It's not much of a secret that Bright Okpocha, popularly known as Basketmouth, dumped music in the 1990s because no one was vibing to him, but he's returned to his first love and is set to release his third studio album, Uburu, on October 20, 2023.
The comedian and producer discussed the history of his on-and-off relationship with music during an album listening party in Lagos on Sunday, September 10, a month before Uburu drops.
The 44-year-old noted that he started with music nobody wanted to listen to, which made it easy for him to follow the path that has led to a successful comedy career.
"I was mixing Hip Hop and Afrobeats, but it was too noisy back in 1995. So I went and embraced comedy and at the end of the day I found myself here. It's like a full circle," he said.
Basketmouth released his first studio album, Yabasi, to critical acclaim in 2020, and followed it up with Horoscopes in 2022, alongside his partner, Duktor Sett, who also produced the new album.
The entertainer noted that Uburu is radically different from the first two albums because he's moving in a new direction.
He said, "When I did the first two albums, I told Ducktor Sett I wanted us to be free. We made Yabasi for ourselves because that's what we were vibing to that time. It was a dream come true for me. Horoscopes was also more experimental.
"Uburu is the first album we're making just for the people, for vibes and inshallah."
Uburu, an Igbo word for brain, is split into two parts of seven songs each, and the second chapter is set for a February 2024 release.
"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 tracklist for the first chapter includes Goalkeeper, Party, Jolie Jollof, Koko, Cover Me, Link Up, and Chasing Dreams.
Stars featured on the project are Bayanni, Boj, Duncan Mighty, Falz, Laycon, Lojay, Timi Dakolo, Torrian Bell, Paladin, Peruzzi, Qing Madi, Reminisce, Shatta Wale, and Victony.