With a unique voice and a fiery, distinctive style of tackling stirring subject matter, Nigerian rapper A-Q has attained the status of a proven rap veteran known for bringing grit and menace to deeply introspective rhymes. As the follow-up to the sonically varied project that expanded his profile during the pandemic, God’s Engineering 2 is packed with raw thoughts about a trove of issues spread between failed friendships, changes in status, and the inner workings of the music business. Here, A-Q assumes the role of a preacher, serving the audience a 33-minute sermon loaded with life doctrines. Opener “Friction” is built on a blend of twinkling keys and sullen synths that create a solemn mood. That state of mind is reprised on the freewheeling “What’s Happening,” where A-Q declutters his mind with a recounting of topics that dominated social media. Frequent collaborator Blaqbonez contributes the earwormy hook, softening the mood and emphasizing the importance of family at a time when friends can also double as haters. Flavored with soulful samples, the 11-track tape is a testament to A-Q’s immaculate songwriting and reflective storytelling. On “King Solomon” he gets vivid, mining his past and slowly divulging bits of his unwholesome experience in the music business. But as the album’s title reveals, it’s all God’s engineering for A-Q (Gilbert Bani), whose storied history includes shining the spotlight on Afropop’s emerging voices as a label boss—some of whom he name-checks on the gritty “Ps2.”