It is easy to forget just how young Muyeez is when you look at how quickly his career has unfolded. By the time most artists were still trying to find their footing, “Instagram,” released in 2024, had already taken him from freestyles in Abuja to a new chapter operating in  Lagos. Two years later, he is making his debut with ‘All Hail Muyeez,’ a title that tells you quite a bit about the young artist behind it. “The album basically is about me as royalty,” he explains. For an artist still so early in his career, it is an audacious introduction, but Muyeez has already seen enough happen around his music to understand why he feels ready to claim his place.

Before “Instagram” changed the tide of his career, Muyeez was freestyling in Abuja and trying to figure out where music could take him. When he looks back at the journey from those early freestyles to opening for artists he once idolised, he identifies those freestyle sessions as the point where things began to move. That period eventually brought him into contact with Seyi Vibez, who reached out while Muyeez was still in Abuja and invited him to Lagos. Their first meeting would become an important part of Muyeez’s transition into a more serious music career, eventually placing him around the Vibez Inc. camp. He remembers those early days simply, describing them as “cool” and “fun” and reducing the experience to two words: “Vibes and Happiness.”

Moving from Abuja to Lagos meant learning how to operate in a city that moved at a completely different pace. Muyeez went from making music in Abuja to being surrounded by a much bigger industry, with new expectations and opportunities coming at him quickly. Even his everyday movements had to change. “One of the hardest things that I had to adjust to was the pace at which I work,” he says. “Lagos is fast, you have to work fast.” That adjustment mirrors the speed of his career itself. Within a short period, he had gone from a teenager making freestyles to an artist working alongside established names, and now to an 18-year-old releasing his first full-length project.

That experience animates much of ‘All Hail Muyeez.’ The album is rooted in his life since the success of “Instagram,” with songs that touch on money, success, his journey and the people who now see him as an example. On “MLM,” the currencies he mentions come directly from the world around him rather than a fictional idea of what success looks like: “The different currencies in the song is actually me just explaining the different currencies I see in real life,” he says.  

On “Hero,” he looks back at the road from Abuja to Lagos and thinks about the kids in his neighbourhood who now see him differently. The album’s confidence feeds on perspective. He is writing about a life that has changed quickly, while still attempting to see  himself as the same young person who came from Abuja.“Water” was the first song Muyeez recorded for the project and the one that established the pace he wanted the rest of the songs to follow. He was selective about the beats, allowing the instrumental to come first before building the lyrics around it. 

larrylanes became an important collaborator in that process, with Muyeez describing the producer as someone who already understands how he wants to sound. “Working with larrylanes is cool because he’s my guy and he always understands the vision,” he says. That familiarity helped give the project a consistent direction without taking away from the different sides of Muyeez that appear across the album.

“Water” also carries a connection to one of Muyeez’s earliest musical influences. Fela Kuti was an unavoidable part of the music he heard growing up, particularly “Water No Get Enemy,”which his father used to play. That childhood familiarity eventually found its way into Muyeez’s own music, with “Water” drawing on Fela’s iconic song. The choice feels personal because Fela has remained an influence throughout his development “Fela was my inspiration when I was younger, and still is a big source of inspiration to me.” It is one of the clearest links between the young artist he was and the musician he is becoming.

Elsewhere, the album leans into the confidence that comes with his new reality. “MLM” celebrates the liquidity around him and “Location” reflects the lifestyle that success has brought. There is also a sense that Muyeez is aware of how young he is within all of this. Being labelled Afropop’s next big hope could easily create pressure, especially for an artist releasing his first album at 18, but he does not see it that way. “I don’t feel a lot of pressure.” Instead, ‘All Hail Muyeez’ approaches the moment with the confidence of someone who believes he belongs where he is.

That confidence is perhaps the most obvious thread running through the album. Muyeez is not trying to present himself as a finished artist, but he is also not approaching his debut with trepidation. The title makes that clear, while the songs give him space to talk about the things that have shaped his life so far. His story is still relatively new, but there is already enough material to draw from: Abuja, the freestyle, “Instagram,” Lagos, Vibez Inc., Seyi Vibez, Fela, his new lifestyle and the young people who now look up to him. ‘All Hail Muyeez’  brings those experiences together deftly.

For listeners getting to know him through the album, Muyeez wants the music to offer a straightforward picture of who he is. He sees the project as a reflection of his life and emotions, but when asked what he wants people to understand about him as an 18-year-old in the Nigerian music scene, his answer is refreshingly uncomplicated. “Muyeez is a cool kid that’s hustling and knows how to sing. That’s just it.” 

There is still plenty ahead for that “cool kid”, and Muyeez is already looking beyond his debut. He wants everyone to understand that  ‘All Hail Muyeez’ is only the beginning, with more music and more plans still to come. For now, though, he has chosen to introduce himself with a title that says exactly how he feels about his place in the game: he wants to be hailed.

Listen to  ‘All Hail Muyeez’ here.