At first listen, one might taste the vintage aroma that laces the song. Your mind might recall evergreen RnB jams like Nico and Vinz’ 2014 classic “Am I Wrong”. As you listen deeper, you sink into the futurism that skeletons the record, especially its composition and sequencing. With Oladapo’s In Case I Never Love Again, it’s a sheer case of genius and a grand expression of poetic thinking.
The 10-track record is Oladapo’s debut soundpiece, released barely a month ago. It’s his magnum opus, exposing him to a myriad of ears across the West African music market. Woven with gentle piano chords, soft 808s, soul-lifting saxophones, soothing hi-hats, among others, the entire record is a rich diet of RnB fusion.

Produced by an array of brilliant musicians including Le Mav, Semzi, Kemena, Sir Bastien, Reward Beatz, Black Culture, Shabba, Alpha Ojini Noah Aire, among others, In Case I Never Love Again blooms with a special intimate touch that gives it the gusto of a masterpiece. It’s emotive appeal, most felt on songs like “Break Up”, “Text”, “Over Again”, and “If At All ”. While Oladapo’s star-powers shuffle between his stellar songwriting and his soft-toned vocalisation, the record stands strong as a befitted tribute to the memory of love, highs and lows altogether. And this collective experience powers the replay value of the entire record, making it such a powerful salvè for every listener.

Catching up with Guardian Music, the 24-year-old Maestro travels down memory lane, from his 2018 breakout freestyle-run which put him on the radar of Mr Eazi and earned him free promotion under the emPawa imprint, to making music during the Covid-19 lockdown and bringing his engineering spirit to engine-room of Afrobeats, as well as his plans for the next era of his evolution, among others.

So, congratulations on In Case I Never Love Again; it’s an exciting record. How do you feel about the record being out at this time?
Relieved.

Why?
You know a sort of relief, it’s been sitting up here in my lap for a while. It being left to the world now, is just relief honestly.

That’s cool. How long had you been recording the project?
I didn’t have it all planned out, when I started recording some of the songs there. But some of the songs on there are as old as 2020, and some as recent as 2023. So, let’s say a span of three years, the songs that are on there, all together. But the project came to be what it is today, maybe starting around January this year. You know, collation, post production and all of that.

What made you decide to have this project out now?
So, I knew what the story I wanted to tell. But I just needed to arrange it. There is a lot of music I am sitting on, and they need to be a sort of manual, for people who want to listen to my music. For them to understand what I’m doing from here, you understand. So, it’s sort of like an origin story or something, you know. The pilot to your favorite movies, or your favorite series, do you understand? If you did not watch episode one, you probably would not understand the rest. This is my pilot, you know what I mean.

In case I Never Love Again sounds like a very intimate project. Walk me through the inspiration behind it?
So, one of my favourite projects in the world- “Trap Soul” by Bryson Tiller- is one of my favourites because of what it did for me emotionally, around the time I discovered it. I discovered it, maybe, in 2016, although he dropped it the year before. I was going through a lot emotionally, based on a babe matter; there was always trouble with one girl here and there. At the time I was thinking of making the project, around 2020, I thought of naming it “Girl Trouble”, or “Girl Problem” or something. But I knew they weren’t the vibe; you know it takes a while for you to reflect on things, and really understand what went wrong, and how you could have been better. Or what, how, you don’t know yet you are a better person until time passes, do you understand? So, the event that happened, that happened around that time, needed to have passed for me to reflect on it. And be able to create it, or collate this project, and create the songs that are on this project, you know. So, the inspiration behind it is basically me wanting to do what “Trap soul” did for me, or somebody else. And I will try to like to believe that that is how I approach my music as well. I want everything to be as honest as possible, and for people to see me as me. And to see me as me in the sense that my stage name is Ola, is as clean as I can be, in the music as well. So, the inspiration behind this is basically me wanting to do that type of project. I want somebody to find themselves in what I’m speaking about. In the music I’m creating, and you know find solace and therapy, in what I do.

Tell us about your creative process for this album.
So, what I listen to has no effect on the sonics of this project actually. I’m not playing Trap Soul next to my project and trying to find sonics for it. So, I just make music I would like to listen to. Two of the songs were written in 2020. “Break up” and “Text” were written in 2020. I just wanted a melody to inspire me, so I could speak my mind. I recorded them on a voice note app. I just needed to get into the studio and get it done. “Break up” went through two different producers, before getting to Ileri, who made the final version of these projects. I would prefer not to mention who the original producer was in order not to discard anybody or anything. But for this version, I and Ileri sat down and had a very one-on-one conversation. I like to start making my music from scratch. I don’t like anybody sending me beats. The only song on this project that I got sent a beat for and I agreed to work on is the song called “Perfect Timing”. It was made by Le mav. Le mav is the only producer that can send me a beat, and I would be like ‘okay, bro I need to work on this.’ I don’t work on beats, but I would rather sit down in the studio with you, and you will start from scratch. I would pick the melodies myself. So, that is how me and Ileri started making the beat for “Break Up”. When we were done, I felt like he needed some rock music element, because I wanted the song to sound and feel angry. So, a lot of the other songs were created that same way. I just sit down, create the beat from scratch, or the melody from scratch. And figure out where the song is taking us, or how we want it to sound, right there in the studio.

So, I want to know the collaborations that could have happened on this record.
Yeah, for this project I didn’t think much of collaborations, because of how pragmatic the story was, and because I felt like nobody could tell the story, except me. I’m not a hater of remixes. Some names had popped up in my head and all of that. I had even sent the song “Bomboy” to Ayra Starr. I texted her around 2021, in March when I got back from Ghana. She was down. She said she knows my music and asked if I have anything in mind. I sent it to her manager. But then again, whether an artiste wants to work with you, it has to be good business, you understand. Leverage comes to play, whether some things happen or not, depending on that. So, I thought about Ayra Star. I thought about Nicole Evins. I have thought about Blaqbonez, for “Break up” or something. I have thought about a lot of people, but those are the three names that come to mind right now.

Why music for you?
I studied system engineering. I was still doing engineering when I was dropping Instagram freestyles. I only just graduated this year. I haven’t even done my convocation; I only just submitted my projects and stuff. I started with making Instagram freestyles, for clout. I was just trying to build my social network and meet more people. But then it started like going crazy; Mr Eazi found one of my videos and was like this is dope. He chose me for the emPawa hundred initiative. He shot the video for that song. He inspired me a lot to do a lot of things. Things just kept going on. It was like a Domino effect; I enjoy doing this thing, and I will be dumb not to give it an actual go. So, I really didn’t choose music. I just happen to be doing it, and now it is becoming more of a subconscious thing, I can’t do anything else.

When you are not making music, what do you enjoy doing?
I’m a big homebuddy. There is this stereotype of musicians being extroverted – clubs, loud music, going out, womanizing, all of those things. I’m very in my own space, with my own people, with family and friends, watching my favorite series or something. And I even have trust issues with movie series; I don’t know how to start one that I’m not sure about. How do I know if I would like a series when I don’t try it out? At the end of the day I don’t. So, I would rather play video games with my friends, or I’m just in my house reading one book or finding something to inspire me. I’m also fond of working out, or cooking. There is pretty much about my day aside from making music.

What’s next for you?
Performances. I don’t like to jinx things, but we are going to begin to headline events and shove the project down some people’s throats. And I have some plans to do a show in Lagos, most likely. It is in the works Inshallah.

Finally, what are you interested in people experiencing from your music?
I just want people to find themselves in what I create. Intimacy births music. Emotional intimacy within myself is what helps me write songs about what I’m experiencing. I put them into the music. I do know that when somebody listens to it the emotional intimacy within themselves would nudge them to reflect on their own experiences. They would find their experiences in my own music.