Taves Reflects on Growth and Ambition Across 'Popstar - SIDE A'

Nigerian Afropop artist Taves has released Popstar - SIDE A, an eight-track EP that captures a defining period of personal and artistic growth. Arriving after the success of breakout records including "Uche Jombo" and "Isn't It Beautiful," the project finds the Ibadan native leaning further into the emotional honesty and genre-fluid sound that have positioned him among Afropop's most compelling new voices.

Rather than presenting a collection of disconnected singles, Popstar - SIDE A unfolds as a cohesive narrative. Opening with "Chaos," Taves immediately places listeners inside the pressure of balancing relationships, ambition, and expectation before gradually shifting into brighter moments of romance and confidence through tracks like "Simone," "Deliver Me," and the standout "Uche Jombo." As the project progresses, its mood becomes increasingly introspective, with "Preaching," "Space," and "Take Me Away" exploring faith, regret, vulnerability, and the emotional weight of chasing a future that always seems just beyond reach.

Musically, Taves continues to blur the lines between Afrobeats, R&B, and alternative pop with remarkable ease. His understated vocal delivery allows each song to breathe, while polished production balances infectious melodies with moments of quiet reflection. Even at under twenty minutes, the EP never feels rushed, instead allowing each track to contribute to a larger emotional journey.

One of the project's greatest strengths is its willingness to embrace imperfection. Taves doesn't position himself as someone with all the answers; instead, he openly acknowledges insecurity, desire, selfishness, and hope, making the songs feel deeply relatable without sacrificing their commercial appeal.

Following the acclaim of Are You Listening? and growing recognition from Apple Music, Billboard, and The Headies, Popstar - SIDE A feels like another confident step forward. It's an EP that showcases not only Taves' versatility as a songwriter but also his ability to transform everyday emotions into memorable records, further establishing him as one of the most exciting voices shaping the future of contemporary Afropop.

You describe Popstar - SIDE A as a reflection of your mindset over the last two years. Looking back now that it's out in the world, what did creating this project teach you about yourself as both an artist and a person?

Creating this project taught me about patience more than anything. I’ve learned to trust the process a lot of the time because things don’t always work out the way you plan. Not to say it won’t end well; it might just take a different route to get to where you’re going, and that’s okay sometimes.

The EP moves through love, ambition, faith, financial pressure, and self-reflection while still feeling cohesive. How intentional was the sequencing, and why was it important for listeners to experience these songs in that specific order? ⁠The sequencing was very, very intentional because the project is made up of different sounds and genres, so connecting them in a way that it flows perfectly was a task I won’t lie, but I had a lot of help from my producer Ariee and Spax and just the whole team, to be honest. I needed my listeners to go on a sort of drive with me, you know. When you drive around in Nigeria, it’s a lot of emotions that come with it, like being unsure if you’re in the right place, or getting to a point where you can really hit the pedal and have fun, or being upset and confused when other people on the road decide to move mad. It’s just a mixed bag of emotions, so I needed it to be presented in a way that it still made sense to everyone.

"Uche Jombo" has become your biggest record to date and introduced many new listeners to your music. How did that success influence your confidence, or perhaps your expectations, while finishing the rest of Popstar - SIDE A?

⁠Uche Jumbo is one of my favorite songs I've ever made, and I knew that people would love it as much as I did when I first made it because, to me, it really represents a lot of nostalgia, you know. I think anyone around my age, and, you know, just in general, was a Wizkid fan when he dropped Don’t Dull, and it holds a lot of memories for a lot of people. My confidence in myself and my music has been high for a long time cause making this project just sort of showed me who I am and showed me that I’m only gonna get better at what I do and improve on this gift I was given, but the love Uche Jumbo has been receiving is a welcome bonus for sure. Who doesn’t love it when people love their music?

You've earned recognition from Apple Music, Billboard, and The Headies, but your songwriting still feels deeply personal. As your audience continues to grow, how do you protect that honesty instead of feeling pressure to chase bigger hits? It’s pretty easy for me to keep the soul in my music because I never release a song I don’t believe in 100%, and to get to that level, I have to really, really love it. That love comes from knowing that I was 100% accountable to myself and my experiences on the track. Having hits is always gonna be a great thing, don’t get me wrong, and you can do that and still be 100% authentic, but in the scenario where those two things are mutually exclusive, I'd prefer knowing that if I heard a song I released 20 years from now, I’ll still be proud of it.

The project closes with "Take Me Away," which leaves listeners with a sense of vulnerability rather than certainty. As you already look toward the next chapter, what do you hope people understand about who Taves is beyond the idea of being a "popstar"?

⁠I hope people realize that I’m just as emotional and vulnerable as the next man, you know. My music and the way I talk about it may make it seem like I've always been this sure and confident in myself and my emotions, and these are things that I had to work on for a long time. I’m blessed to be able to make sense of the world and the way I'm experiencing it through the gift of music, but even then, these things took a lot of time to achieve. I don’t think that there’s anything worthwhile that doesn’t take time and effort to achieve.