Iconic moments have become the order of the day for Afrobeat stars pushing the genre across borders globally and fusing genres through even the most unexpected collaborations with acclaimed foreign artists.
A question that continues to pop is who would have seen an Usher and Pheelz collaboration coming at the time it did? Neither you nor I, but Pheelz is unrelentingly breathing life into a reality that could have been a dream forever. And what interestingly heightens the euphoria of this iconic collaboration is knowing Usher has been around for 3 decades and in fact released his debut album the same year Afrobeats producer-turned-singer, Pheelz, was born.
Still, it is not entirely surprising but rather warms the cockles of our hearts to witness Pheelz’s paradigmatic transformation, earmarking many possibilities for Afrobeats.
Usher’s ninth studio album, Coming Home, was released on February 9th, with several collaborations, including guest appearances from Afrobeats artists Burna Boy and Pheelz on tracks 1 and 9, respectively. Both tracks—Coming Home featuring Burna Boy and Ruin featuring Pheelz—were executively produced by Pheelz. Ruin is the album’s lead single and was released on February 2.
Pheelz’s euphonious contribution to the success of Usher’s Coming Home as a producer and artist is utterly gratifying and inspiring. He remains a force to be reckoned with as he consistently and accurately meets the expectations of an adept music producer and performer.
The press release for Pheelz’s performance on Coming Home reads, “There’s only so much more to expect from Pheelz in 2024, and an international-level upscale in his career would not be a wild prediction. We only have to wait and watch it unfold.”
The year has just begun, and Pheelz has undoubtedly started an unforgettable journey.
