Asake has released his fourth studio album, M$NEY, and it lands like a continuation rather than a reset. The 13‑track project, out via Giran Republic and EMPIRE, opens with choirs and live instrumentation, then slides back into the drum‑heavy, Fuji‑leaning sound he’s known for, making it feel like a natural step on from Mr. Money With The Vibe and Work of Art rather than a hard left turn.
On the surface, M$NEY is about what the title suggests — wanting more, counting wins, keeping score — but a lot of the record sits in that space between prayer and flex. Reviews have already described it as “àdúrà pop,” pointing to songs like “Rora,” “Amen,” “Gratitude” and “Forgiveness,” where church language, call‑and‑response hooks and log drums all sit in the same place, a dynamic unpacked in an early track‑by‑track breakdown here. Asake has framed the album as reflecting where his head is spiritually and creatively, which makes sense for an artist who’s always blurred the line between street anthem and praise song.
There are still obvious reach‑for‑the‑floor moments. “Why Love,” “Badman Gangsta” with Tiakola and “Worship” with DJ Snake stretch his formula into different directions: French trap pockets, big‑room dance builds, amapiano‑adjacent grooves and orchestral flourishes that nod back to his recent symphonic show. Features from Kabza De Small, Tiakola and DJ Snake make it clear he’s thinking past Lagos, even when the writing stays rooted in Yoruba and the backing vocals still feel like they were recorded in a cramped studio with friends.
What keeps M$NEY from feeling like a brand exercise is how familiar the core elements are: stacked vocals that sound like a small choir, busy percussion that somehow never tips into chaos, and hooks that read like things you’d hear shouted at a street corner bar or football viewing centre. One review calls the album “great” and jokes that when it works, “the credit alert and the blessing are the same notification” — a neat way of saying Asake has leaned even further into the mix of money talk, gratitude and everyday Yoruba spirituality that made him stand out in the first place, a through‑line Afrobeats Magazine traces across the record here.