R&B artist Funbi released his first EP, Serenade in 2018, and has returned with another masterpiece, Love Lust.
Serenade was well received and it was a perfect debut into the alternative music space. Four years later, Funbi has delivered a captivating project. There were so many factors that facilitated the delay in the release, some of which Funbi attributed to being out of the creative space. Nonetheless, the sonic genius is back and better.
Love Lust sits at the intersection of love and lust. “Love Lust encapsulates the whole idea of the project. It’s like I meet someone, and we start to engage with each other and immediately, I’m not sure which side I might lean toward. Getting to know this person, is it love or is it just purely physical? There’s no telling.”
Distance co-written by Funbi, Muis and Tomi Owo talks about unrequited love, especially one that’s catalyzed by being far away from one’s love interest, “I built the idea of the song to be about a situation where you have someone who is wanting more than what the other person is willing to give, and I feel like a lot of people have been in that position before. I have been there before myself, so it felt easy and comfortable to be able to tap into that side of my experiences.”
One Call has its foundation in the experience of wanting something that is far out of your reach. Funbi sings about his dedication to being there for his lover, even when they’re far away. The birth of the track was initiated through a beat by Jinmy Abdul, which triggered a feeling of longing in Funbi. “Abdul sent me the first draft of the beat, and it was kind of instantaneous. When I heard it, the melodies just started coming straight, because the beat had this nostalgic feeling and it made me feel like I was reaching for something that was away from me. I think at the time, I was dating someone who was away from the country. It was the kind of feeling where I’m making music, and this person that I have feelings for is miles away.”
In Set Me Free, Funbi talks about how love, while giving him the space to be set free, can also keep him in check. He explains how being understood by a lover can make it easier to stay in control of his mind. He also emphasizes the lyrical genius that is Tim Lyre, and how his contribution was very instrumental in the creation of the track. “I had a melody that I was singing, Tim Lyre got the words for it and from there, things just started moving.”
Love Lust vividly paints the thin line between love and lust, and how difficult it can get to differentiate between the two. “I’ve been in situations whereby I felt like I was super emotionally interested in somebody, and then things got physical and I realized maybe it wasn’t love, maybe it was something purely physical. I’ve also had situations where things started on a physical level, and emotions started to develop from there.”
The song talks about trying to decipher what you’re feeling while attempting to go with the flow in the moment. “A lot of times I find myself in between the line where it’s like, I can’t tell where this thing is going to end but I know that I want to be here. That’s basically what Love Lust is saying. I don’t know where this is going to end up, but let’s just keep doing what we’re doing. Distance is also in that same kind of space because it’s saying I need more time. Right now I’m not ready to commit, but I still want you to stick with me and give me time to find my way.”
All Good is Funbi’s way of expressing that he’s fine with any situation, any activity, as long as he’s spending time with his lover. “If you listen to the song and you hear the lyrics, it’s very direct. I just want to chill and hang out with this babe. Whatever we’re doing is cool as long as we’re here together. It gives that kind of ‘my ride or die’ feeling. As long as we’re together, whatever happens, it’s all good. That’s the idea.”
Funbi also mentions his struggle with writing certain parts of the song, which led to Karun getting featured on the track. “I wrote two verses but I was having an issue with the hook, I didn’t know what to do with it, so I sent it to Tec, and it got pitched to Karun, who sent her verse with the chorus. All Good is one of my favourite tracks on the project.”
Lead Me On touches on Funbi’s experience of being a harmlessly flirtatious person without even trying. He confessed he’s been told that interactions with him have set off the wrong signs to people. “People have told me sometimes that I can be a bit flirtatious, and I lead them on without meaning to. This is how it felt. In this song, I’m taking inspiration from what somebody told me.”
Lead Me On also saw a contribution by a friend of his, whom he’d written a lot with and he trusted to meet him where he was at. “Once I had the chorus, I just started freestyling the melodies, and then I was trying to put words into it. There’s a friend of mine that I used to write a lot of my songs with, his name is Martin. I had the melodies and the feelings were in there. I’d gotten some words down already, and I knew that because we’d written together a lot, he’d be able to bring out some of those words.” Dami Oniru also co-wrote the track.
In Muse, Funbi praises his muse and woos her, urging her to hold on to him and love on him. Muse is a melodious track and its mid-tempo is perfect for a slow dance with a love interest.
All the songs on Love Lust were produced by Spax, except for One Call which was produced by Jinmy Abdul, Remmy Baggins and TUC. Funbi discusses his chemistry with Spax and how it played a major role in the creation of Love Lust, “What happens with me is when I meet a new producer, I discover a different side of myself and I feel like from meeting Spax, my music evolved.”
Love Lust is a blend of R&B at the core and Soul while Set Me Free is infused with House elements. Funbi’s fluidity is evident across all the songs off Love Lust, and is a testament of his ability to create songs that fans want to listen to.
