For his fifth studio album Tequila Ever After, singer Adekunle Gold arrived at a formula for recording sessions: “It is about where I am mentally,” he tells Apple Music. “What is my soul saying? What is my life at that point? What am I feeling? What vibe am I on? What sounds am I enjoying?” The title is a reference to Gold’s new-found love for tequila, the Mexican staple which he discovered during trips to Los Angeles, where the majority of this album was recorded. “I was a rum guy, I was a whiskey guy before but, nah, tequila’s taken over,” he explains. “That’s why I call myself ‘Tio Tequila.’” The pleasures of drinking aside, for the Nigerian singer tequila become an elixir, which he uses to ease himself into moments of creative contemplation. “It starts with a conversation,” says Gold. “You book a 12-hour session, and then you talk for five or six hours. Then we start making beats. And then once I hear the sound I like, I get into spirit, my melodies.” On Tequila Ever After, Gold’s new affair with tequila and therapy-inspired sessions are coupled with stellar collaborations with producers and artists who draw from Malian guitar blues, South African soul, Jamaican dancehall, and American pop and hip-hop. He jokingly describes the combination as “Afrobeat Pro Max,” a bigger and better version of his previous albums. “I hope people enjoy life more. I know it’s crazy to say that in a world where people are dealing with a lot of things,” says Gold, “but I’ve learned that it’s not the event, it’s how you react to it. And I’ve chosen to react to life as ‘Tequila Ever After’ and I hope that you do as well.” Here, he breaks down key tracks from the album. “Chasing Peace of Mind” (with Habib Koité & Ami Faku) “The only thing that matters to me is just keeping the peace of my mind and making sure anything that’s not worth it shouldn’t bother me at all. Sometimes what you need to do is just take one shot of tequila and then you’ll be fine. Just calm down, relax. And that’s it. I reached out to Ami Faku from South Africa because, no matter the tempo of any song, she puts soul in it—she has a beautiful soul. And I went out to Mali to find my childhood hero Habib Koité—the one person that I listened to a lot growing up. If I’m not mistaken, I think he discovered tequila in LA as well. So it made the story better. I’m like, yeah, this is destiny. I wanted his guitar. Malian music is incredible; beautiful. The way the world plays guitar is different from how they play it. And Habib’s voice is crazy.” “Party No Dey Stop” (with Zinoleesky) “The song was already elevated, but Zino took it all the way up. When I wrote this, I was in LA with my friends and I was feeling celebratory. I was thinking about my accomplishments, and I just felt like I needed to talk about how I’m not moved by what I see. I know who I am now. I just want my peace. Again, it comes back to peace and to have my own money. I’ll have everything else that I need in my own time.” “Ogaranya” “‘Ogaranya’ in Igbo means wealthy person. Big man, big name. It’s an update—I wanted a song that described where I am right now. Making money feels so good. I bought a house for my mom. I bought a car for my baby. I’m happy that I’m able to do these things. Thank God for running things smoothly. Thank God for money flowing in the accounts. Let me talk my shit.” “Wrong Person” (with ODUMODUBLVCK) “When I was writing this song, I think I was talking about people who play with me because my face is gentle. People talk shit about me sometimes. And I see some things on social media that come to me. ‘Know your level, bro’ is what I’m saying on this song.” “Sisi Ganja” “I don’t necessarily have to finish a song in one sitting, which was the case with this song. I don’t rush it. I learned from my very good friend, singer Jacob Banks. He said he is never the artist that goes to the studio to record. He is comfortable just recording anywhere, but he likes going to the studio just for the idea of hoping. ‘You know what, I’m coming to this studio today to hope for maybe this one song. Maybe this one session that can just change everything.’” “Make It Easy” (with Coco Jones) “Coco Jones is amazing—she sings beautifully. This was the last song to be submitted on the album. She came through just after I asked that, and then she sent the verse and I’m like, ‘My God, this is nuts.’ And you can hear that she did justice to the song. Beautiful!” “Not My Problem” “I feel like this is the perfect summer song. It’s a song where you realize that you’ve done everything you can do for this relationship, and then, omo, you just let it go, man. ‘Not my problem, man. Do I blame you? It’s my fault. If I didn’t put this much effort into it, you wouldn’t be doing this to me, so it’s my fault.’ I feel like everybody can relate to that.” “Look What You Made Me Do” (with DJ Simi) “I think Simi [singer-songwriter and Gold’s wife] and I make music based on our relationship. I said to her, ‘I want a perfect duet. If it means writing 10 songs, let’s do it.’ We wrote five; this was the fifth one. We work well together, so it’s the easiest thing to do. There’s no pressure for us. We will do what we do and that’s it.” “Omo Eko” “My full name is Adekunle Kosoko. So first of all, I’m a prince of Lagos. I’m proud of being a Lagos boy who is just doing things gently and smoothly. I’m saying, ‘Party never start till I enter the place.’ It’s swag. When I come, I announce my presence, and that’s what I’m saying in this song.” “Come Back to Me” (with Khalid) “I listen to a lot of musicians, and I just know who can take this up, who can activate, who will blend with me very well. Then it will just be beautiful music all around. For other people it's different things, it’s optics and all. For me, it’s just, ‘Let’s serve the music.’ And I just knew I wanted Khalid.” “Falling Up” (with Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers) “These two legends I manifested on this album. The song is about struggles [and] many things I’ve seen in life, but even if I lose, I’ll always fall up. Pharrell called me a ‘unicorn’ and said I ‘cut the best melodies.’ It was fulfilling, man. It was a great feeling. Then seeing Nile Rodgers listening to my music that day—it was beautiful. The chorus on the song was all Pharrell. He’s been very supportive all the way. I’ve been calling this my World Cup song, my Olympic song, my Champions League song. This song is a song that’s going to change my life.” “To My Own” “I’ve always loved Labrinth [who co-wrote ‘To My Own’]. I think he is a great writer, an amazing producer, and an all-round artist. If I like an artist and I want us to work, I don’t even wait for the team to do their thing. I just send DMs myself. We got in the studio, it was supposed to be like a five-hour session. We spoke for the most part, like four hours. The first question he asked me was, ‘What’s your soul saying?’ And then we talked about a center. What’s my center? I talked about how my family is my center. And that’s the same for him as well.”