One of Africa’s most popular and successful DJs, DJ SPINALL is a Disk Jockey, producer, and songwriter well known for his extensive catalogue of hit singles, his mastery of the turntables, and for being the first Nigerian DJ to tour Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He emerged in the mid-2010s with a sleek mix of Afrobeats and Afropop laced with Trap and EDM. He has performed at festivals like Ends Festival, OneAfrica, Afronation, the renowned Glastonbury Festival, opening shows for Bruno Mars in Australia and headlining shows in London. He has worked with artists like Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido, Wande Coal, 6lack, Sean Paul, Bastille, Tiwa Savage, Kranium, Omah Lay, Fire Boy DML, Adekunle Gold and many more.
He has cemented his knack for identifying top talents and bringing them together in unusual but synergetic collaborations. His sixth studio album “Top Boy” is crammed with sensational artists like Azanti, Zaiam, Minz, Niniola, Adekunle Gold, BNXN, Stefflon Don, Reekado Banks, Phyno, Ntosh Gazi, Tay Iwar, Tamera, TSB, Asake, Amaarae, Blxckie, Ladipoe, Jess of VanJess, Kemuel, Olamide, Fireboy, 6LACK, Summer Walker, DJ Snake, Ayanna, and Nasty C.
In a chat with Apple Music’s Dadaboy Ehiz, the DJ explained the title of his album and what it means to be a top boy. A “Top Boy,” according to Spinall, is a person who has surmounted obstacles and difficulties by making use of their resources to move from point A to point B.
” A top boy is anyone who has beaten the odds and used the resources made available to them to get from point A to point B. That’s who I am, and I feel like all the people that I have on the project as well. They’re genuinely passionate about music and they just give the best with the little resources they have.”
Top Boy contains a total of 14 tracks; Cruise, Everyday, Give Me Love, Cloud 9, Oshey, Top Mama, Honest, Palazzo, Bow Down, Outside, Just To Be, Bunda(Remix), Power, and Power remix. Speaking on his decision to make this album, he said;
“This album is different to a lot of the albums I’ve put out in the past. This album really resonated with me on so many terms – from producing most of the tracks to co-writing, to flying here and there to find somebody – it was really really that album that asked me do you really want to do this or not?”
The album is a mesh of varying genres, the instrumentals swim exquisitely through guitar-heavy Afropop melodies to soulful R&B guitars and saxophones to even extremely groovy and jazzy beats. By incorporating a variety of international influences and experiences as an itinerant Dj, Spinall brings together highly regarded artists from many genres from around the world to push the boundaries of African genres. This leads to avant-garde sounds for the new school. Listen to Top Boy here
