Asake’s “Work of Art” album has peaked at #5 on US Apple Music album charts as well as #2 on UK album charts

Asake’s “Work of Art” album has peaked at #5 on US Apple Music album charts as well as #2 on UK album charts.

“Work of Art” benefits from the impeccable production work of Magicsticks, Blaise Beatz, P. Prime, and Anoop D’Souza, who have collaborated to create sonic brilliance throughout the album. These talented producers have skillfully shaped the album’s lush soundscapes, adding depth and dimension to Asake’s already exceptional compositions.

Asake remains true to his winning formula on this album, showcasing the distinct sound that sets him apart from his peers. His music is characterized by the fusion of choral harmonies and string arrangements reminiscent of Fuji, creating a unique and captivating listening experience.

“Work of Art” benefits from the impeccable production work of Magicsticks, Blaise Beatz, P. Prime, and Anoop D’Souza, who have collaborated to create sonic brilliance throughout the album. These talented producers have skillfully shaped the album’s lush soundscapes, adding depth and dimension to Asake’s already exceptional compositions.

Asake remains true to his winning formula on this album, showcasing the distinct sound that sets him apart from his peers. His music is characterized by the fusion of choral harmonies and string arrangements reminiscent of Fuji, creating a unique and captivating listening experience.

Asake’s first album was the culmination of ideas percolating throughout his home country. Most notably, it was amapiano—a strain of South African house music in the lineage of kwaito—that brought Asake’s Afrofusion music to another level. This regional style was already spreading across the continent—in Tanzania and Kenya, Namibia and Mozambique—and fellow Nigerians like Davido and Mayorkun were collaborating with South Africans to meld it with Afrobeats. What separated Asake from his peers was how he forged a sound all his own: He incorporated choral harmonies and string arrangements, and worked in elements of the Indigenous Yoruba music known as fújì. The opening track on his debut announced this audacious blend: “Dull” interpolated “Oke Agba” from the pioneering fújì musician Ayinde Barrister. 

With Work of Art, Asake understands that his winning formula needs no adjustments. Wistful strings inject solemnity on “What’s Up My G,” and as the characteristic log-drum loop of amapiano establishes a lithe beat, he expertly switches between vocal rhythms and inflections. There are many shades to his wealth, his nimble delivery implies. And when he lists off designer brands and luxury cars, the host of voices behind him frame his braggadocio as a spiritual act. “If you don’t feel blessed, you won’t be blessed,” he recently told ABC News. It sounds like the flipside to a Yoruba òwe, or proverb: “Ẹní lówó kó ṣe bí ọba” (“Whoever has riches should act like a king”).