Gabriel Afolayan has built one of the most recognisable careers in Nigerian entertainment, but it is easy to forget how much of it has played out in music. The actor, widely known for his Nollywood work, has quietly been releasing music for well over a decade. StandPoint, out now via ONErpm, is his sixth studio album, and it arrives at a moment when he clearly has a lot to say.
StandPoint is billed as a crossroads album, moving across love, spirituality, and self-reflection. The record draws from real life: the tension between two people trying to understand why they love each other, or why they cannot stay together; the cold logic of modern dating; and the kind of spiritual grounding that sees you through when neither logic nor love is enough.
The album opens in the middle of that emotional friction. Tracks like “Why Do We Love” and “Show You” place you inside a relationship honest enough to question itself, where two people ask the hard questions rather than perform certainty. From there, StandPoint moves through different registers. “Won Le Mi” and “Don’t Worry” carry a more spiritual, self-motivating energy, written for a generation that is still searching for solid ground. But Gabriel does not keep the album weighted there. “Vibing Thing (Nasty)” and “All The Thinz” open the window and let some air in, a deliberate exhale in the middle of everything else. “Life Is A Bubble” names the philosophy the whole record is built around: that life moves fast and impermanence is real, so you may as well find the moments worth holding.
Across all nineteen tracks, StandPoint earns its title. It offers a set of perspectives, a collection of standpoints, and leaves the listener to decide where they land. “I wanted this album to feel like a real conversation, not a performance. Life has a way of pulling you in many directions at once, and I just tried to be honest about all of them.” – Gabriel Afolayan
TRACKLISTING
1. Why Do We Love
2. Show You
3. Allow Me
4. All The Thinz
5. Won Le Mi
6. Alujo
7. On My Mind
8. Vibing Thng (Nasty)
9. Dodo Song
10. Kaleku
11. Toripe
12. Everything
13. Omoope
14. Don’t worry
15. Esi Aye Wa
16. Unconditional Love
17. I’ll Be There
18. Life Is A Bubble
19. Do Things
‘Standpoint’ is now available on all streaming platforms via ONErpm.
