Fola has been getting the sticks from listeners for a while now. One of the biggest criticisms of his music is that he keeps singing about women while relying on a familiar flow that appears repeatedly across his songs. At some point, the conversation around him became that of an artist who had found one formula and was struggling to move beyond it.
That is why Attention! feels like an important release.
This is a song that could have been Fola’s response to those criticisms. The title itself suggests attraction and desire, but musically, Fola attempts to step away from the sound and delivery people have become used to. He switches up his approach and teams up with Magicsticks, a producer whose sound has played a major role in creating some of the biggest contemporary Afrobeats records.
The result is a song with a powerful instrumental, a different direction for Fola and enough energy to turn up a crowd.
But there is one major problem.
Magicsticks may have made the better performance on Attention! than Fola himself.
Fola Tries Something Different on Attention!
The first thing that stands out about Attention! is that Fola is clearly trying to escape the criticism surrounding his usual sound. His delivery is different and the vocal arrangement does not immediately follow the soulful pattern many listeners associate with him.
That alone deserves recognition.
Fola could easily have released another song built around the same vocal texture, romantic subject and melodic flow that people already know him for. Instead, he steps into a more rhythmic and energetic space.
The song begins with a line about wanting to relax but having trouble find you even at your chilling spot. It immediately introduces the carefree lifestyle that runs through the record. From there, the lyrics move through money, fashion, partying, attraction and the woman who has successfully captured his attention.
The writing is playful and follows the kind of loose, nightlife energy that works for a song designed to move a crowd.
However, apart from the entry into the first verse and a few interesting moments, the lyrics do not always drive the song home.
The Magicsticks Production Is the Real Star
The beat on Attention! is fire.
Magicsticks builds the record around a repetitive rhythmic loop that remains present from the beginning to the end. It gives the song an immediate identity and creates the kind of groove that can easily work in clubs, parties and live performances.
This is the type of instrumental that does not need too much time to establish itself. Once the rhythm enters, it already gives the listener something to move to.
The problem is that the production becomes so dominant that it starts competing with the artist rather than supporting him.
By the end of the song, there is a possibility that listeners will remember the instrumental more than what Fola actually did on it.
That is not necessarily because Fola is completely bad on the song. His performance works in places, and the energy is enough to make Attention! a record that could turn up a crowd. But he does not have the vocal presence or personality on this particular track to completely own the production.
The beat remains the biggest personality in the room.
Fola Does Not Need to Sound Like Asake or Seyi Vibez
My biggest issue with Attention! is the way Fola changes his vocal texturing to fit the style of arrangement associated with Magicsticks.
There is a call and response approach to parts of the song, particularly around the pre chorus, that feels closer to the vocal structure often heard in records from artists such as Asake and Seyi Vibez.
That style works because those artists have built vocal personalities that naturally fit that type of production.
Fola is different.
His strength has always been closer to a soulful and emotionally driven style of singing. His voice works better when there is enough space for his melodies, emotions and vocal personality to come through.
On Attention!, it sometimes feels like he is adjusting himself to the production instead of making the production adjust to him.
That is where the collaboration loses some of its balance.
A producer should be able to push an artist into new territory, but the artist should not disappear while trying to enter that new territory. Fola experimenting with a different sound is not the problem. In fact, experimentation is exactly what many people have been asking from him.
The problem is that the new direction does not always sound like a natural extension of Fola.
It sounds like Fola entering Magicsticks’ world.
Attention! Has Energy But Lacks Fola’s Full Personality
The chorus is catchy enough to work with a crowd, while the recurring references to attraction and the woman who has caught his attention give the song a simple central idea.
The lyrics are not trying to tell a complicated story. This is a lifestyle and attraction record built for movement.
But that simplicity also exposes the weakness in the songwriting.
The song has moments, but it does not consistently build memorable lyrical sections around its main idea. The repeated rhythmic structure of the instrumental carries much of the momentum, while Fola’s vocal performance does not always provide the same level of impact.
This creates an imbalance.
The production tells you that the song is exciting.
The rhythm tells you to move.
But Fola does not always give the song enough personality to make you feel like you are listening specifically to his record.
Magicsticks Almost Swallows Fola in His Own Song
If Fola released Attention! to prove that he can explore another sound and direction, then he has partly achieved that.
He is clearly doing something different.
But rhythmically, Magicsticks owns the song.
The production is so strong and distinctive that Attention! sometimes feels like it could have been released as Magicsticks featuring Fola rather than the other way around.
That is both the strength and weakness of the record.
Magicsticks gives Fola a beat that immediately grabs attention, but the same production also exposes the fact that Fola has not yet found the perfect way to dominate this type of sound.
Fola does not need to sing or arrange his music like Asake or Seyi Vibez to sound different or unique. Their vocal approaches work because they have developed identities around them.
Fola already has something different.
What he needs is better lyrical structuring, stronger songwriting and production that pushes him without swallowing him.
Final Verdict
The production is excellent. The energy is high. The song has enough rhythm to work in front of a crowd and Magicsticks creates one of those instrumentals that immediately demands movement.
But Fola does not completely rise to the level of the beat.
His vocal switch feels unnatural in some parts, the lyrical structure is not consistently strong enough and the production often becomes more memorable than the artist performing on it.
Experimenting was the right decision.
Now Fola needs to find a way to experiment without losing himself inside the sound.
Attention! proves that Fola can change direction. His next challenge is making sure that the direction still sounds like Fola.
