Nigerian comedian and producer, Bright Okpocha, popularly known as Basketmouth, is set to release another studio album, Uburu, and one of his featured stars worked for free.
The 44-year-old announced at an album listening party in Lagos on September 10, 2023 that Ghanaian superstar, Shatta Wale, didn't charge for his feature on Goalkeeper, the first song on the album.
He told the party, "After Shatta Wale sent me the song, he said, 'Yo, we've been friends for years and I've not done anything for you before. This song, I'm giving it to you 100%.' He took nothing. He's a cool guy."
Uburu, an Igbo word for brain, is Basketmouth's third studio album, following the release of Yabasi in 2020, and Horoscopes in 2022. Both albums were produced by Duktor Sett, whose fingerprints are also all over the new one.
The album is split into two parts of seven songs each, and the first chapter will be available for streaming on October 20.
"You know the brain is split into two when you look at it from the front. It inspired the idea of splitting the album into two parts," Basketmouth told Pulse Nigeria.
The second chapter of Uburu is set for a February 2024 release.
What other songs are on Uburu?
The second song on Uburu's official tracklist, and touted as the album's lead single, is Party, featuring Peruzzi.
"Party is just vibes. We had this beat for about two years looking for who to give us the right melody to make it work because the beat is a monster. It's one of the best beats I've heard," Basketmouth said.
The entertainer also hyped Jolie Jollof as one of the monster hits to thrill fans. He said he got Lojay on the track after chasing him for a long time, and the Monalisa star worked 'like an animal' to deliver.
"Lojay gave us about six different vibes for one song. He did all six in one take each and they were all hits. We all agreed Jolie was the one," he said.
Basketmouth tried to land Tiwa Savage for Uburu's Cover Me track, but she was on tour and unavailable, and he encountered the same problem when he started eyeing Ayra Starr for the spot. He later landed on Qing Madi to drop vocals on the track two years after Victony first delivered on his.
Koko, Chasing Dreams, and Link Up by Boj and Duncan Mighty are the three other songs on the album.
"Link Up was supposed to be on Horoscopes but I pulled it out because it's special to me," Basketmouth said.
Other artists who contributed to the album are Bayanni, Falz, Laycon, Timi Dakolo, Torrian Bell, Paladin, and Reminisce.