji wants his listeners to be thrown into a similar ambiance when his words, articulated in deep bass, are thrown in the mix.
While Gbese! is a turning point for Fuji, he does have a handful of songs to his credit, including the akú and D.A. Family Ties that made its way to a Ndani TV Show a couple of years ago. However, the path he’s charting to a new home for his sound begins with Gbese! which is also the lead single from his soon-to-be-released mixtape titled, No Angels. Gbese! was produced by Makama and is accompanied by an Onari-directed video that is reflective of its narrative.
