If there were any lessons to be gleaned from Rexxie’s debut album, A True Champion, it was that the Nigerian beatsmith was not one for standing still. From helping collaborators like Zlatan and Naira Marley to spread the Zanku sound across the globe, to contributing instrumentals to Grammy Award-winning projects, Rexxie is keen to spread his wings as widely as possible. The journey from A True Champion to his sophomore album Big Time has been a micro-study in evolution for the celebrated producer. “I evolved from being a producer to being a producer-artist, and having that project out. I learnt more about the creative process and what it takes to have a significant project,” he tells Apple Music. “I learned about the loopholes and the key instruments, picked up on the details of what I should be doing better, and applied them here.” The music on Big Time is more eclectic than anything Rexxie has ever worked on, but it still has deep roots in the street-pop sound he patented. The Lojay-featuring opener, “Asiko (Big Time)”, is a lodestar for Rexxie’s message of entering his time and existing in that consciousness. That energy spills over into songs like “Taka Oshi” and “Credit Score”, where he deftly melds Afropop, R&B, grime and amapiano. “I had a conversation with myself, and I said, ‘You know what? It’s time’,” Rexxie shares. “It’s time to go hard. Everyone gets to that point in their life, and I just want to go with that energy. Since I made that decision, it’s just been big blessings everywhere I turn.” Read on as Rexxie (Ezeh Chisom Faith) runs through Big Time track by track. “Asiko (Big Time)” (with Lojay) “We linked up with a plan to make a song but Lojay just freestyled this tune out of inspiration at that moment. It wasn’t even a complete song at first, but I saw [it] could be more. Asiko means time in Yoruba, and when you say, ‘Asiko ti de’ that means ‘Time has come and it’s now.’ The song was produced by Tboy and me.” “Call My Phone” (with Ajebo Hustlers) “‘Call My Phone’ is just a beautiful melodious rendition with Ajebo Hustlers. It was produced by me and Niphkeys. I respect Ajebo Hustlers because they are hardworking and very talented at what they do. With this song, the idea was to take the ‘Abi kin pe Rexxie’ line from “Abracadabra” and make a mostly English version of that vibe. I wanted them to reinterpret it in their own way, and they managed to do it nicely.” “Slow Whine” (with Minz & Runtown) “This one is a street-pop mix. Runtown is legendary, and Minz is amazing and coming strong, so it was a beautiful experience to blend those two people from two different worlds and see what we came up with. I also produced this song solo.” “Dinero” (with Alpha P & Azanti) “‘Dinero’ is talking about money. We all love money and want money. So, this is just that song where you say, ‘Yes, I have money and I want to live the good life’. It was great to work with Alpha P and Azanti because those guys are on their own wave—it was just a beautiful collaboration all around.” “Fallacy” (with Teni & Sarkodie) “I made ‘Fallacy’ with Teni at a recording camp in Lagos. It was just a freestyle and she didn’t even think much of the song, but I saw something and I just tried to make it work. Sarkodie also gave one of the realest lines. This one was produced by me and Louddaaa.” “Taka Oshi” (with Berri-Tiga) “Berri-Tiga is a very interesting up-and-coming artist. ‘Taka Oshi’ is a really beautiful song; it means that bad energy has to stay away, and only good vibes are allowed around here. The song was produced by me and Producer X.” “No More Condition” (with Zinoleesky) “‘No More Condition’ is a very inspirational song. It’s a statement that everybody makes at the point of life when you’re trying to make a breakthrough. It’s just explaining the fact that we’re grateful to be blessed, and to have gotten to where we are right now, and we’ll no longer be taking no for an answer, for anything that has to do with our blessings.” “Lagos” (with Busiswa, L.A.X & Shashie) “I got a very dope hook from a young talent in South Africa named Shashie. The hook was about going to Lagos to have a nice time, and I thought that it would be nice to have a mixture of Nigerian and South African vibes. So I sent it to L.A.X and Busiswa, and it was a nice combination. L.A.X was giving us Yoruba and it was just on a vibe that we Nigerians are not conversant with. It was an amazing blend.” “Credit Score” (with Zlatan & NSG) “This song was produced by 4PLAY; they’re a part of NSG and they did the song with Zlatan. They sent it to me and I finished up the beat. Everything about this song is written to motivate and inspire people to pick themselves up and keep going. It’s a song to motivate the hustlers out there to not give up on themselves. Zlatan and NSG’s styles of music also match, so I think that everybody will be able to relate to this song on that level.” “Abracadabra” (with Naira Marley & Skiibii) “‘Abracadabra’ is a magical song. I started the song with Skiibii, he dropped the verse and dropped the hook. One day, Naira Marley heard the beat and he started hyping and singing the famous line about calling me, so I begged him to record on the beat. [South African producer] Tboy Daflame brought that strong amapiano bounce to it.” “Again” (with BackRoad Gee) “I linked up with BackRoad Gee in London and we did a couple of songs together. He’s really talented and amazing. He has carved a path for himself in the UK and London rap scene and it was great to have that blend in the album.” “Abracadabra Remix” (with Naira Marley & Skiibii (feat. Wizkid)) “Having Wizkid on the remix was just like icing on the cake, it was just the best. Sometimes, you’re calling someone, but there’s nothing that looks promising because you are both on different worlds. But having my song become that point of connection between us is just magical to me.”