Prince of the Street

Album ∙ Afrobeats ∙ 2025

Ayo Maff

“I grew up in the street of Somolu, Bariga,” emerging Afrobeats star Ayo Maff tells Apple Music. “That’s where I came from. And it’s just more to let the people know I am from them. Regardless of where people see me, I’m from the street, so that’s why they call me ‘Prince of the Street.’”

On his debut album, the artist born Ayorinde Mafoluku Ayodele shares personal stories of his upbringing and how it shaped him. “It took me more than a year to record,” he explains, “so it’s very personal to me, because each song is talking about a different phase of my life. Growing up in Bariga allowed me to sing [about] the reality of where I’m from, and the genuine lifestyle. All the things I do sing about, people are also facing, so it’s all a reality check.”

Sonically, the album pays homage to Maff’s roots, with nods to Olamide singles he grew up with (“Baddo’s Song”) and takes on modern fusions of Afrobeats and amapiano (“Igbalode”)—while standing firm in both his vision and his ambition (“Beginning”). “I want the world to know there’s a boy from the street, that is making the streets look really, really good,” he asserts. Below, Ayo Maff talks through the album, track by track.

“Beginning”
“There’s a sound of someone talking at the beginning of this track. This guy came online one time saying I should try to change my sound. So it’s just me telling the world that I would never forget the beginning. This is not the right time for me to switch it up. I’m still doing my thing. I’m still being real to myself.”

“Realness” (with Chike)
“I was at a point in my life where I was going through…I wouldn’t say betrayal, but just the ability to see the realness in people. The ability to know if this person truly loves me for who I am, or just loves me for what they see around [me]. One thing I realized is that I’m not facing that alone—a lot of people are also in that kind of situation. Big ups to my big bro, Chike.”

“Felony”
“‘Felony’ is a personal song. It defines the heartbreak that comes from love. The girls’ drama or female drama, just the general female thing. That’s exactly what drove me to that record. I think about what people experience. I think I know how to tap into people’s story and make a song out of it.”

“Igbalode”
“‘Igbalode’ is a general street song. It’s me preaching, telling people, I know we got bills to pay. So it was just more of me telling them, now the world has changed; the world is evolving. Let’s keep evolving with it. Magicsticks produced it.”

“Baddo’s Song” (with Jazzworx, Thukuthela)
“This particular song is really, really nostalgic to me, because growing up in Somolu, Bariga, that particular song [Olamide’s 2013 single ‘Yemi My Lover’] wakes us up in the hood. It has been a song that we used to love, right from childhood. [Olamide] Baddo is a legend. It’s like a blessing for me, being in the same space with him and all of that. And I featured my brothers from South Africa on it as well, Thukuthela and Jazzworx. They did amazing on the song, and I really appreciate them.”

“Oshimiri” (with BNXN)
“‘Oshimiri’ is also a way of me preaching to my people, me telling them where my headspace is at the moment. Me telling them the whole gang thing, whole fight, from switching to being a thug, being a real street boy, to changing of priorities to like, ‘I want to be a superstar. I want to do this; I want to be that. I want to have a life of my own.’ You can be street boy and still be cool. That’s the perspective on that particular track. And shout-out to my big boy BNXN—he came and did his thing. It just aligned.”

“Panic”
“I recorded ‘Panic’ after I performed at the O2 Arena in London, opening for Asake. After I opened the show, I immediately got off the stage and went to my hotel room and my producer was there. That’s how we made that magic. When I can take advantage of the moment, I sing about it.”

“Hello”
“I actually recorded ‘Hello’ in London. It’s such a banger. A song I really love, because it just makes me feel some comfort.”

“9 Days”
“I went into my emotions way too much and I talked about my experience, and how I started making money and how...At a very early age and all that. That’s how I came up with that. It’s the story of the hustle.”

“Lazy Baby”
“There was a time where I had recorded, I had worked a lot, and I just decided to just say, ‘I really don’t want to do anything. I just want to chill. I just want to rest my head.’ That’s how I came up with ‘Lazy Baby,’ saying, ‘Today, I don’t want to do anything.’”

“Gang” (with Seyi Vibez)
“Big ups to Seyi Vibez. He is more like a big bro to me. He actually was the first celebrity that posted my song on his story, [the 2023 single] ‘Jama Jama.’ Since then, the relationship has been there, so I linked up with him and we went to a club. And coming back from the club, we go into the studio and the whole happiness from the studio, that’s how we made ‘Gang.’ And the whole theme is coming from the club. It’s just a vibe.”

“Crazy Kid”
“There’s this particular type of song they play in carnivals, back in my hood. So I wanted to recreate that so bad, because I really want to have a song like that for me as well. It’s more of a dance song, just [mirroring] the culture in the hood and all.”

“Remind Me”
“‘Remind Me’ is a song that says, after all of this journey, after the stresses, after everything, after the strife and where we’re going, can you still remind me of who I am? Remind me of where I’m from? Remind me of everything? Remind me of what you did to me? Always make sure you remind me, whenever I’m lost in my thoughts, whenever I’m forgetting myself, whenever I am doing things wrong, just remind me.”