If the boisterous screams bouncing around the cavernous bowl of the 10,000-capacity Goldrush Dome in Johannesburg were any indication, the sea of fans anticipating Asake’s appearance on the stage knew they were in for a good time. In the weeks leading up to that momentous night in South Africa, Asake’s Africa tour had seen him perform in Kenya, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana; each performance spawning viral clips showcasing the 30-year-old’s live performance deftness. Even before then, clips from his historic Red Bull Symphonic show in Brooklyn—where, donning a beige suit and a flamboyant red tie, he thrilled fans with orchestral renditions of his biggest hits—had set the internet abuzz with adulatory missives and advanced his case as one of the most exciting live performers on the continent.
The lights dimmed, leaving the sea of white dots from smartphone flashlights as the primary light source in the dome. The lead guitarist revved the crowd up with a rousing guitar riff. Excited screams spilled out from every corner. Boisterous drums rolled, and his band—complete with guitarists, keyboardists, drummers, and a string quartet—began playing an entrancing Afrobeat prelude evoking Fela’s music. Just when the crowd started to settle into the languid Afrobeat grooves, the band smoothly changed tack. The stage lights, which had been emitting subtle shades of amber, changed to a gentle green; presumably a metaphor for Asake’s current “M$ney” era. Asake’s band began playing the instrumental of his 2025 hit Why Love, sending jolts of excitement through the crowd. As pyrotechnic flames flared and the screams from the audience took on increased intensity, Asake bounded up the stage wearing a beige collarless suit and brown Timberlands. Clutching a standing microphone, under the greenish haze of a spotlight, he delivered the first few notes that officially started the show.
Since Asake’s show at the Goldrush Dome, which brought his Africa tour to a close on a high note, Asake seems to have maintained a stranglehold on public discourse, with clips from his many performances driving spirited conversations. Amid all of this, questions around what his next era might look like have begun to take on increased urgency. Last year marked a departure from his usual prolific nature. In 2022, his breakout year, he released two successful projects: the EP Omo Ope and his debut album MMWTV. The following year, as concerns about his ability to surpass his wildly successful debut album reached a fever pitch, he followed up with his brilliant sophomore album Work of Art. With 2024’s Lungu Boy, his third album and fourth project in two years, he expanded his creative berth, tapping an assortment of newer sounds as he sought to reintroduce himself to the public.
By contrast, in 2025, his solo releases amounted to two singles: Why Love and Badman Gangster; both of which were met with rapturous reception. Still, this paucity of releases felt incongruous with his established predilection for profligate releases. Nonetheless, he maintained his characteristic grip on the pulse of the culture through careful calibrated features, electric live performances and clever PR stunts, proving an artist of his stature can remain atop public conversation without releasing a project.
Still, he spent the bulk of last year teasing an album—M$NEY—which has yet to materialize. The paucity of his releases, taken together with the spate of magisterial live shows he put up last year, have only heightened anticipation for whatever he has coming. In December last year, just when we had put the idea of an Asake project in 2025 to rest, Asake announced a joint project with Wizkid—Real—set to release in December. That also failed to materialize.
As it stands, anticipation for whatever Asake has coming next has perhaps never been higher. A slew of mesmerizing singles, or perhaps the collaborative EP with Wizkid, will considerably sate the appetite of his audience. However, gauging public temperature, one senses that that anticipation for his imminent album M$NEY has reached a fever pitch.
At his Lagos show, held at the Eko Convention Center in partnership with Flytime Fest, when he performed Worship, an unreleased track with DJ Snake, purportedly from his imminent album, the audience broke out in a medley of celebratory howls. A similar effect was at play at his Red Bull Symphonic show, as well as the many stops in his Africa tour. With the spotlight directly on him, Asake sits in an enviable position for any artist: he has a keen audience awaiting his next move. The other attendant implication of this however is that his next offering will be met with more scrutiny than usual. 2026, in many ways, represents a canon year for Asake and his gambits this year will significantly shape how we come to view the rest of his career.
