Out of this WurlD: The Nigerian singer-songwriter is redefining the boundaries between genres

By Anisa Olufemi M. 

WurlD, born Sadiq Onifade, a singer-songwriter of Nigerian heritage, began his career many years ago writing songs for artists such as BOB, Trinidad James, Akon, Mario, and many more. Since the 2017 release of “Show You Off”, he has been catapulted to mainstream attention and his unique style and eclectic sound have garnered him a dedicated and loyal fanbase. WurlD’s versatility as an artist is evident in his many of his singles as he seamlessly combines elements of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat, and contemporary Nigerian Fuji, drawing from the likes of Sir Shina Peters’ music to create a unique genre that he has coined as Fuji Pop. However, that is not the extent of his versatility. In November of this year, he dropped his joint project, I Love Girls With Trobul, with afrobeats super-producer SARZ. This collaboration has been in the works for some time, and its release became highly anticipated globally by their shared audience. In the first week of its release, the EP went #1 on iTunes Nigeria.

As the project’s title suggests, “I Love Girls With Trobul” is definitely one for the ladies. Each of its eight tracks consists of a lush, laid back production style with romancing rhythms that draw inspiration from alte, afrobeats, modern to contemporary R&B, dancehall, and soul. All while referencing traditional African instrumentation from local tribes like the Fulani. All about love and lust, ILGWT tells the story of the good, the bad, and the ugly of any infatuation-driven, unorthodox millennial relationship. Taking its listeners through the emotional ups and downs of truly falling for someone, facefirst. While WurlD’s style of lyricism is minimalistic in word count, each line is intensely deliberate — building out a new-age cinematic journey with themes of danger, destiny, and heartbreak.

WurlD and SARZ feed into each other’s creativity from start to finish of every song, putting their egos aside for the common goal of creating something special, far beyond the norms of contemporary afrobeats. With innovative music production and unapologetically
millennial-typical stories that keep everyone tuned in and on the edge of their seats, this project is exactly what’s missing in today’s West African and diasporic music scene.
Speaking to the intention behind this collaborative project, WurlD says, “We want to show people around the globe that there’s a wider range to the art and music coming out of the continent of Africa — that this is our time.”

Standout tracks from the project:
“Prisona” – WurlD is in the sunken place of love, or perhaps lust. Singing, “I’m a prisoner in your world, a slave to passion, you are my fall” he expresses that his longing for this potential lover is all-consuming. She has an intense allure, and he finds that the world he once lived in — filled with other women and very few genuine connections, is now at a far distance. Instead, WurlD has been drawn into hers, and as a captive, he’s willing to do whatever she wishes just to be kept close by. However, even as her prisoner, he does have one selfish request: “you gotta him outta my way, so you can lock me away.”

“Trobul” – This track delves into dealing with someone you know you have absolutely no business messing around with. That gut feeling when you meet someone new and exciting just to catch yourself in the realization — “this person is going to be nothing but trouble.” This song taps into the undeniably necessary element of risk-taking in the ring of romance. While many of us run from the idea of looking foolish in love, here WurlD runs faithfully toward it, completely convinced he has found “the one.”

“Ego” – Unfortunately, ego gets the best of the two lovers. Neither of them are willing to put their pride aside and let their emotions take the wheel. In this game of hot and cold, nobody wins without making the first move toward a resolution. Their love is steadily at risk of fading away into just another memory shrouded by would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.

Check out our #OutofThisWurlD playlist curated from WurlD himself, which features both his works and songs that have served as an inspiration to him!