The past few months have witnessed a remarkable surge of artistes joining forces to craft joint collaborative projects.
At the turn of this year, Asake and Wizkid united to deliver the effervescent Real. Vol, King Promise and Mr Eazi offered the well executed See What We’ve Done EP, and even Wizard Chan and Joeboy converged on Agaba Romantic, which, in my earlier review, I described as standing “as one of the most complete and compelling collaborative projects to emerge from the Afrobeats space in recent memory.”
The latest entry into this growing wave of creative unions, The Game Needs Us EP by BNXN and Sarz, slots seamlessly into this tradition, and carries particular significance as an artiste-producer collaboration of genuine artistic consequence.
BNXN has, for the better part of five years, remained firmly at the vanguard of the genre, his sonorous, richly textured vocals paired with an innate gift for introspective, layered songwriting that has cultivated both a devoted fanbase and the respect of discerning listeners.
Sarz, for his part, is among the most prolific and sonically versatile producers the continent has produced, his fingerprints indelibly etched into the evolutionary arc of Afrobeats on the global stage. His celebrated joint projects with artistes like Lojay, WurlD, and Obongjayar have consistently demonstrated his rare ability to architect full-bodied, immersive sonic palettes tailored to the distinct voice of each collaborator.
The Game Needs Us is, therefore, a purposeful meeting of two of the genre’s most consequential figures that does not arrive without precedent. Their prior chemistry on tracks like “Pidgin and English” and “Gwagwalada” had already hinted at an intuitive creative synchronicity, and this EP is the full realisation of that promise.
The pre-release single “Back Outside,” dropped two weeks ahead of the EP, arrives as an early statement of intent. Sarz constructs a crisp, kinetic instrumental, buoyant guitar melodies weaving against airy flute lines and moody, atmospheric synths, before layering in children’s vocals that interpolate Malian musical duo Amadou & Mariam’s beloved classic “Ko Neye Mounka Allah La.” The children intone: “Ko ne ma don ka toun be na ketan de, mogow / Dja dounia le ko la filyla, ye ne ma o don.”
The repetition of the phrase “Ko ne ma don ka toun be na ketan de, mogow” takes on an almost liturgical, chant-like quality, a meditative loop culled from the duo’s timeless catalog and recontextualised within a thoroughly contemporary Afrobeats framework.
The EP’s opener, “Rum & Soda,” eases in as a slow-burning, languid confessional, ushered into existence by the warm strum of a guitar. BNXN leans heavily into hedonistic longing as a salve for emotional weight, navigating desire and turmoil in the same breath: “Fi ibadi yen she mi leshe / Soro ah dob uno / I dey go through things / It’s complicated / You’re the one for me o.”
The Yoruba line “Fi ibadi yen she mi leshe”, loosely translated as “injure me with your backside”, is delivered with playful sensuality that has become one of BNXN’s most distinctive lyrical signatures, grounding the track’s emotional complexity in a moment of disarming intimacy.
On “Already”, BNXN glides over a mid-tempo instrumental that stands as one of the EP’s finest moments. Against Sarz’s warm, understated production, he reflects on the sacrifices, pressures, and relentless focus required to sustain his ambition. It is a song that balances confidence with introspection, allowing BNXN to examine the rewards and burdens of his ascent.
The defining moment arrives in the second verse when he declares, “The game fucking needs us / Na me go do the work / I can’t fuck this up.” Beyond serving as a direct reference to the EP’s title, the line serves as a mission statement which encapsulates the conviction and self-belief that underpin the project.
There is a striking emotional depth to “Emotional High.” Despite its rhythmic foundation of rolling log drums and shimmering guitar riffs, the production never overshadows BNXN’s performance. Instead, it creates enough breathing room for his vocals to occupy centre stage.
The song takes shape as a tender meditation on vulnerability, desire, and the transient nature of human connection. Rather than presenting love as a permanent destination, BNXN frames it as an intoxicating rush, a fleeting experience embraced despite the awareness that it may not endure.
From the opening lines, “Tonight is yours / I never felt this way before,” he surrenders himself to the intensity of the moment. There is a clear sense of emotional abandon, as though he is willingly yielding to a feeling too powerful to resist.
The closing track, “Frank Sinatra”, serves as a fitting finale and, in many ways, a subtle nod to the late American icon, Frank Sinatra. Unlike “Emotional High”, which luxuriates in vulnerability and longing, this record adopts a more confrontational posture.
Here, BNXN grapples with the frustrations of an imbalanced relationship, questioning the disparity between emotional investment and emotional return. The pre-chorus immediately establishes the song’s central tension: “It happens every week when I need you to put all of your loving on me.”
What ultimately makes “Frank Sinatra” compelling is its relatability. Rather than romanticising heartbreak, BNXN focuses on the ordinary frustrations that often signal a relationship’s decline: inconsistent affection, unmet expectations, poor communication, and emotional asymmetry. It is this grounded approach that gives the song its resonance, allowing it to close the EP on a note that is deeply personal and universally familiar.
The ambition of The Game Needs Us is embedded in its title. It is a declaration suggesting that BNXN and Sarz possess something the current Afrobeats landscape lacks. Such a title inevitably raises expectations of innovation, reinvention, or at the very least, a bold departure from prevailing trends. Yet while the EP succeeds as a polished and expertly executed body of work, it does not entirely fulfil the promise implied by its name.
To its credit, The Game Needs Us is immaculately produced. Sarz once again demonstrates why he remains one of the most dependable architects of contemporary African music, crafting lush, detailed soundscapes that are both immersive and accessible.
BNXN, meanwhile, delivers another reminder of his greatest strength: songwriting. Few artistes of his generation possess his ability to transform familiar themes of love, desire, heartbreak, ambition, and self-reflection into records that feel emotionally immediate. Across the EP, his pen remains sharp, his melodies instinctive, and his performances deeply engaging.
But for a project that boldly asserts that “the game needs us,” there is surprisingly little evidence of experimentation or sonic risk-taking. The EP rarely ventures beyond the sonic territories both artistes have already mastered. Rather than introducing new possibilities for the genre, it largely refines familiar formulas.
Still, the collaboration itself remains significant. Artiste-producer projects occupy a unique place within music culture, offering a level of cohesion that traditional albums often struggle to achieve. In recent years, several collaborative projects have unfortunately failed that test to varying degrees, often suffering from a lack of chemistry, creative alignment, or a compelling shared perspective.
The Game Needs Us avoids those pitfalls. The chemistry between BNXN and Sarz is evident throughout, built on years of collaboration and mutual understanding.
Beyond artistic considerations, joint projects continue to make sense from an economic standpoint. For major artistes, they provide opportunities to access new audiences and strengthen fan engagement in ways that standalone singles often cannot.
But the best collaborative projects offer more than commercial advantages; they create a space where two distinct creative identities converge to produce something greater than the sum of their parts.
While The Game Needs Us may not reshape the contours of contemporary Afrobeats as its title suggests, it succeeds in demonstrating the value of a well-matched creative partnership. It is a strong, cohesive, and rewarding project that showcases two masters of their craft operating at a high level.
