catharsis

Album ∙ Afrobeats ∙ 2025

FOLA

FOLA says that when he started to put together the songs that would form the backbone of catharsis a little over a year before its release he wasn’t necessarily en route to making any kind of career-defining statement. “To be frank, nothing was going on in my life at that time,” he tells Apple Music. “Being the kind of person that I am, I just always like to record, even if I am going to put them out or not, even if I have a rollout plan or not. I just love to always have stuff down. I always like to work, so when the time comes to make everything work, it will all be in place.”

That ability to let the vibes guide him gifted FOLA a suite of songs that blur the line between utopian romance and lovelorn anguish, while also nodding towards the kind of dedication he sees as imperative to overcoming life’s challenges. He’s paying homage to the legendary hustle and bustle of Lagos on “eko,” unpacking feeling untethered in the context of a relationship on Kizz Daniel collab, “lost,” and then laying out the effects of a former partner’s absence in his life in “caricature.”

For all the unbridled emotion he delivers on catharsis, FOLA was sure to build bridges toward relief and resolution where he could. It’s something he hopes others will find in the music as well. “This album is like building a soul hospital, looking for something to cleanse and repair your soul,” he says. “I want people to listen to these songs and let go of their worries. I want people to do more after listening to these songs.” Below, FOLA talks us through the key tracks from catharsis.

“gokada”
“‘gokada’ is talking about delivery. It’s talking about how I always come through like a [Nigerian delivery service] Gokada worker. On this song, I’m talking about my music, talking about the way I put it together, and speaking about work ethic. I’m talking about the hard work I put into my craft. So, it’s just a play on the Gokada line that’s quite popular.”

“eko”
“‘eko’ is coming from a place of struggle because I had to move to Lagos, and that’s what inspired the song. It’s about having to leave home to feed home. I’m talking about going home or going harder. Another thing I touched on is having to wear fake clothes and stuff at the beginning because I was poor. There are a lot of things that people don’t know about, the trials of trying to make it in life. It’s just a song to fuel your hustle and inspire you to work more. ‘eko’ was produced by LOL.”

“golibe” (feat. Victony)
“This is a beautiful song. It’s just a song about true love, and Victony really went hard on that song; people are going to love it. It was a mind-blowing session. Victony is such a great guy. I learned a lot from working with him that night. We also have more records on the way.”

“you”
“I’m going to tell you for a fact that ‘you’ wasn’t inspired by my experience, ‘you’ was inspired by my manager, MelvinTheWave. I wasn’t in love when I wrote ‘you,’ but my manager was in love, so I was watching his lifestyle, and I wrote the song off that.”

“lost” (feat. Kizz Daniel)
“A girl was giving me tough times when I wrote ‘lost.’ She wasn’t straightforward with her answers, so I was just lost. It’s a love song with a twist. People talk about the sweet things you get from love when you fall in love, but nobody talks about the ups and downs, the back and forth. So, that’s what ‘lost’ is about. Kizz Daniel’s verse is mind-blowing; he brought some speciality as he has been in the game for a while. I think he knew what the song needed.”

“healer”
“I arranged the song in a way where it feels like you’re just talking to your girl. There’s a lot that comes with being lost. I think after all of that, telling your girl to be your healer is something we’ve all experienced. Like she’s the only clinic that can heal your soul, despite any issues between you, she’s the only answer to the problem. That’s why I named the song ‘healer.’”

“cruise control”
“The way I made ‘cruise control’ was weird because it was not a song I planned on making. I came up with it on my phone. I saw that I wrote ‘cruise control’ somewhere on my phone’s notepad while I was in the studio. I didn’t write anything after that, and it was just cruise control. When I heard the beat in the studio, I just started singing, and that was how it came about. I was just in the studio, saw the word and caught the vibe. It was produced by LOL. I work with him a lot; he produced about three tracks on the album.”

“robbery” (feat. Gabzy)
“Similar to ‘lost,’ I won’t call it a heartbreak song, but it’s about a girl who is cheating you emotionally. That’s what the song is all about.”

“caricature”
“‘caricature’ means getting a representation of something. It’s a song about true love. It’s just like when you’re missing your girl, and you are like, ‘OK, yeah, you’re not here, but I’m going to get a caricature of you, I’m going to get a representation of you.’ It’s actually the first song I wrote on that project. I wrote it in March 2024.”

“it’s going”
“‘it’s going’ was made from a place of hustle. It’s talking about how I wasn’t ready for this game. I didn’t see all of these things coming. It’s just a song that keeps you going. It’s something you need to listen to.”