‘M$NEY’ is Asake’s performance of wealth (Review)

Nigeria’s socioeconomic reality creates a society that celebrates wealth and status. For generations, Nigerian musicians have sung about success and the good life it affords. This time, it’s the turn of the era-defining Afrobeats superstar Asake, who makes an album to let everyone know he’s rich.

Calling his album ‘M$NEY’ is not only blatant and flamboyant, but it’s also a very Nigerian way to inform listeners of just how high he has climbed the global pop ladder, and it’s from this lofty height that he makes his fourth album.

Ahead of the release of his latest album, the central message of the brilliant rollout was that Asake is rich. He took up residence in California’s super-expensive neighbourhood, splurged billions of naira on luxury cars for himself and his parents, and spent top dollar to commission a marble sculpture for his album artwork.

Asake is rich, and for him, this means he needed to trade the breathless delivery and hunger of his first two LPs and the fierce ambition of his third album for a more relaxed, confident, and introspective project.

In Nigeria, wealth is super analysed and sometimes performed for an adulating crowd. Asake understands this and performs this display of success in a way that’s original to his artistry and persona. He’s adventurous with the sonics that shape the album, but makes sure it’s effortless enough to show he didn’t have to try. Even when he shares his thoughts, it’s scanty lyrics and quips and proverbs that suggest he can’t be bothered. After all, the richer you are, the less you say.

When he links up with global producer and hitmaker DJ Snake to introspect on his journey, he says little and lets the solemn keys of gospel music, combined with the pulsating drums of electronic music, do most of the work. On the bouncy ‘Gratitude,’ he shrugs off the criticism and weight of expectations, and makes it clear he takes nothing to heart while celebrating the “credit alerts” that afford him the mindset to live unbothered.

On ‘Rora,’ he’s relaxed and allows the horns and drums to carry on while basking in the ambience of Jazz music before popping in to share some Yoruba proverbs about the simplicity of life with the panache of Juju music legends like King Sunny Ade and Ebenezar Obey. His introspection delivers one of the album’s strongest moments in ‘Forgiveness,’ which is the song most reminiscent of the Amapiano-shaped hits that populate his first two albums. In accepting his shortcomings and the limitations of his own abilities, Asake refuses to focus on the negatives. Rather, he pledges to be consistent in the positive actions that have brought him this far.

Asake is a man of faith, and he has shown this in his music and lifestyle. Ahead of the album release, he went on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in the company of his friend, the famous socialite and businessman Rahman Jago. The viral clips of him praying fervently at the Kaaba get more context on ‘Amen’, where he alludes to Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu’s famous “Emi lo kan” meaning “It’s my turn,” line as the power of positive declarations. Asake leisurely swaggers through Magictsticks’ party-starting beat to pray for blessings, prosperity, and guidance in his affairs.

The transition between ‘Amen’ and ‘Wa’ is one of the highlights of the album as the hitmaker seques into a pursuit of pleasure and romantic declarations with sublime melodies and an interpolation of classic Nigerian lines “Love Nwantiti” and “Osondi Owendi,” while conveying the swagger of a man who lets his status and wealth do the talking. On the perpetually charting ‘Why Love,’ he holds himself out as the most eligible bachelor and lists his preference with the confidence of an artist willing to let listeners wait 50 seconds before hearing his voice.

"Money is not everything, but make sure you earn a lot before speaking such nonsense," is a quote widely attributed to one of the world’s richest men, Warren Buffett. Asake has earned the right to make statements like ‘Money Can’t Buy Happiness (MCBH),' which he shares on his album to remind listeners to live happily while chasing success. Money might not be everything, but he understands the freedom and power it affords, such as being able to splurge on clearing the 2-Pac ‘Do For Love,’ sample on ‘Oba’ where he deploys Fuji-tinged melodic rap flows to flaunt his wealth, thumps his chest, and tells his pocket watchers to get their money up.

Asake is rich, and he needs no assistance to introspect, express gratitude, make supplications, and plead for forgiveness. But when he does choose to call on a collaborator, it’s to advance his agenda and uplift his art. Like DJ Snake, Tiakola brings a global audience who Asake pulls closer with a swingy record where he declares his Naija Boy identity and restate his individuality. When Asake combines with South Africa’s Kabza De Small, it’s to create a lush and self-adulating Amapiano record co-signed by perhaps the genre’s most important innovator.

Asake is rich, and perhaps this is what accounts for the album’s most notable flaw. The 26-second-long orchestra opener delivered in Swahili struggles to serve any purpose beyond perhaps a self-serving desire to showcase artistic depth. This writer wonders why he cannot find some inspiration in the rich diversity of Nigerian indigenous music, especially when the creators from the market he borrows from never return the favour. This writer thinks this is something Nigerian artists need to ponder.

Asake choose to be parsimonious with his words and overtly relaxed with his delivery to convey the thoughts and class of a man in money. However, this stunts the experiences that a more vibrant display could have delivered on songs like ‘Badman Gangster,’ ‘Asambe,’ and closer ‘Skilful’ as he refuses to shapeshift and attack the beat in the typical manner he would have. Even the length of ‘Rora’ and ‘Why Love,’ where he barely sings and lets Magicsticks’ production do all the work, conveys a mindset where he’s convinced that less signals wealth and status.

Asake is rich, and ‘M$NEY’ is his performance of wealth and a toast to the good life marked by sublime melodies and fantastically produced records, even if he spends a bulk of the album proving he doesn’t have to try. This album encapsulates and celebrates his journey, the likes of which have never been seen before in Nigerian music, and ushers in the next era for a superstar who can afford to take a breather and make easy music that caters to his status.

Ratings: /10

• 0-1.9: Flop

• 2.0-3.9: Near fall

• 4.0-5.9: Average

• 6.0-7.9: Victory

• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10

Album Sequencing: 1.4/2

Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.3/2

Production: 1.7/2

Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.3/2

Execution: 1.3/2

TOTAL - 7.0