Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Ahmed Ololade, widely known as Asake or Mr Money, has released his fourth studio album, M$NEY, on Friday, May 1, continuing a remarkable run of delivering a full project every year since his breakthrough in 2022.

The 13-track album, released via his own imprint Giran Republic in partnership with independent music company EMPIRE, marks a significant milestone in Asake’s career as his first full-length body of work outside of Olamide’s YBNL Nation, where he first rose to fame. The move signals a clear shift toward creative independence for one of Afrobeats’ most commercially dominant voices.

M$NEY arrives on the back of three lead singles that had already been building anticipation. “Why Love,” a melodic, Fuji-tinged introspective track, was followed by “Badman Gangsta,” a collaboration with French-Congolese rapper Tiakola that cleverly samples Amerie’s 2005 hit “1 Thing.” The third single, “Worship,” featuring French electronic producer DJ Snake, is perhaps the most globally ambitious of the three, blending spiritual themes with festival-ready production energy.

Asake had debuted the song at a historic Red Bull Symphonic performance in New York last November, becoming the first African artist to lead the orchestral showcase in the United States.

The full project also includes “Asambe,” featuring South African amapiano titan Kabza De Small, as well as tracks such as “Gratitude,” “Forgiveness,” “Oba,” and “Amen,” which together point to a more reflective, spiritually rooted dimension beneath the album’s gleaming wealth aesthetic.

Early listening impressions suggest that Asake has retained the high-octane beats, powerful hooks, and Fuji-influenced vocal runs that define his sound, while making a deliberate push toward broader international appeal.

The album’s rollout was itself a talking point. Rather than the conventional promo campaign, Asake unveiled the project through a striking visual series documenting Iraqi-Dutch sculptor Athar Jabar carving a life-size marble bust of the singer from Statuario marble sourced in Carrara, Italy.

The artwork evolved across streaming platforms in the days leading up to release, progressing from raw stone to a finished portrait, a creative approach widely interpreted as a statement of permanence and artistic ambition.

Reception has been mixed. Some fans and critics have praised the album’s sonic range, pointing to its Pan-African collaborations and the balance Asake strikes between global experimentation and his core Yoruba street-pop identity. Others, however, have expressed the view that the project lacks the instant classic feel of earlier work, suggesting that the aggressive tilt toward international audiences has come at the cost of the raw, feverish energy that defined albums like Mr Money With The Vibe and Work of Art.

M$NEY follows Asake’s previous three studio albums Mr Money With The Vibe (2022), Work of Art (2023) and Lungu Boy (2024) as well as his collaborative EP Real Vol. 1 with Wizkid earlier this year. Asake currently holds the record for the most entries on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, with 62, and is the most-streamed artist on Spotify Nigeria