Street music star, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, 27, understandably has a huge fan base which is arguably the biggest in Nigeria. Shortly after he broke out into the mainstream, with the Olamide-assisted single, “Issa Goal”, also featuring Lil Kesh, the singer has enjoyed a cult following.
He is well known for his street music and ability to sing in English, Pidgin, and Yoruba.
He has released several hit tracks including ‘Soapy’, ‘Mafo’ and ‘Tesumole’. Some argue that Marley is the worst thing to happen to pop culture owing to his lewd lyrics and controversial takes, his fan base dubbed “Marlians” strangely traverses generations. To celebrate his fans, Naira Marley released his debut album titled “God’s Timing’s The Best” (GTTB).
The Long Play which dropped in the wee hours of Monday (May 30, 22) is a 14-track album that features a handful of collaborations from fellow Marlian Records label mate Zinoleesky and Mohbad, amongst a stacked roster of guest-artistes from the Western and South African regions such as Mayorkun, Jada Kingdom, Lil kesh, MHD, Busiswa, Chivv & Diquenza and more.
Some of the songs in the album are already very popular and strike a chord with fans. Tracks in the body of work include ‘Jo Dada’, ‘Happy’, ‘Ayewada’, ‘O Dun’, ‘No Panties’, ‘Montego Bay’, ‘Melanin’, and ‘Drink Alcohol like it’s Water’. Others are ‘Excuse Moi’, ‘Owo’, ‘First Time in America’, ‘Coming’, ‘Kojosese’ and ‘Modinut Kai’.
The 42-minute long play was co-produced by Niphkeys, Rexxie, Tripsss, Diquenza, AYK, and LeoBeatz. Already, the album has started enjoying massive reception among music lovers. Less than twelve hours after its release, the project led Apple Music’s album chart in Nigeria. Naira Marley has two Extended Plays, ‘Lord of Lamba’ and ‘Gotta Dance’.
This new project serves as a follow up to his first mini project – ‘Lord of Lamba’. Naira Marley began singing in 2014 after discovering his passion for music and was encouraged by close-knit friends to pursue his career. The singer came through with the Max Twigz-assisted track ‘Marry Juana’ prior to his debut EP ‘Gotta Dance’ in 2015.
Naira Marley, whose artist name was inspired by Nigeria’s official currency (naira) and reggae legend Bob Marley, burst onto the scene in 2014 with the cheekily titled “Marry Juana.” His 2017 hit single “Issa Goal” spawned a viral dance craze and became the unofficial theme song of Nigeria’s national soccer team during the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
Although 2019’s controversial “Am I A Yahoo Boy” attracted the ire of the Nigerian government, the track raised him on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart for the first time before landing him in alleged crime list. His brief stint with EFCC on charges of suspected internet fraud, spurned one of the most dynamic runs in Afropop history which culminated in the release of a slew of high-flying singles such as “Soapy”, “Mafo”, and “Tesumole” and the release of his debut EP ‘LOL (Lord of Lamba).’
