Adekunle Gold - Tequila Ever After (2023) [Hi-Res]

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.