In the wake of YKB’s highly confessional 2021 debut, Before I Blow, the singer born Yusuf Oluwo started to realise that there was much he still needed to learn about mastering his craft. “All the time I’ve been making music, I just wanted to get a message across,” YKB tells Apple Music. “But I realised that if I am more knowledgeable in music [as a medium] it made that purpose easier.” That quest for self-development has led the singer down a path of enlightenment against a backdrop of familial and personal drama that has provided ample inspiration for his new project, YUSFUL MUSIC.
Where Before I Blow was marked by a hovering desire to make a name for himself, YUSFUL MUSIC is strongly defined by a grown-up’s acceptance of life’s quirks and contortions. Whether reflecting on pressure from loved ones, attempting to woo a love interest, or recounting his journey with music, the vibe is sweet and the groove is unending as YKB smoothly glides between sounds and styles.
“YUSFUL MUSIC is life through my lens,” YKB says. “What I stand to gain with music is connecting to people and making sure that I’m able to create something that they can find themselves inside.” The intersection of the singer’s songwriting depth and an intuitive appreciation of melody gives the songs a lived-in feel.
On 2024’s deluxe edition, YUSFUL MUSIC (RELOADED), the singer-songwriter adds three extra tracks, including the balmy Pheelz collab, “shaye”. Read on as YKB runs us through key tracks from the album. “pressure” “‘pressure’ is about family drama and that situation really happened. [My sister] called my mom and asked her to invite me to her house then called my mother’s phone to talk to me and ask me, ‘This music…what’s going on? You need to do something else with your life.’ That really got to me. I was in a confused state. But making this song was sort of a release.
That confusion just left my mind because I felt like, ‘Look at this mad song I made. You can’t tell me I should stop making music.’” “bo card (things i need)” “I think ‘bo card’ is the song that I sang [on] the most. I just wanted something that sounded very sensual and very deep. It really just showed my vocal capabilities because I’m coming from a situation where somebody’s like, ‘Yo, you need to stop music.’ And I’m like, ‘No. Fuck it. I’m going to sing my ass off on this record.’ This one was produced by Spax.” “san siro” “I wrote ‘san siro’ to impress a girl, period. She likes when you make clever lyrics, wordplay and all. So I was like, ‘Let me make this kind of song for her,’ and she was impressed. So we thank the Lord.” “komplete riddim” “‘komplete riddim’ was actually funny, because this is the song where I had the most fun. It was me and [the producer] Steph that made the song. We were just vibing out that night.
Somebody sent the guitar that was on the song and I wrote a part, ‘Complete me baby/But then you want another man.’ So it was just a fun session. It was later that I realised that I needed a song where it’s just me having fun on this project and I added that.” “traffic” “I made this one in my room, it was just me feeling myself. I made ‘traffic’ around the same period I made ‘pressure’. In my head, ‘traffic’ is a spillover of the energy of ‘pressure’. So it’s like, ‘Man, leave me alone. Let me just be in my world, making my thing.’ And I said, ‘I’m on my way/I’m just caught up in the traffic.’ I’m on my way to where you are hoping I’m going to be. Traffic is a connotation for all the obstacles in the music industry. Because to the family, it just seems like, when you record a great song, you start making money and sending money home. It doesn’t work that way. That’s what ‘traffic’ means: Don’t worry about me. I’ll get there.”
Get it here : https://album.link/i/1727462916
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