Behold, Zuko!

It’s nighttime.  His head comes into focus against a city skyline, as does the rest of his body afterwards, draped in a red and black pinstripe suit. To his left, there’s a red convertible. And as the camera comes to bear on his full physique, we see the outline of a mountain range, all rendered in greasy Frank Miller-esque monochrome neo-noir. As the narrator warps on about the people needing his saving, and their hate that really is love, we see his bloodied, bandaged knuckles. “Four times, he did [save them]” the narrator says “and four times they forgot. But this time, they’ll remember.” Soulful saxophone notes give way to the sound of his engine, racing along what appears to be a bridge, as an orchestral assemblage of horns fills our ears. On the number plate, there is only one word:

ZUKO!

If this description reads dramatically, it’s because the video in question is. Released on Saturday, 11 July, 2026, the promotional short video described above was an announcement of singer Fireboy DML’s forthcoming LP, Zuko! His fifth in seven years, Zuko! follows 2024’s adedamola. And to no one’s surprise, it has quickly become one of the year’s most anticipated projects. 

There were hints of album no. 5. On 21 April, 2026, Fireboy dropped a similarly styled neo-noir short clip, introducing us to this world of greyscales and sharp reds in a skylight-lit room. He followed that up with a snippet set in the same location on 24 April, guitar strums and ululations in what appears to be a dance track pleading for his lover to stay. And then, on 9 May, a third snippet—one of the year’s most intriguing—hit the internet. Same room. Fireboy in an all-white ensemble singing over Reward’s 3-step production, drawing parallels to the Biblical trio of Samson, David, and Elijah, and calling down “Holy Ghost Fire” and “Hallelujah mẹta” in the tradition of the Celestial Church of Christ. Captured in grainy footage, we see Fireboy animated in a way he rarely is, hopping with arms raised in a white body suit as he invokes Holy Uriel. Nothing so in-depth as to term these lines as ‘religious symbolism’, yet intriguing enough to wonder what Zuko! would sound like. 

This interest is for good reason. To cruise down memory lane briefly, the YNBL signee’s debut album, 2019’s Laughter, Tears, and Goosebumps, was an instant classic for the ages. No nostalgia speaking here. LTG was hot as soon as it dropped, referenced to the point where it almost pigeon-holed Fireboy. His sophomore, Apollo, released the following year to rave reviews with enough deep cuts to craft an EP of B-side hits. His third and most commercially successful album, 2022’s Playboy, hit a brick wall. On the one hand, the biggest songs of his career (Peru, Peru (Remix) with Ed Sheeran, Bandana (feat. Asake), and Diana); on the other hand, a lack of cohesion and musical lowpoints that left fans wondering what exactly was going on. In the two years before 2024’s adedamola, think pieces and an avalanche of questions accompanied his singles, an imbroglio worsened by the dominance of stan narratives on X, Instagram, and elsewhere, in a market reeling off international success, and mindful of his place as a leader of the 2019 class. And while the album was fairly received, that ambivalence about Fireboy remained, with some critics arguing that the 14-track LP was tame, and the numbers hunters decrying the lack of a hit. Last year, he and singer-producer Pheelz put out the Peace by Piece EP. Nothing extraordinary by both their standards but far from a snooze fest. That’s the space Fireboy currently occupies. 

The choice of a hero narrative on the Zuko! trailer isn’t lost on us. It’s just the same way contemporaries, BNXN and Sarz saw a need to title their collaborative EP, ‘The Game Needs Us’, tapping into Afropop’s hip-hop roots. One struggles to recall any Afropop superstars that don’t think their music is the best thing ever. Or somewhere in that canon, at least. Not even with the modesty diatribes at award ceremonies that come off more conceited than heartwrenching. He might not engage with fans and post as much as someone like Davido, but Fireboy is undeniably online. ‘Zuko’ comes from the Avatar: The Last Airbender character, a ‘fire-bending’ prince who became king, a sobriquet used in X troll circles to refer to the singer, and one he has acknowledged as far back as a 14 April, 2026 X post. Titling his fifth album Zuko! is a decisive career marker if there ever was one. A middle finger that doubles as a come hither to all and sundry. Here he is, you ungrateful audience, back with songs of salvation. Here he is with the music to rescue us all. 

But what exactly is this music that will make us remember the times before? For all the criticism he’s received, Fireboy has never been one to remain static in his sound. Every album so far has featured an eclectic mix of genres around an Afropop core. As such,  both snippets being of EDM stock isn’t so surprising. Laughter, Tears, and Goosebumps, had Scatter and Omo Ologo, both Afro-House records. adedamola has that three-track run from change your life to obaa sima down to need me; the latter two being Amapiano while the former is Afro-House. Additionally, the trend from other mainstream releases suggests a final shedding of Amapiano, but still towards SA’s reigning 3-step sound. If the experimental clips are any indicator of an experimental bent on Zuko!, there’s every possibility that Fireboy also follows the trend. But this writer would rather he did not. 

For an artist as prolific as he is, churning out 5 LPs in 7 years,  there’s much to be proud of. Compared to his fellow 2019-2020 contemporaries: Rema (2), Joeboy (4, including Agaba Romantic), Omah Lay (2), Tems (1), and Ayra Starr (2, with Starr Girl set for an August 2026 release), Fireboy’s output does deserve some commendation. If not for anything, for the willingness to attempt reinventions so frequently. In the age of the über-protected popstar averse to criticism, releasing music so frequently suggests a certain level of comfort with negative feedback. That’s not to say the star has been receptive to critiques, but at least he’s brave enough to put out new material as consistently as he does (Never thought the day would come where releasing music made you brave, but here we are). 

When the singles roll in, we’ll have a better grasp of where to place expectations. Currently, that’s somewhere between ‘redemptive all-timer’ and ‘the Playboy–adedamola run wasn’t a fluke.’ In the event of a dud, trust Fireboy stans to respond to Kendrick Lamar’s scenario-appropriate question, “When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?” with a resounding “Yes!” His is a following that can’t quite be erased by a poor album or two. That and above par performance skills make him a draw for any concert anywhere within the federation and even externally. But for the sake of a good heroic arc, it would be nice to have Zuko! burn away ashy residue from the last two albums. ‘Four times they forgot’ can very well become ‘three times they listened exasperatedly’ which can also become ‘We don’t need another Fireboy album.’ 

Until then, speculations will abound. Even as we wait for announced albums from other Afropop stars, we will listen to Remember off Apollo, reinterpreting the lyrics in recollection of the singer’s talent. What’s the worst that could happen?