Miami inspired Afrobeats star Fireboy DML’s hit ‘Peru.’ See him in Broward this weekend

The world has Miami to thank for Fireboy DML’s international smash “Peru.”

During a bout of writer’s block in 2021, the Nigeria native booked his first ever trip to the United States. He hit New York. San Francisco. And of course Miami. He got a neck tattoo, got his first feel of silicone and even tried skydiving for the first time. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, the last stop on his cross country journey, the self-proclaimed overthinker crafted a song in roughly 45 minutes that has since gone platinum and racked up more than 300 million Spotify streams to date.

“Every experience was brand new,” Fireboy, 28, told the Miami Herald. “Everything was inspiring. So it was easy to just connect back into it.”

Nearly three years later, Fireboy will return to South Florida on Saturday evening to headline Miramar’s AfroCarib Festival. The performance follows a rather trying 2023 for Fireboy, one that undoubtedly will influence his upcoming fourth album. As he chats over Zoom from a studio in San Francisco, the very same one that birthed “Peru,” he talks about his journey but also shares some details about his untitled project that he hints might drop in the summer.

“I’ve learned balance and that’s what this next project sounds like,” Fireboy said, calling it an “album of celebration.”

“It sounds like a balanced Fireboy, someone who has found balance, someone who has found peace.”

The importance of peace in Fireboy’s life cannot be understated. An introvert by nature, Fireboy DML has always prioritized his solitude despite often describing his 2022 release “Playboy” as him shedding the reclusive artist label in favor for someone ready to enjoy his international stardom. So when he lost a few friends in early 2023, the grief impacted him greatly.

“It was whole lot of personal stuff, but I’ve learned that there are things that matter more than just personal success – family, health, making sure that the right people are around you,” Fireboy said, praising his “support system.”

Born Adedamola Adefolahan, Fireboy DML was raised in Abeokuta, a city less than 50 miles outside of Lagos, along with his two younger brothers. He fell in love with music by the age of 11 and began writing poetry. At age 12 he did a short stint in a gospel choir – “It was like, for a week,” he cut in. “I only did it because my mom asked me.” Except for a few Nigerian gospel artists and beloved Afrobeats crooner Wande Coal, most of his influences come from a rather unexpected singer-songwriters trio: Passenger, Jon Bellion and Ed Sheeran.

“I’ve always loved the acoustic guitar,” Fireboy said, those singer songwriter vibes, guitar vocals that strips down music – “something like that just appealed to the 11, 12-year-old poet in me at the time. It was the honesty in this, in the songwriting that really, really got me.”

Fireboy would go on to attend Obafemi Awolowo University to study English. There, his passion for music only grew – even if his first goal was to be a rapper.

“I’ve always been good with words, so I thought being a rapper just means if you’re good with words, you can just [rap] but apparently my voice was not for the rap,” Fireboy quipped before bursting out laughing. “It was even gospel rap at some point. It was crazy.”

Fireboy befriended a group of musicians with access to a studio and before long, he found himself there more than in class. He’d run errands for his friends. Clean up the studio. Help them with songwriting. Just whatever was necessary to stay in the studio.

“That was my class, you know?” Fireboy said. He learned how to mix vocals and record through just watching his peers record. “I was just happy to be there watching everybody and being a studio rat also in the sense that different kind of artists just came. The good ones, the bad ones, the terrible ones. Every single one of them had something that I could learn.”

After his 2017 graduation, Fireboy moved to Lagos to pursue his music career. The studio rat trend continued but the struggles soon mounted. Between songwriting for some extra cash and paying to perform at showcases, Fireboy knew something had to change. So he locked himself inside for a 10-month span to do what he loved: record. He would soon be discovered by Nigerian artist and tastemaker Olamide.

“For me, it’s always been Fireboy’s sound,” Olamide told Rolling Stone. “It’s distinct. It’s undeniable. From the first time we met, I knew he would bring something to music that hasn’t been heard before.”

A succession of projects soon followed, transforming Fireboy to one of the leading figures in Afropop thanks to his melodic blend of R&B and Afrobeats. “Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps,” his 2019 debut that featured breakout hit “Jealous,” showcased Fireboy’s songwriting chops as he explored love and heartbreak. “Apollo,” a 17-track project thatcontinued his emotive musings while diving into the ups and downs of fame, came in 2020. His latest offering “Playboy,” which featured “Peru” and allowed him to shed the loverboy persona, arrived in 2022. And while some questioned the choice of Sheeran on the “Peru” remix, Fireboy does not believe in gatekeeping.

“What’s yours is yours — gatekeeping means someone can just come and snatch it away from you,” Fireboy said. As Afrobeats continues to spread across the globe, including a newly minted Grammy category for Best African Music Performance, he believes artist who decide to experiment in the genre must lead “with the people in that soundscape.” That, along with having pure intentions, is paramount.

“If you really want to do it,” he added, “you have to really want to do it for the right reasons.”

Although many of his 2023 releases had a heavy amapiano influence, Fireboy assures fans that his upcoming project is “an Afrobeats album.” The year 2023 itself might be one to forget for Fireboy but the change of the calendar year has also given way to a healthier mindset, something that fans can expect to hear more of soon.

‘When I feel like I need to tell a story, that’s when I start to make an album,” Fireboy said. “And I have a story to tell this year.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: AfroCarib Festival

WHEN: 6-11 p.m. Feb. 17

WHERE: Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater, 16801 Miramar Pkwy, Miramar

TICKETS: $20-$150

For more information visit https://www.afrocaribfestmiramar.com/