Folarin Odunlami known professionally as Fola arrived quietly and then all at once. He began releasing music under the Fola name around 2018 and 2019, steadily putting out songs that hinted at a rare instinct for melody and emotion. Early tracks such as Miss You, Money Chaser and Feeling built a small but loyal audience and showed an artist who cared about mood and detail more than quick viral moments. These formative releases set the tone for what would become a career defined by intimacy and careful craft.
His official breakout into the wider public eye was a collaboration that paired him with one of Nigeria’s most energetic stars. Ginger Me released in 2022 and featuring Bella Shmurda served as Fola’s first major introduction to mainstream listeners. The song revealed his ability to blend lover boy soul with streetwise warmth and it helped position him inside a circle of established artists and tastemakers. Not long after Ginger Me Fola’s momentum attracted the attention of Bella Shmurda in a different way when Bella announced Fola as a signee to his Dangbana Republik imprint. That move gave the young singer label support and a louder platform for the songs that followed.
The single that truly defined his trajectory was Alone which emerged in mid-2024 and quickly became his signature moment. Alone captured the yearning late night mood that has become Fola’s musical fingerprint. The track gathered steam on playlists and social platforms and a remix featuring BNXN extended its reach. Alone turned into the song that put him on more playlists radio rotations and on the radar of tastemakers across Africa and beyond. That success also fed into the 2024 What A Feeling EP which assembled his most resonant recent songs into a concise mood driven statement and confirmed that Fola’s strengths were as much about atmosphere as they were about hooks.
Along the way Fola has shown a steady appetite for collaboration without losing the emotional core of his sound. He has worked with a range of artists from fellow rising stars to more established names. Notable partnerships and features include Bella Shmurda who helped introduce him to a wider audience a BNXN remix that amplified Alone and later collaborations with acts such as Zlatan. Reported features on his full-length debut include appearances from big names like Wizkid, Victony, Kizz Daniel and Young Jonn which speak to both his versatility and the industry interest in supporting his vision. These collaborations have helped him explore different tempos and textures while keeping his voice front and center.
That vision reached its clearest expression with his debut album Catharsis which was released in early September 2025. The project was positioned as a coming-of-age record and a deliberate emotional statement. Catharsis did more than announce his arrival as an album artist. It recorded landmark commercial results that made industry headlines. The album debuted at number two on Spotify’s Top Albums Debut Global Chart making it one of the highest-ranking debut albums by a Nigerian artist on that chart. Early reporting also credited the project with blockbuster first week numbers on streaming platforms in Nigeria with industry tallies putting first week streams in the multi millions, and the project has now amassed over 100Million streams on Spotify making it his first project to do so. These milestones signaled that Fola had moved from promising newcomer to a star in such a short period, with measurable market impact.
Artistically Fola’s growth reads like a study in restraint and emotional clarity. Where many fast rising acts chase loudness and spectacle he has doubled down on mood lyricism and the small details of vocal phrasing. His production choices favor atmosphere and space which give his voice room to land. Over the last few years he sharpened his songwriting so that choruses land with a lived in intimacy and verses reveal personality without grandstanding. The result is a signature sound that can be tender on ballads and confidently rhythmic on more upbeat records.
Milestones and recognition have followed. Industry round ups and profiles have flagged him as an Apple Music Africa Rising artist and several outlets have spotlighted Catharsis as a record that changed expectations about how a Nigerian debut can perform on global charts. More importantly for his career the album and his recent singles have expanded his touring and festival appeal increased playlist placements and deepened a fanbase that appreciates both his recorded craft and his live presence. For an artist who started releasing music in bedrooms and small venues Fola’s path shows careful escalation rather than overnight spectacle.
What comes next for Fola is obvious in its uncertainty. Given his impeccable collaboration run in 2025, it is clear that he has the tools that translate to long term staying power. If Catharsis is any guide, he understands how to build momentum patiently and how to let a single song expand into a sustained career arc. That balance between art and reach is his real strength and the reason listeners should be paying attention.
If you want to follow an artist whose rise feels earned rather than engineered, or as they say, “industry plant”, Fola is one of the most compelling acts out of Nigeria right now. He writes like a romantic performs like a storyteller and builds like someone who expects to be here for a long time. Let’s sit back, relax, and witness the greatness that is FOLA, continue to evolve and shine on.