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“Agbalagbi” Review: OluwaMillar Navigates Life, Faith, and Fame on Debut EP

“Agbalagbi” Review: OluwaMillar Navigates Life, Faith, and Fame on Debut EP

Agbalagbi

Throughout Agbalagbi, OluwaMillar contends with matters of life and religion, questioning God’s location at a time when everything seemed to be going wrong in his life but ultimately conceding that the Almighty prevented him from much worse fates.

By Patrick Ezema 

Before OluwaMillar ushered in 2025 with his debut EP, Agbalagbi, he had spent the last few years tentatively dabbling into the industry. Without a project to focus his artistry, a number of songs were his musical output through the years: 2022 and 2023 had three songs of his own each in addition to a number of guest verses, while last year he released only “Alubarika”, which features on this EP. 

In this time, massive streaming numbers have eluded him, but he has learned to improve and niche down his artistry, making fine collaborations with other rappers along the way. Agbalagbi is the end product of his growth over the last four years: a Yoruba-delivered project that displays his fine lyricism and eye for well-fitting collaboration.

Agbalagbi’s fourth track announces OluwaMillar as the “Rapper Wey Dem No Fit Define”, a play on both his versatility and uniqueness. He shows ample amounts of both qualities on “Agbalagbi”, as a result of which the EP’s 20 minutes breeze by so quickly—the entire project is a breath of fresh air compared to what Nigerian Rap has on offer. 

Consider the already mentioned “RWDNFD”. At just a minute and a half long, it forgoes a chorus, existing instead as an uninterrupted display of superciliousness that, within the context of the EP, feels well-earned: “Doings wey them no fit decline/ We don leave all them OGs behind.”

There is a deep-seated confidence that drives Agbalagbi, one that goes beyond awards and streaming figures because it stems from something deeper—Oluwa,Millar’s innate belief in his talent.

Agbalagbi
Agbalagbi

This is why he proclaims himself “Agbalagbi ju Agbalagba lo”, a line first used by the late legend Baba Suwe, who introduced himself as “the old man that is older than old men”. Yoruba cosmology highly reveres age, closely associating it with wisdom and authority, and Oluwamillar’s use of the phrase reflects his belief in his own superiority: “E ti mo p’emi ni father won.”

In drawing deeply from Yoruba culture and delivering nearly every line in the language, OluwaMillar ensures he stands out. His music is linguistically cut from the same cloth as Street-Hop stars like Olamide and Zlatan, but in applying himself chiefly to Hip-Hop beats, he stands in his own lane, with the merits of both genres in his arsenal. 

This allows him to connect with his culture and people on a fundamental level, even if it alienates some others. But OluwaMillar has never been concerned with mainstream appeal—a few dedicated listeners who deeply resonate with his art are more than enough.

On the EP, he looks to the future with expectation, but he also looks back on the past with gratitude. Agbalagbi lays out his history bare, like in the near-death experience he narrates on “Olorunsogo”, where he suffered a bike accident, or on “Muri”, where the (hopefully) made-up story of Muri illustrates the pipeline from poverty to crime in underprivileged communities: 

“Oh lord have mercy on the boy/ No, we ku no get no choice/ Na the hustle turn the boy into a sinner/ Now we dey bomb like Shekau” 

This chorus is delivered by Jamz FR, one of several well-placed guest artists, whose voice brings a measure of comfort to an otherwise heartrending track.

OluwaMillar
OluwaMillar

“Opelope Anointing” rounds out the opening trio of reflective, heartfelt songs—OluwaMillar’s attempt to condense the years of his troubled past into nine minutes.

His special guest here is Yoruba gospel legend Dunni Olanrewaju, whose original song “Opelope Anointing”—a childhood favourite of OluwaMillar’s—is sampled in the intro, while singer Layo Isaac provides additional vocals in the outro. 

Throughout Agbalagbi, he contends with matters of life and religion, questioning God’s location at a time when everything seemed to be going wrong in his life but ultimately conceding that the Almighty prevented him from much worse fates. 

God and religion are prisms through which he processes life events around him and moves toward the future. He acknowledges his near-death experience on “Olorunsogo” as another chance the Almighty has given him at life.

But this blanket of religious philosophy does not cover the entire album. When it slips, carnality takes its place. Most of it is contained in “Reverse Back”, a low-tempo, sultry affair. It is the project’s only real drawback; this attempt to mix strange concepts into only twenty minutes is subtractive rather than additive, not least because it is what everyone else is singing about. 

Agbalagbi
Agbalagbi tracklist

On the very next song, “Alubarika” or “Blessings”, he reverts to his contemplation of his talent and his upcoming journey to the top.

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But even when OluwaMillar swerves through topics, he does not shift in tone. He has made the soundscape of this project mellow and sparse in instruments, ensuring no distraction from his lyrics. 

There is a seamlessness to his transitions between songs that lends the EP a steady, thoughtful flow. Debut EPs offer budding artistes the chance to make an introduction and establish a style. OluwaMillar has seized this opportunity brilliantly—a welcome to his world of Yoruba rap, where he is the Agbalagbi—the most authentic rapper and the superior lyricist.

Lyricism – 1.7

Tracklisting – 1.5

Sound Engineering – 1.3

Vocalisation – 1.4

Listening Experience – 1.8

Rating 7.9/10

Patrick Ezema is a music and culture journalist. Send him links to your favourite Nigerian songs @EzemaPatrick.

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