Fourteen months ago, veteran Nigerian singer and record executive, Olarenwaju Fasasi, better known as Sound Sultan, passed on. As part of efforts to preserve his legacy, his long-time collaborator and record producer, ID Cabasa, announced that Sultan’s 9th studio album, which he had been working on before his demise, would be finished and released. 

Dubbed Reality CHQ (Check), the 5-tracker record is an exciting reminder of the beauty that Sultan’s artistry embodies. Tag-teaming the legend 2baba, as well as other contemporary wavemakers Bella Shmurda and Zlatan, Reality Check is a much-needed reminder of the value of life, as well as the right perspectives one must have in enjoying it to the fullest. 

“So as you dey see my life so, I dey live my life no competition/ Follow you make I carry you go reality/ Take a break from the internet and its vanity/ When I see you looking at another man’s life saying oh my God I wish that was mine/ I go look you up and down make you know that’s out of line,” Sultan’s euphonious voice booms in the album’s third song dubbed, Reality Cheque. 

The remaining songs on the record, Friends, Siren (Featuring 2Baba), Levels (Feat Zlatan), and Naija Na Wa synchronise with the album’s overarching theme, helping to add colour, groove and nostalgia to the late singer’s posthumous career progression. 

Up until his latest studio album dubbed 8th Wondah, Sultan was a master satirist, who painted socio-conscious and introspective narratives with his infectious melodies. Reality Cheque is a fine extension of the Naija Ninjas legacy. 

Reality Cheque is available across digital stores.