Fireboy DML

Fireboy DML’s “Peru” was everywhere in 2021, and the Ed Sheeran remix was unavoidable through 2022. The Nigerian superstar told Apple Music he was proud of the global smash: “Years later, they will say Afrobeats opened up … internationally, and ‘Peru’ by Fireboy is one of those records that made it happen.” Addicting as the track is, it only hints at Fireboy’s melodic powers. Born Adedamola Oyinlola Adefolahan in Abeokuta in 1996, the singer-songwriter started making music after moving to Lagos. The hits “Jealous” and “Scatter” from his 2019 debut, Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps, were early proof of his gift for crafting euphoric pop heaters. The highlife influence on his sound is a big part of Fireboy’s winning formula. African rhythms, chiming guitar, and flares of brass link his music to Afropop’s roots and set him apart from his peers in the talented second generation of Afrobeats. That—and his lilting, R&B-influenced vocals, matched with a willingness to reveal his shy, sensitive nature in song.