Adekunle Gold’s Believe Sets the Tone for His Fuji Reinvention
Ahead of his forthcoming sixth studio album, one that promises to be a sonic bridge between the revered genre Fuji, the contemporary, and the future, Adekunle Gold has unveiled a new single titled “Believe”. The track continues the rollout for the album, which arrives on Friday, October 3rd, and follows three earlier pre-releases that signaled this new ‘Fuji’ era: “Bobo”, “Coco Money”, and “Obimo”. Like the album’s title suggests, each release carries the nostalgic tinge of Fuji music while remaining equally experimental.
The 15-track album explores personal themes of survival, family, grief, and triumphs, incorporating Yoruba Fuji elements like talking drums after consultations with Fuji legend K1 de Ultimate.
On “Believe”, Adekunle Gold samples the 1980 classic ‘Just the Two of Us’ by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr., enlisting producer Seyifunmi, who reshapes the refrain in a manner reminiscent of Fuji’ music style. This stylistic choice reinforces the album’s central idea: bending the Fuji genre and reconstructing it into a daring new soundscape. Lyrically, Adekunle Gold chooses and fights for the love of his muse, delivering in his typical playful yet deeply honest style. He lays bare his sentiments, and “Believe”—like a love letter—articulates his desire to be with them.
The song opens with the recognizable ‘Just the Two of Us‘ sample, holding onto its original production before seamlessly transitioning into mid-tempo percussion and an instantly captivating opening line: “Reminisce as I sit in my corner.” This sets the tone for a narrative heavy with unspoken words, gradually revealed in succeeding lines. As the nearly three-minute track unfolds, Adekunle Gold shifts from tender confessions to raw vulnerability, employing vivid imagery as he croons: “Though I walk through the walls of your fire / My heart, my feet e no tire / Got me feeling like I don manya o, can’t believe that you’re mine.”
“Believe”, much like “Bobo”, “Coco Money”, and “Obimo”, offers another glimpse into how refreshingly novel Adekunle Gold’s take on Fuji will sound. It primes fans and listeners for an immersive experience, an engaging world curated on the foundations of Fuji, yet daringly experimental and unmistakably his.
