On GLADIATOR, Timaya cements his profile as an Afropop mainstay. Song after song, Timaya proves to be an industry OG attuned to current writing techniques in Afropop while remaining true to his dancehall roots. Backed by restless claves, a sun-dappled piano and a bristling electric guitar, the Tiwa Savage collab “IN MY HEAD” sees Timaya play the non-committal lover who, despite many advances, hasn’t succumbed to any one partner. That’s countered by Savage’s confidence in her own charm and beauty: “only me fit to handle your koboko.” The Hylander-produced “COMPOZURE” features a blend of South African house and Nigerian highlife, over which Timaya’s playful, uncluttered songwriting combines pidgin, Yoruba and melodic non-words in praise of a lover. The call-and-response hook on “SWEET US”—“As e dey sweet us, e dey pain dem/As e dey pain them, omo e dey sweet us”—is a populist political taunt in sections of Nigeria, and one which Timaya has grafted onto a galala beat (the Nigerian interpretation of Jamaican dancehall). Timaya recruits Mr. Killa for “WHINE IT CRIMINAL”, where the Grenadian soca star boasts of his sexual prowess in a growling patois that is as engaging as it is meant to be seductive. “Me I don’t joke with my piece of mind,” insists Timaya on “FREE”, a throbbing, South African house beat livened with log drums and a hook where Timaya emphasises his desire to be “Free from bad energy/Free like a bird.”