On his fifth studio project, WurlD offers a rare invitation backstage. “I’m sharing a lot; it’s not the usual conversations,” he tells Apple Music. “I've shared a lot more of myself behind the scenes. I'm bringing people into our flaws and my imperfections. I'm sharing my truth.”
While the Lagos-born singer, songwriter and producer moved to the US during his secondary school years, returning to Nigeria in 2018, he chose to quarantine in his homeland as the pandemic raged in 2020—a time when he became his most introspective. “Above everything else, this was a time to rely on self,” WurlD (Sadiq Onifade) explains. “We all had ourselves to take care of really, because we weren’t around people. And for me that shaped a lot of decisions I made on this album. It helped me craft a lot more depth in this album, instead of just creating commercial records.”
That introspection allowed him to create a narrative journey that covers vulnerability, patience, self-awareness and communication, stitched together with the hip-hop, R&B and Afrobeats threads he refined during his years spent living between Atlanta and Lagos.
“A lot of people see the blue hair, the pretty looks, the sweet sound... I want to show you all that,” he confesses. “But I'm not [just] that. I'm a work in progress just like everyone else. And it's My WorlD With U because I'm just as flawed as, and just as great as you. Still a work in progress, just like everybody else.” Here, he talks us through key tracks from the album.
“THESE DAYS LOVE DON’T CHANGE” (feat. Dami Oniru)
“These days, I want to be successful, but this time I want to be successful with my friends, with my homies, with my community. I want to be successful with you beside me. And especially even in the Afrobeats community—I think we can really push a lot more forward, through collaborations and a lot of support in each other. So it's beyond just me being successful. There's a first part: ’These Days’. And it goes into this chant and this very spiritual space—‘Love Don’t Change’. Time is going to change, people are going to change, we are going to fade, but love never changes. These days, regardless of where I am, our love will never change.”
“GUCCI”
“I'm really talking about self-love. I'm a victim of this—we often describe success and our happiness through material things. ‘Gucci’ is an example here, but check this out: you can take it all away, but every time you see me, I'm myself. I'm happy with myself first, before everything else. So whenever I don't have all these things, I'm still me. I've never changed. I will always remain true to me in the depth of my soul no matter the circumstances.”
“LET YOU DOWN”
“This might be one of the first times I've really been vulnerable on a song, sharing my flaws, But the reality of this is that, when a woman claps back, it hurts different. For men, we can't take it. Our egos are bruised; we're hurt different; it cuts deeper. There are so many factors around society’s idea of when a man cheats, [versus] when a woman does—but it cuts different. So this is me expressing how hard it feels. It’s just shedding the light on the double standard—but when the woman does this, it's a whole drama around it. We men can't take it; I can't take it.”
“SAD TONIGHT”
“I messed up, now she messed up. But now I'm calm; I'm not as aggressive. I'm still in my feelings, but now I'm facing the potential of losing this love forever. This is me trying to find a resolution, but the idea of waking up every morning with a heavy heart, knowing that you haven't resolved issues with a partner, it's never a good feeling. So I’m saying, ‘I don't want to go to bed sad tonight, I don't want to go to bed mad tonight. I want you closer. I want to wake up with a new chapter feeling better tomorrow.’”
“TOXIC” [WurlD & Landstrip Chip]
“When two people have really hurt each other, it turns into a toxic situation because we get triggered by past experiences. Now we're both insecure, and that brings the toxicity. Because I can't have friends; I can't say ‘hello’. She's looking at me like, ‘Have you messed with her? Who's that you with? Why is that person saying hi?’ We're both toxic to each other now. Now we are trying to fix it, but it’s more difficult.”
“SWEET N FINE” (feat. Sarz)
“‘Sweet and Fine’ is my first step out of the relationship. I'm back out, trying to try to date, trying to be a better man; meeting someone new. And I'm really trying to bring her into my corner. I'm really just trying to be a better person, in that I'm being patient. I'm trying to be sweet. And I'm trying to figure it out. This is something new; I’m back out now with something new.”
“SAME AS YOU”
“When you're newly single, you get caught up in a whole bunch of messy situations. This is me falling in love with another man's girl. And she loves us the same. So this is me having a conversation with [that man]. We're literally having a conversation and I'm saying, ‘I never meant to fall in love with her—but she says that she loves us the same way. She loves me the same as you. And I love her the same as you.’ It's really, really messy. You don't choose who you fall in love with. Sometimes you want to do something casual, and you find out that person belongs to somebody else. This is part of being single and being out there, like they say in the streets.”
“SOMETHING TO LOSE”
“You’re still trying to find yourself. You're dating a lot of different people, but you find out real fast that a lot of people don't really have your best interests [in mind]. They're just as broken as you, trying to find an escape. Sometimes some people don't have a lot to offer—they just need somebody to lean on. Here, I'm experiencing a lot of people that want to just take from me, but don't really have much to offer. So I'm only going to f**k with you if you got something to lose. I have so much to protect now. I can't afford to have you take from me and bring me down to your level, if you don't have anything to offer.”
“SHINE” (feat. Sho Madjozi)
“Shout out to Sho Madjozi. This record was produced by my very good friend, Dot da Genius. Initially, I was going to release it as a solo record, but I connected with Sho Madjozi earlier [in 2022]. She loved the record, and the rest is history. I'm excited to bring South Africa into this album and that energy. It's a world sound—Africa to the world. And we're shining on everything as Africans.”
“MAKE IT SNOW”
“When you have that new love, everything's on a high. So ‘Make It Snow’ has a double meaning. When two people come together, there's a climax—it’s the highest of feeling. It's rhythmic. But it's the highest of feeling when two people come together, they connect deeply in emotion. And this is their experience. We’re just making the snow.”
“STAMINA” (feat. LuuDadeejay) [Wurld & Majoy League Djz
“Shout out to Major League Djz and LuuDadeejay on the production. These are some of my favourite people in the whole universe. We have a great connection. A lot of times artists to artists relationships are very business- and very hype-based. We connected at a time when it wasn’t so much about hype—it was just the music. And I'm glad to just have done this one with them. This is a sensual Afro-amapiano sound that we've created. It's not too much of the high energy as the other records; this one taps into the sensuality and feel. It's softer, but it's still a beautiful experience.”
“OVERTHINKING”
“With ‘Overthinking’, now I’m in a good space. I'm in something new; it feels perfect. But guess what? I'm still flawed. My past is haunting me now because I can't stop overthinking that this may go wrong. Is this too good to be true? Is this person here for me? Will this person love me like they say they will? Because the past person said the same thing, but it didn't turn out that way. I'm trying to be better; now we're getting to know each other, but I'm still overthinking. I can't stop overthinking this love and I hope it doesn't push you away. That's the narrative.”
“NO EASY LOVE”
“When you love someone in any situation—family, friendship—the love part comes naturally. We don't pick the people that we love. It picks us. But in order to keep that love, you have to fight for it, to work for it. That's why I say ‘No Easy Love’. Now I found something new, but this time around, I have to work for it, to protect it, to keep it. That's the hard part. And I wanted to end the album on the high note of hope, regardless of the toxicity that started it. Because now I'm hopeful that I'm being better. I'm trying to be a better communicator, trying to be a better person to my friends, to my lover and just improving. It's a new evolution. Because it never ends.”