On Friday, October 10, 2025, the Nigerian music landscape shifted with the release of Peruzzi‘s highly anticipated fourth studio album, “Sabali.” A heavyweight collection of songs arrives as both a defiant artistic statement and a deeply personal milestone for the singer, whose journey has been characterized by consistent impact and understated brilliance in the Afrobeats movement.
Since joining Davido’s DMW label in 2018, Peruzzi has been an unstoppable force, not just as a performing artist but as one of the most prolific and indispensable songwriters in Afrobeats. His pen has fueled numerous hits, establishing him as a crucial architect behind the genre’s global streaming explosion. With hits and significant contributions under his belt, the pressure on a fourth album is immense but Sabali is the sound of an artist comfortable in his own skin, ready to push boundaries rather than chase trends.
The Sound of Fusion: Apala Drill and the Genius of Blending
The defining moment of this 17-track project is undoubtedly the lead single, “Apala Drill,” featuring Davido. This song is a masterclass in musical fusion, perfectly embodying the album’s theme of blending tradition with innovation.
Apala is a traditional Yoruba music style, known for its intricate percussion and rhythmic vocals. Drill is a modern, raw, and bass-heavy subgenre of trap music that has dominated youth culture globally. By seamlessly weaving these two disparate sounds together, Peruzzi achieves something profound; he successfully validates a contemporary, international sound (Drill) using an unshakeable Nigerian foundation (Apala). It is a move that cements his reputation as one of Afrobeats’ most innovative and boundary-pushing creators. This sound is immediately resonant with Nigerians, reminding listeners of their rich cultural heritage while showcasing the genre’s capacity for global evolution.
A Humanized Narrative: Love, Resilience, and Legacy
Sabali delves into universal, yet deeply relatable, themes that are crucial to the human experience, particularly within the Nigerian context. The album touches on love, identity, cultural roots, and, most importantly, resilience.
For Peruzzi, this album is a deeply personal declaration. The title, Sabali, suggests the perseverance required to navigate the highs and lows of the music industry—the long nights of writing, the pressure of expectations, and the patient wait for new artistic ideas to fully bloom. The album is his moment of mature reflection, a clear signal to fans that the patience they have shown is being rewarded with his most eclectic and realized body of work yet.
The project is sprawling and ambitious, featuring an impressive and carefully curated roster of collaborators who bring depth and flavour:
Heavyweights: Davido (on two tracks), Don Jazzy, Timaya, Zlatan, Fireboy DML, and Mayorkun.
The Next Wave & Veterans: Jeriq, Bella Shmurda, Jesse Jagz, Terri, Dremo, JujuBoy, Nana Kwabena, Kemuel, The Cavemen, Gazo, Esoterica, and The Flowolf.
The Nigerian Context: A Cultural Tapestry of Sound. For Nigerians, Sabali is significant for several reasons:
Cultural Anchor: The deliberate use of Apala in the lead single is a powerful act of cultural reaffirmation. In a genre that is constantly globalizing, tying innovation back to authentic indigenous sounds resonates deeply, celebrating the sonic foundations that gave birth to Afrobeats.
Unity in Diversity: The massive collaboration list, spanning different genres and generations from the traditional sounds of The Cavemen to the Drill of Jeriq—showcases the vast, unified ecosystem of Nigerian music. It’s a sonic reflection of the country’s diverse talent coming together for a common, world-class artistic vision.
A Global Statement: Every major release in Afrobeats is another pillar in the genre’s global conquest. Sabali contributes to Nigeria’s cultural export, providing a new, complex flavour for international streaming platforms and conversations. It confirms that Nigerian music is not a monolith but a dynamic space where creativity knows no bounds.
As Sabali circulates and streams take flight, its reception will not only solidify Peruzzi’s legacy as a cornerstone of the DMW era but also confirm his role as an imaginative visionary who respects the past while fearlessly defining the future of African music.
