Fireboy DML and Pheelz Unite on “Peace By Piece” EP, Redefining Afrobeats Collaboration

The architecture of music-making has always depended on a delicate equilibrium between producer and artiste, each bringing indispensable elements to the table. One sculpts sonic landscapes while the other breathes life into them through voice and vision. It’s a relationship as old as recorded music itself, typically professional with artistes and producers cycling through collaborators in pursuit of the next sound and the next hit.

Yet occasionally, something more profound emerges from these partnerships. Two creative minds find a wavelength that transcends the typical division of labor and develop an intuitive understanding that transforms collaboration into communion. They become, in the truest sense, two peas in a pod whose combined output feels inevitable, almost predestined, leaving indelible marks on both their careers and the cultural memory of their audience.

Nigerian Pop has been blessed with its share of defining partnerships and relationships that have shaped the industry’s contours across generations. Fireboy DML and Pheelz have been circling this rarified air since Fireboy’s debut album, “Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps” in 2019, but their new joint EP “Peace By Piece” marks the moment they’ve fully stepped into it. No longer tethered by the conventional hierarchies of artiste and producer, they now move as artiste collaborators in a space they’ve spent half a decade learning to inhabit together.

During the roll-out phase, the project arrived prefaced by Olamide‘s voice in monochrome visuals. Layered with text, the rapper, singer, and YBNL helmsman offered an observation that cuts to the heart of what makes this partnership remarkable: “Pheelz and Fireboy, a match made in heaven, just like rice and beans.” It’s a simple metaphor rooted in West African culinary tradition, where the combination is foundational, with both elements necessary for the dish to fulfil its purpose.

Olamide continues: “Being able to experience the process of “Laughter, Tears, & Goosebumps” made me realize how much magic they create together. God has made it possible for them to find each other. Things like this are rare; they come once in a lifetime.” The weight of that statement becomes clearer when you consider what’s shifted between then and now.

In 2019, Pheelz was still primarily understood through his production credits. He was one of the architects behind YBNL’s sonic identity, the genius engineer with hits for many artistes who’ve defined contemporary Afropop’s melodic turn, including Fireboy. The intervening years have rewritten that script entirely.

Fireboy has built an impressive discography, including “Apollo”, which was released during the heat of global lockdown in 2020, his third album, “Playboy”, released in 2022, and his eponymous album “Adedamola”, released in 2024, each documenting his evolution from romantic ingénue to confident hitmaker navigating the complexities of fame, desire, and identity.

Pheelz, meanwhile, underwent his own radical transformation, stepping out from behind the boards to claim space as a solo artiste. His “Pheelz Good” album released in 2023 delivered the life-altering “Finesse” collaboration with BNXN, a track that became a cultural phenomenon and redefined his career trajectory. The follow-up “Pheelz Good II” EP released last year further cemented his status as a dual-threat creative, equally formidable whether crafting beats or delivering melodies.

The collaborative EP, “Peace By Piece,” dismantles the old framework entirely. Pheelz, emboldened by his metamorphosis, now stands shoulder to shoulder with Fireboy, both men singing and shaping the sonic vision. “On a Kentro,” the opening salvo featuring L.A.X, wastes no time establishing the EP’s ethos. Pheelz’s introductory confession, “If you ask me wetin I dey find, I’m still looking for my peace of mind / You no know wetin I don survive / So no dey tell me how to live my life,” sets a tone that’s simultaneously vulnerable and defiant. It’s a statement of autonomy earned through struggle.

Fireboy slides into the track with melodic agility, lacing his verse through the production with an ease that perfectly aligns with Pheelz’s sonic language. L.A.X’s contribution injects a burst of kinetic energy and a call to prosperity: “Jẹ ki n rọna gbe gba / Ki n ma stack that paper / To ba n gbemu na back to sender,” he sings. But the song’s true genius lies in the intoxicating blend of Pidgin and Yoruba in the hook: “Ẹsẹ mi n gbọn / But I stand strong / Tell your neighbour! / Ase lo n fọ / On a kentro / Jẹ ka ma lọ.” Amid the playful call-and-response and Fireboy’s chant of “Obleee every Saturday / Dorime no fit cure my pain,” there’s a motivational current running through the track in coded slang of pop culture.

The beat transitions smoothly into “Gozi,” which introduces the amapiano influence that’s become inescapable in contemporary Afropop. But Fireboy and Pheelz wield it with intention by crafting a song that acknowledges the divine while celebrating material proof of success. Fireboy’s chorus, “Owo ti wọle / Pull up in a Benz / Mo ti rale mo ra mọto / Elo ni Bentley? / I go share testimony / Tell everybody / Ogoziri ma gozi,” carries a narrative weight that becomes exponentially heavier when placed in conversation with his artistic trajectory.

Rewind to his classic love song “Need You” from his debut album “Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps” in 2019, where the 24-year-old, durag-wearing Fireboy sang with raw honesty that “You said let’s be friends oh / Let’s take it gently baby / Me I no get Benz oh / I no get Bentley baby / All I got is love for you for you.” It was a confession of lack in that period, but six years later, the Bentley question, “Elo ni Bentley?,” is no longer rhetorical. This is what growth sounds like when documented in real-time across a discography. And the song doesn’t stop at materialism; it roots its celebration in spiritual gratitude.

The spiritual gratitude established in “Gozi” sets up an intriguing tonal contrast with what follows. “Shake” arrives as the EP’s unabashed dive into hedonism, with Pheelz’s ad-libs, “I like the way you shake that body / I like the way you move your body,” transforming the mood into a club-ready anthem. The sequencing here reveals something essential about the EP’s worldview. Rather than compartmentalising spirituality and carnality, “Peace By Piece” allows them to exist in conversation across the tracklist. The transition from “Gozi” to “Shake” embodies this philosophy: one moment you’re acknowledging divine favor, the next you’re celebrating physical attraction and the liberating power of dance.

The fourth track, “Young Again,” might be the EP’s emotional apex, a track so buoyant and life-affirming it borders on anthemic. Fireboy’s hypnotic chorus, “Celebrate oooooo / Ṣe you no knowwww / We no fit young again!,” carries a bittersweet undercurrent. There’s an acknowledgement that youth is finite and therefore must be squeezed for every drop of joy it can yield. The production elevates this sentiment brilliantly: violins glide through the arrangement, adding layers of wistfulness, while talking drums provide rhythmic propulsion that keeps the song grounded and lively. Pheelz’s verse reflects on the grind that preceded this moment, the sacrifices and hustles that now permit him to embrace enjoyment without guilt. It’s a song about earned pleasure, about the right to rest and revel after the work is done.

By the time “ILWY” arrives as the closer, the EP has traversed motivation, gratitude, hedonism, and exuberance. It’s only fitting that it concludes in tenderness. The log drum-driven production creates an intimate sonic space for declarations of affection. “Baby, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah / I’m in love with you / I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love,” Fireboy croons. Pheelz initiates the refrain, Fireboy mirrors and expands it, and in that call-and-response structure, the song achieves a layered vulnerability that serves as the perfect denouement to the EP’s emotional arc.

What’s perhaps most impressive about “Peace By Piece” is its pacing. Five tracks could easily feel insufficient or underdeveloped, but the EP never betrays a sense of incompleteness. From the opening flow of “On a Kentro” through the fading echoes of “ILWY,” there’s a propulsive momentum that sustains engagement without exhausting the listener. Each track occupies its own emotional and sonic territory while contributing to a cohesive whole that speaks to the intuitive understanding Fireboy and Pheelz have developed over years of creative proximity.

At its essence, “Peace By Piece” EP is a meditation on joy and gratitude, complicated by self-awareness. It’s music that understands pleasure as a form of resistance and celebration as a spiritual practice. The production, spearheaded by Pheelz with contributions from Black Culture, is meticulously crafted, with every element serving the song.

Ultimately, what makes “Peace By Piece” most compelling is the palpable sense of liberation that permeates it. These are two talented artistes who’ve reached a point in their careers where they can afford to loosen their grip, to make music driven by impulse and intuition. In stepping fully into their partnership as equals, Fireboy DML and Pheelz have created a cohesive, soul-stirring project that ignites a magnetic sonic chemistry that, in Olamide’s own words, is rare to find.