Adekunle Gold honours Nigerian roots with ‘Fuji’ album

Adekunle Gold has returned to his Nigerian roots with the release of his sixth album, Fuji, a project he describes as a heartfelt tribute to the ancestral sounds of his homeland.

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“That sound is the soundtrack of Lagos. It’s everywhere.
That sound gave birth to Afrobeats and all the things that we hear right now,” Gold told AFP during an interview in Paris.

Fuji music, which evolved from Yoruba Muslim culture in the 1960s, is known for its fast percussion, energetic rhythms and socially conscious lyrics.

The genre was pioneered by the late Ayinde Barrister, who named it after Japan’s Mount Fuji.

A descendant of the Kosoko royal family, Gold draws deeply on his Yoruba heritage.
He explained: “It is one of the oldest sounds of Nigeria.”

By blending traditional elements with modern R&B melodies, he has created a body of work that connects past and present for an international audience.

“You listen to it, and it makes your body move. It’s magical,” Gold said, highlighting the emotional pull of traditional Nigerian sounds such as Fuji and Highlife.

Gold, also known as AG Baby, has steadily grown into one of Nigeria’s most recognisable Afropop stars since breaking out in 2014.

Signed to American label Def Jam Recordings, he has collaborated with music legends Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams.

His recent hit Party No Dey Stop, a duet with Zinoleesky, has amassed over 29 million views on YouTube and became his first major breakthrough in the United States.

The new album delves into deeply personal themes. “I talk about my grief when I lost my father. I talk about my love life, my daughter, about being a family man,” he explained.

Though now based in the US, he says his “heart is in Lagos,” adding: “I’m spreading the culture, talking about my heritage, talking about tradition.”

Beyond music, Gold remains committed to advocacy. Having lived with sickle cell disease all his life, he recently launched a foundation to fund treatment and support Nigerian charities.

Despite challenges at home, where nearly 60 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, Gold remains hopeful.
“There have been steps in the right direction. It is not enough for the government to do everything. We must do what we can as citizens,” he said.