The sirens from Faze’s 2004 countrywide banger, Kolomental, open the third track off Skales’ just-released seventh studio album dubbed, Martina’s Son. Over giddy log-drums, Skales unfurls punchy melodic rap bars as he toasts to the superstar life in the hip hop/pop-fusion anthem. Across the 16-track record, he returns with energetic global fusions, nostalgic re-fixes and a personal tribute to his late mother’s legacy.
“The sacrifice I made for him, I gave my life. People that know remember that I have given my life to him, and that is why God was behind us and he saw us through. He gave me a perfect child,” Skales’ late mother’s recording opens the album in the Tome and Bolu Ajibade trio, Until We Meet Again. It sets the tone for the mood-lifting sound-piece that brims with a close glimpse into his experiences with grief, perseverance, grit, heartbreak, self growth and other chapters along his years-long comeback to Afrobeats spotlight.
Melding a global line-up of heavyweights including South African act S.N.E (Busy); Kenyan Bard Joshua Baraka (Body on Me); CONGOLESE MAESTRO INNOSS’B (Game); and Nigerian acts Nasboi (Looseguard), Fave (Glory); Do it, magnito (Alcohol Na Your Mate?); King Vinci and Abria Overte (Actually), the album showcases Skales’ renewed vigour and catchy lyricism, among other laurels, that have defined his artistry since his 2015 takeoff. It also features strategic Latino-leaning fusions, Shake Body (with Oscar el Ruso, Samuel G, and Came Beats)’, which reimagines his 2015 smash hit Shake Body, and ‘Dance Like Lamine Yamal’ (with 3dnan)’, which also recently starred in a global Adidas campaign featuring the Barcelona footballer.
Since his 2023 album release, Proof of Life, the former EME label superstar has clinched several viral comeback moments on social media with his ‘Dance Like Lamine Yamal’ and ‘Shake Body’ records inspiring dance challenges across Europe and Africa.
Cementing his latest comeback with Martina’s Son, he maps a blueprint for veteran acts charting a return to the limelight. The 45-min spin rehashes Skales’ poetic interpretations and spirited delivery, while infusing fresh multicultural melodic fusions that stamps the record with novelty, originality, vibrancy and shock value.
“The whole idea of Martina’s Son is pretty much about me going back to sample vintage songs that myself and my mom used to jam back then,” he tells Guardian Music. In this week’s edition, we catch up with the father-of-one in the middle of his exciting comeback; detailing his muses on this new album; his creative processes; while strolling down memory lanes on his bond with his late mother; erratic fandom experiences; family life; forthcoming UK tour; and his mission to sustain his legacy as one of Afrobeats’ evergreen voices.
Congrats on your latest project. What does the title, Martina’s Son, embody?
It means a lot to me. This is a full circle moment for me with this album. It is a tribute to my late mother, and the first time I’m putting out a tribute project after losing her, in 2022.
When did you start recording this?
I really started recording this from 2023 because some songs on the album were made around time, but I hadn’t finished them. I had to reproduce some of them.
Which songs did you add last to the album?
Songs like Blessings showerand even the song with Fave (Glory), which just happened a few months ago.
What core message are you trying to pass with this album?
The core message is really to keep doing what’s best for you and never giving up. Everybody will come along when you’re successful. So, always do what’s best for you. Aim for success. That’s the theme of this whole record.
Tell us about the muse for the viral record, Dance Like Lamine Yamal?
The song came about after the whole viral moment where I met with Lamine Yamal in Barcelona during my European tour. By the way, I’m going on another European tour next month. So, I was in Barcelona to see Lamine Yamal. I was there with the football players, and just seeing how they celebrated every victory was inspiring. Seeing how they celebrate every time, and how everybody was just really dedicated to being unstoppable, was what really inspired the song. I made it to be a song for champions.
There are other Spanish collaborations on the album. What inspired this Latino shift?
I was just inspired by the fact that Shake Body was very popular in Spain. Right now, it’s still charting in Spain. So, I thought to do a version that they (Spaniards) would understand better. It wasn’t really necessary, since they are still able to feel the music and enjoy it, but at the same time it was my way of paying tribute to the fact that Spain has blessed me.
The album rings with a vintage feel and it even features the iconic Yinka Ayefele. What inspired this nostalgic direction?
The whole idea of Martina’s Son is pretty much about me going back to sample vintage songs that myself and my mom used to jam back then. There were other songs apart from the Ayefele sample that ought to have made this album, but I had to drop them because they were impossible to clear at the time. So, I wanted to sample songs that were supposed to immortalize that bonding memory for me and my mom. It’s about projecting my mom’s legacy, which is me as Skales. And showing how far I am going to stretch this legacy (my brand) to.
Tell us more about your music bond with your late mum.
My mum was the last person that was remaining in my last bloodline — right now, it’s just me and my daughter — and I am a mommy’s boy. My mom was like my everything. I’m a mommy’s boy. I’m her only son and only child, so of course, we were really close. She was my biggest fan. Everything that I had to do with music was something I kind of inherited from her, because my mom sold CDs and cassettes and stuff; so I was always listening to music. From day one, she always supported me in anything I chose to do today. I say I want to play football and she buys me boots, for instance. So, when she found out about the music thing, she contacted all the people she knew I was close with and asked them to send her my songs. Then, randomly, I just found my songs on her phone and I was shocked. She was always very supportive in every way she could.
What was the most challenging record to create on the album?
I won’t lie to you, I made this album at my own pace. I was really relaxing, comfortable and making every song the way I did. And that was why it took me this long, because I was just trying to create it comfortably. So, there was really no difficult song to make. The energy I’m on right is whatever surfaces as a long thing (stressor) in my life, I just cut it off and move on to the next. So, everything happened smoothly.
What are your favourite records on the album?
Every song that made the album is my favourite; and it’s because they all sound different.
Any standout record that couldn’t make the album?
A lot of them. There’s one that I sampled from Dr Sid’s Pop Something, especially the hook where he said:”when we celebrate/we go pop champagne,” and I don’t know why I took it off. I guess I had just done a lot of sampling, and I didn’t want to saturate the album with samples. But that song was really incredible. I have a deluxe arriving either by the end of this year or beginning of next year; so, there’s still a chance to put it out.
That Faze’s Kolomental sample on the song ‘Mental’ was also iconic. Tell us about making that record.
That song was just God designed, because the initial sample on that song was from Jazzman Olofin’s 2004 hit, Raise da roof. That’s the original sample I used, but there were too many complications in clearing it for release. Like I said, if anything is dragging for that long I just free it. I decided to switch songs; and because myself and Faze were working on his own project, one day we were together and I played the original recording of ‘Mental’ just after we listened to his Kolomental, song, and it felt like it actually synchronised well with it. That’s how I decided to sample it on the song.
What can you say really spurred your decision to venture into music as a career?
That was when I was regularly winning talent competitions back home in Kaduna. I just had a gut feeling that music was meant for me. I had always wanted to be a footballer before then but when I came in contact with music I decided to take it seriously. It was really about passion for me.
Do you still make a lot of rap music?
Well, I wouldn’t say a lot, but I love rap music, just how I love other types of music. I’m one of those artists that can do any music style. I’ve had so many kinds of hits, both rap songs and pop songs. So for me, it just borders on how I’m feeling when I want to create music that influences whether I rap or sing. On this album, I rapped on a song called Until We Meet Again; because I was feeling really poetic with everything I was going through, especially because I made the song just a week after I lost my mom. I was in Kenya at the time, because I was still touring when she passed. The reality hit me that she was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. I just needed to keep going.
What are you up to when you’re not making music?
I’ll be hanging out with my daughter or my girl. That’s pretty much the only thing I do. That’s the only life I have; it’s either music, traveling, or chilling with family.
Do you hope your daughter would take on a similar path in the future?
Nope, but if she does it’s fine. She has my backing and support. Any of my kids can become whoever they want to be. I will never stop anybody from chasing their dream.
As one of the veterans still relevant in the scene today, what advice would you give to an emerging act starting out today?
Just be very open minded. See this music thing as a learning ground. Nobody knows it all and you can’t be in the limelight for so long but you can preserve your ability to reappear in the limelight for as long as you want by collaborating and networking with the right people. And most importantly just have a great team that believes in you and you’ll be fine.
What’s your favourite spot to hang out?
Home. I find peace at home. Outside, if it is not a police palaver, it’s people trying to mob you.
Your craziest fan experience so far?
While I was touring Europe, I had people waiting outside my hotel with pictures of me so I could sign them. I’m talking about white people. And even though I found it creepy at first, eventually that’s just fan love. It happened like three times while I was on tour. I even suspected that the promoter was organising it, but I spoke to him and he really wasn’t.
Finally, what is the new vision for Skales?
It is to create a legacy impacting people’s lives. That’s my dream. I just want to impact people’s lives, to he lp people.
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