On Christmas Day, I was home with my son Babajide at our hometown in Ijebu-Jesha together listening to the newly remixed version of the hit song ‘Peru’ featuring the Nigerian singing sensation Fireboy DML—his real name is Adedamola Adefolahan—collaborating with a musical giant Ed Sheeran, the British superstar whose album ‘Divide’ was the best album worldwide in 2017. Ed Sheeran is currently nestled on top of the UK chart along with Elton John with whom he collaborates. And ‘Peru’ is No.1 in London on Apple Music most played “Top 25 City Charts.” It’s No.5 in Birmingham, No.11 in Manchester, No.16 in Glasgow and No. 20 in Liverpool.
You can imagine how proud I was shortly after the release of the newer version, watching our Fireboy set the social media and the whole world on fire with his irresistible jewel of a song with the refrain: “Peru, para, peru peru para.” Meaningless words. But melodious. A rich, captivating Afrobeat music which magnetizes and galvanizes every listening musical ear to hit the dance floor in a disco pandemic. Even though he sings in a mixture of English, pidgin and Yoruba, Fireboy still succeeds in hypnotizing the world with his musical travelogue: “I’m in San Francisco jamming…I just flew in from Miami.”
I was even prouder to think that Ed Sheeran found the song so appealing that he instantly agreed to do a ‘collabo’ with Fireboy. After doing the remix and adding his voice to ‘Peru’, Sheeran proudly told Elton John: “I recorded a verse for it…It’s a song that’s blowing up in Nigeria and Ghana at the moment and their club scene runs over Christmas. So you basically put a song to the club in the middle of December, which would seem a weird thing to do in England.”
Fireboy DML is equally on Cloud 9. “It’s a big thing for me,” he says. “It has been a dream knowing Ed Sheeran is a fan of my sound and having him jump on a song that was inspired by me travelling the world. Not only is this an exciting moment for me, but also for Afrobeat. I hope this is the first of many of such collaboration with Ed and other artists around the globe, and I can’t wait for everyone to enjoy this song during the holidays.”
Explaining how he came about composing the song ‘Peru,’ Fireboy DML recalls: “I really was in San Francisco. I was supposed to have a meeting with my partners. I was also to link up with Shizzi at the studio for just a brief meeting. I just came back from Miami to New York to San Francisco. And at San Francisco, I was in the studio jamming. I was tipsy, I was in a good mood and for thirty-five to forty minutes, the song came. That was it.”
After giving birth to the ‘Peru’ Fireboy instantly sent it to his boss and mentor Olamide alias Badoo who called him the next day to say: ‘That song I heard is good. You have to release it.’”
And the rest is history. From the little I have read, I enjoyed the story of this young man who read English at Obafemi Awolowo University and was destined to become a professor of literature and a literary scholar but chose to follow his passion which is music, all to the chagrin of his parents who initially were so disappointed.
“My parents didn’t take it too well,” he told one interviewer. “It was easy to get my mum’s support but not my dad. He told me: ‘I am disappointed in you.’ There was a time my dad came to my school and it was so embarrassing. He just felt I had lost focus. He didn’t know it was music distracting me. At some point, he realized this is a grownup man who has to make his own decisions. But later, he realized I have something going for me. He realized I have discovered my purpose. So he started enjoying my music.”
Now that he is a big star with hits like Jealous, Vibrations, Scatter, Champion, Peru and many others, Fireboy says: “My concern is to sustain this, to make better songs, not to fail. Fame is just like money. It is like sex. Those three things can get to you. They can destroy you mentally. They can affect your thoughts. They can manipulate you into doing things. Then you feel on top of the world and you just make mistakes. And when you are famous and you make mistakes, you are making everyone to see. It’s different from when you are just a normal person and you can quickly correct them.
“There are some mistakes that are very costly and I do not want to make any costly mistakes. So I am always careful. Fame is very dangerous, very crazy. Sometimes you feel so powerful. Sometimes you feel like a god.
“I have proved that I am not a one-hit wonder. But I also have to prove that I am not a one-hit album wonder. And you have to keep proving and proving and proving. I am a very big critic of my works. I am more of a critic than a fan, to be honest. I ride on Olamide’s confidence a lot. Whenever he tells you it’s good, then it’s good.”
The Fireboy says he is haunted by the fear of failure. “When those thoughts come, sometimes, it might be in the middle of work. I just drop the phone and the mic, sit down on the bed and ask God some very serious questions. I cry, pray, get up and get back to work. Like every human being, I have my down moments too.”
Making an album, he says, “is a long mental process. You need one or two songs to make it a strong, cohesive work.” So far, one album he looks back with pride and sees as a career highlight is Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps (LTG). “That album changed everything. I am so grateful for that.” His goal is “to become a household name and to become one of those who put Afrobeat on a world pedestal. Right now, it is not really global. It is classified under World Music. I want Afrobeat to be a strong, independent worldwide genre. Hard work is the key. Hard work driven by passion. It’s your music that will speak for you. Let them hear you music and they will reach out to you.”
Definitely, it was Fireboy’s music that spoke for him, opening the door for Ed Sheeran to agree to do a collabo with this Nigerian rising star. Today, the 25-year-old Nigerian star is standing on the shoulder of a giant to extend the reach of his music and fan base. As Isaac Newton, the most famous British scientist once said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulder of giants.”
Happy New Year to all my fans! I pray that this year 2022 would be a year of blessings for you. Like Fireboy DML, may you stand tall on the shoulder of giants!
