Arriving eight years after his debut album, ‘Talk About Poe (T.A.P),’ Ladipoe’s sophomore album, ‘REVIVAL,’ comes as a personal statement, giving fans and long-term listeners insight into all the ways the rapper has evolved and changed  after his debut album presented an introduction. In the time since then, the rapper has further expanded his catalogue with standout releases, including “Know You” with Simi, “Feeling” with BNXN, and the EP ‘Providence’ which featured tracks such as “Afro Jigga” with Rema and “Law of Attraction.” Alongside music,  he made his acting debut on the Prime Video-released ‘Christmas in Lagos,’ directed by Jade Osiberu.

Beyond a follow-up to ‘Talk About Poe (T.A.P),’ ‘REVIVAL,’ represents a new chapter in his journey, capturing his growth, self-discovery, and evolving perspective as an artist and a person. For Ladipoe, the album isn’t about presenting a finished version of himself. Instead, it reflects someone who has become more comfortable with the journey of understanding who he is. Throughout the project, growth is a  central theme, not only through lessons learned over the years, but through recognising the qualities that have always existed within him, even as life’s pressures tried to reshape them.

Rather than telling listeners who Ladipoe is, ‘REVIVAL’ offers his perspective and invites them to find pieces of themselves within it. That perspective informed how the album was made. Ladipoe focused on unlearning perfection, a mindset that ultimately changed how he approached creating ‘REVIVAL.’ Rather than relying on a pattern, he learned to trust that the right ideas, people and process would reveal themselves along the way. The beauty of the experience is that there isn’t one formula for creating an album, only the process that unfolds when you’re willing to let it.

“All of it was challenging,” Ladipoe explains. “I learned from the process of making this album that there is no process. The only process is the one that you allow to happen. You kind of know where you want to go. You have a feeling for where you want to go. You don’t know everything. You don’t know the beats. You don’t know all the beats. You don’t know all the people you work with, but as you start to move, things start to unfold and there are things that you have to allow to happen. There’s some things that you can be intentional about, but overall the process of making an album taught me that there’re many ways to make an album.”

That multi-varied approach to making an album naturally extended to the project’s collaborations. Each feature came together differently, not through a fixed plan but through instinct, timing and creative chemistry. For Ladipoe, collaboration has never been separate from the music itself,  it has been one of the defining forces behind both  ‘REVIVAL’ and his career as a whole.

This conversation has been edited for clarity. 

How does it feel to share your sophomore album with the world after putting much time and effort into creating it?

It feels really good. It feels very fulfilling.

What inspired the album title, and why did it feel like the right name for the project?

It’s actually straightforward, but at the same time there’s still a bit of a story to it. My last album was called ‘Talk About Poe (T.A.P),’  and the last track on it is called “Revival,” that kind of named itself. It came as “Revival,” and when I wrote the track it stayed as “Revival.” I am the leader of the revival, and it stuck. So naming this album ;REVIVAL’  feels very natural but at the same time there’s also a story to what it means and what it has come to mean. It feels like this time that it came out was the perfect time to come out. At one point it was going to be called something else, but it all came back to ‘REVIVAL.’ 

What does the album say about where you are in your journey, as an artist and as a person? 

I think if anything it says that I’m real. I’m a real person. It says that I know who I am. I’m on the journey to knowing who I am, and it’s giving you my POV in a way. I think more than anything though, when you release an album, it’s less about what it says about you and what you hope people will actually see, what it says about themselves. I think what it really says about me is that I’m understanding what it takes to know who you are. It’s about growth, it’s always been about growth. It’s about learning from your lessons and growing, but it’s also about knowing what you also already come with. You already come with certain traits and the view of the world and characteristics that are perfect for you to become who you need to be. But sometimes life can change that. The hustle can change that. All these things can change that. The fears can change that. So, it’s always important to know the things that were always in you, I think that’s kind of like what people will probably see about the album. I’m sharing that perspective. 

How does this project differ from your last album, and what did you want to do differently this time around?

Eight years, are you joking? It had to be different. There’s no way it was going to be the same. So much happened in that time.  I feel like the last project was an introduction, like, “Hey, what’s up? My name is Ladipoe.” This project is like, you’ve heard about me now know who I am. You know, I think that’s what the difference is, one was an introduction. Now this other one is a statement. It’s like the impression.

Is there a particular track you’re excited for people to hear, and what makes it special to you?

All of them.  I handcrafted all of them. Lifelines are like what I call my core fans. It’s also what I call how I Rap, but that’s a different story. I was really excited for them to listen to “Chosen” but I think overall on the album, maybe “One More Time,” because I wonder if they are going to take it personal, like how I take it personal.

When someone listens to the album, what feeling or emotion do you hope stays with them?

I can’t express the emotion. I just hope they feel something.  I feel like that’s the whole point of me giving you an album and more than one song is for you to feel many different types of ways. But at the bottom line, the common denominator is to feel something.

Was there any song on the album that you weren’t sure would make it to the final tracklist but ended up being important to the project? If yes, what changed your mind?

 There’s a song called “Deeper” from the project. It wasn’t going to make it for a while. I liked it. I always liked it. I always liked the beats, but, I just wasn’t sure. I didn’t see it in that world.  There were some champions for that song. There were some people that were like, “Bro, if you don’t…,” “It has to make it…,”and “Ah, since you’re not using that song, let me collect it..” I said, “Hold on. I did not say I didn’t want it”. It made its way on the project and I’m really happy that it’s there. I think it’s a really sexy song.

On “Chosen” you touched on unlearning perfection. Can you expand on that, and how that mindset around perfection influenced your approach to making music?

 I feel I have an interesting relationship with perfection. I think perfection is something that is worthy of pursuing and chasing. You actually make amazing things in the pursuit of it. And to accept that. I feel like that’s just the main thing. The acceptance that it can’t be perfect. It takes time to understand what that means for you as a person. And to me, when I heard the phrase, I don’t remember the original quotes, but just how perfection is like another form of procrastination. And to me, it was like, I can see how that can be the case. But at the same time, I know that chasing perfection is what allows some people to achieve things that will last for a long time. So kind of finding that balance. That definitely shapes the making of this album, for sure. And that’s why I said to you, the thing I learned is that the process of making the album, there is no process. It’s the one that you allow to happen  because you can’t force things to fit in certain places.

The album includes features from some incredible artists, how did these collaborations add to the vision of the project?

Very organically. How each one happened is very different and it just speaks to what I talked about in terms of process and allowing it to happen. There’s some people that we heard on the track and it’s like, “I gotta get you on it.” There’s people we had already heard the idea they had on the beat and it’s like, “Oh, I want this beat.” To me, all music is a collaboration. Even if there’s no artist on the song, making the music is a collaboration. So, collaboration has not only shaped this album, it’s shaped my career, you know, and I’ve been blessed with that.

Looking back on your journey so far, what lessons have you learned that you would want to share with aspiring rappers?

When you’re creating something to see your dreams come to life, especially if you’re an artist, that can only happen by doing. You really have to figure out how you can make something and even if you fail at it, do it again.You have to actually have a very comfortable relationship with doing things many times, even if they don’t work out. The same thing over and over again and I feel like if you can get a very strong relationship with that and being able to, because once I started to do, then it started to happen. Even if we did it and the song didn’t work out, it led us to another situation. So many doors open just by taking one foot in front of the other and then doing it again, even when you trip. I think the biggest thing is that it really is okay to be yourself when you make your music. You really can be you and people will gravitate towards that. We’re living in a time where you can actually be yourself. That’s what is leading the revival.

 Looking ahead, what do you hope to explore or achieve in the next phase of your career? 

More albums. Eight years between albums is not sustainable. They need more Ladipoe music in the space. So, I definitely want to do that. But the main thing I want to do is tour. I want to take the ‘REVIVAL,’ and take it where it needs to go. That’s something I haven’t done a lot of in my career, so that’ll be an amazing thing. More albums, but to actually begin to be on the road with the ‘REVIVAL.’ 

Listen to ‘REVIVAL’ here.