“I wanted a situation where I’m able to tell my true story, the story of my journey through the odds,” celebrated DJ and producer SPINALL tells Apple Music about his seventh album, ÈKÓ GROOVE. “This album is literally about giving kudos back to the city that raised me and raised many other amazing talents. A lot of artists have moved to Lagos from Port Harcourt, from Benin, from whatever they come from, and they’ve been able to take their craft to the rest of the world.” Across ÈKÓ GROOVE’s 14 tracks, SPINALL acts as a bridge between the different artists, soundscapes, and belief systems that have built Lagos’ reputation as a multicultural port of call without sacrificing the melodic foundation that helped propel Afrobeats to global fame. “I’m hoping that Lagos can shine, but I also want to remind people that there’s a groovy side of Lagos,” he says. In keeping with the forward-thinking tradition there, the ambition that powers ÈKÓ GROOVE births collaborations that cut across genres: There’s a soulful fusion of reggae and R&B in “STRUGGLE,” a playful incursion into Afro-house on “EXCITED,” and a nod to amapiano on “LIVING.” “Even though ÈKÓ GROOVE talks about Lagos, it was crafted for the world,” SPINALL says. “It was crafted for music fans and music lovers all over the world.” Below, SPINALL talks us through ÈKÓ GROOVE, track by track. “ÈKÓ GROOVE” (feat. Ayinde Bakare) “‘EKO GROOVE’ features the legend, Mr. Ayinde Bakare. I wasn’t born when he was here, but history told me that he was one of a kind. He was in Lagos, did a show, and he made a little prelude to a song where he was giving all these great accolades to Lagos. I look at Lagos today, that’s what it is. Lagos is the dream city for anyone who wants to be great. People come to Lagos to get married, people come to Lagos to have kids. People come to Lagos for work. People come to Lagos for a new story. I felt like that song needed to be brought back to life. So, I sampled it, and I had it on the album as the first track just to give Lagos the respect it deserves. I did a lot of dazzling with the guitars on the first track just to add some groovy elements to it.” “WANT YOU” (feat. JayO & DESTIN CONRAD) “I started working on ‘WANT YOU’ in 2024 with P.Priime. He had come over to the studio in Lagos, and we were just brainstorming on what we were going to do. The beautiful thing about P.Priime is that he gets what I’m trying to do. Then I reached out to DESTIN CONRAD. I sent it to DESTIN, and in like a day, he sent me back one of the hardest verses I’ve ever heard. I’ve done some R&B records in the past, like “Jabole” featuring Ycee and OXLADE, so this is my continuity into making soulful R&B records. I really love R&B music.” “EARLY” (feat. Victony) “Victony and I have done a lot of records in the past. None of them had seen the light of day, but ‘EARLY’ is the first one that we finally agreed to put out. ‘EARLY’ is quite sexual. We’re talking about some grown folks’ business, about what we like to do early in the morning. The beat was produced by Blaise, who brought light into the world with this one. Blaise is another person that I’ve worked with in the past on ‘Loju,’ featuring Wizkid. We made ‘EARLY’ about six months ago, but we went back, worked on it, moved things around, and the song is sounding crazy. This is one of the records I can’t wait for people to listen to.” “STRUGGLE” (feat. Summer Walker, Buju Banton & Jaz Karis) “I went to Jamaica on what was supposed to be a vacation. It ended up becoming a full-on studio session. Buju Banton is a legend and an icon. He’s someone who has stood for the truth and always lends his voice when it comes to speaking for people who have been through stuff. During the session, we were talking about things that are wrong with the world, and that was how this song was given birth to. Then, I reached out to Jaz Karis. I was thinking an R&B voice mixed with Buju Banton’s raw vocals would be insane. “I wanted to get as many people from different parts of the world to talk about struggle. Summer Walker came to mind. We have a Jamaican on the record, we have a Nigerian on the record, we have somebody from the UK on the record, and we have someone from the US on the record. I produced it, and I’m glad that everybody loved it.” “AUNT MARY” (feat. ShineTTW & DarkoVibes) “I made ‘AUNT MARY’ when we went to Ghana. In my head, I feel like Ghanaians are Nigerians’ cousins. Shout-out to DarkoVibes and Shine TTW. Shine’s vocals are incredible; there’s no genre Shine cannot jump on and kill it.” “FORWARD” (feat. Tay Iwar) “I don’t think I can ever stop working with Tay. I don’t see it happening anytime soon. For me, the goal here is to put out music we can be proud of when we look back years from now. I’ve met people who told me all kinds of stories of what they’ve gone through with my songs. My songs have been there for people when they were going through some of their darkest times, when they’re celebrating, when they’re winning, when they’re going through life itself. That’s the importance of music. ‘FORWARD’ is one of the records that makes me feel proud to be doing what I’m doing. It also talks about having a positive mental attitude towards the things that we’re doing. We should always look forward, no matter what the situation is in our work and life. Think forward, and that’s what I’m doing with this song.” “WAITING” (feat. taves & JayO) “Shout-out to Type A and TMXO. I made this song with them. When we were producing ‘WAITING,’ JayO was not a part of it. I already had JayO on a song, and I didn’t intend to put him on this other song. ‘WANT YOU’ (the song we did with JayO) was great, but when I was making this one, I sent it to him randomly. He sent the verse back, and I felt like it was perfect for the song. Taves is an amazing human being, and he’s full of so much talent.” “KEROSENE” (feat. Young Jonn) “This is the smash hit of this album. [It’s] doing amazing numbers on TikTok, on streams, and in real life. Young Jonn and I come from the same production angle, and it was a no-brainer that we were going to make a hit record.” “LOJU” (feat. Wizkid) “Big shout-out to the dog Wizkid. Wiz always tries something new each time we work together. If you look at the discography that we’ve made in the past, we don’t have a song where we did the same thing. I respect Wiz a lot because of his efforts in making sure that he protects the genre. He really cares about the growth and success of Afrobeats. From a leader of my class to a leader of his class, it’s a no-brainer that we will make something that can stand the test of time.” “EXCITED” (feat. Ami Faku, Heavy-K & Niniola) “Now, this is one song that people need to pay attention to. One of my favorite people in the entire south of Africa is Ami Faku. That’s my sister, I feel like my mother gave birth to her because we have real heart-to-heart conversations. Everybody who knows me well knows that Niniola is my music industry wife. Niniola is someone who has stood on the hills of Afro-house before Afro-house became what it is today. These are people who are not doing music to be praised or to be worshipped. These are talents who are doing music just because that’s what God has sent them into this world to do. If you look at my past albums, you’ll see Niniola’s touch on every single one. Shout-out to Heavy-K. He’s an amazing producer and a legend in the South African music business.” “MIAMI” (feat. Olamide & T.I.) “Everybody knows I love Olamide—that’s my family. Olamide and I made this in Lagos, but I reached out to my partners at Epic Records. They sent it around, and T.I. showed interest. T.I. recorded this song twice. The first one, I was already excited. When I told him we’re about to put out the album, he said he wanted to listen to the song again. Then he gave me a brand-new verse, which is even crazier than what it was before.” “ONE CALL” (feat. Omah Lay & Tyla) “Shout-out to Omah Lay. That’s another brother of mine. I’ve been trying to work with Tyla, and this was the song that really connected it. It’s people’s favorite.” “LIVING” (feat. Murumba Pitch & Tony Duardo) “Murumba Pitch is a duo that I rate. I think they’re bringing something totally different into the music game, and I’m a big fan of their work. I’ve been to their home in South Africa. ‘LIVING’ is one of my favorites on the album, too. Shout-out to me for always thinking out of the box.” “PSALM 23” (feat. Teni) “I made this song with Teni the day I was told I was playing Coachella. Teni was kneeling to say, ‘Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God.’ So, I said, ‘Teni, you are coming with me. We are both going to Coachella.’ I flew Teni and Fireboy DML to Coachella. ‘PSALM 23’ is a song that speaks to my spirituality, but more importantly, I want God to punish all my haters. I want God to deal with them because I’ve literally done nothing but good, but they want to be devils so bad. So, I’m using the word of God to send God a reminder not to forget to deal with them.”