Afrobeats icons Wizkid and Asake just released their hotly anticipated collaborative EP REAL, Vol. 1. The new music arrives with a video for “Turbulence,” wherein Asake and Wizkid party with a bevy of women amidst an Escheresque labyrinth.
The duo has been hinting at a joint project since last year, and released the Naija pidgin ode to partying hard “Jogodo” last week, which marries jaunty saxophone to woody polyrhythms. The song seems to be striking a chord with fans, running up 10 million streams in its first week on Spotify.
Broadly, REAL, Vol. 1 is danceable and low-stakes, perfect for pregame playlists and late night club sessions. The pair previously collaborated on “MMS” and “Bad Girl” from their 2024 solo albums Lungu Boy and Moraya, which struck a similar balance between Afrobeats and neo-fuji. I’m especially partial to the undulating amapiano of “Iskolodo,” which thrums with a latent tension.
The four track project was produced by Magicsticks, a mainstay behind the boards for Asake. The super-producer was largely responsible for the “deft fusion of amapiano, rock, Fújì, and hip-hop” that notched Work of Art a spot on The FADER’s 50 Best Albums of 2023. He didn’t do it all on his own: 4tunez co-produced on “Turbulence” and L.O.L. coproduced on “Iskolodo.”
Wizkid recently became the first African artist to notch 10 billion streams on Spotify. Can’t get enough? Revisit The FADER’s Gen F profile of Wizkid from 2015.
