In God Is Cooking, Gaise Baba asks a simple question: what happens when an artist understands where his music comes from, but refuses to be limited by it? In the recently released Afrogospel album, he finds the answer in a project that looks backwards and forwards at the same time, honouring the artists and sounds that came before him while creating something distinctly his own.

The album kicks off with a bang as in the opening track, Gaise Baba interpolates the work of late Nigerian hip-hop pioneer Dagrin, while also incorporating a sample from JJ Ransome-Kuti, creating a deliberate connection between different eras of Nigerian musical history. The Kuti influence extends beyond the sample, with the album conceived in part as a tribute to the legacy and cultural philosophy of the Kuti musical tradition.

And yet, despite all of this, God Is Cooking is built on more than just nostalgia. It is a standalone, burgeoning modern classic that understands where it comes from without being afraid to move forward. In his words, it is “the 13-track project that brings together faith, Nigerian musical heritage and contemporary African sounds.”

This is what modernity and progression within the Afrogospel genre can sound like, and Gaise Baba seems to understand exactly what that can mean.

Throughout the album, Gaise Baba brings these influences into conversation with contemporary sounds. One of the project’s more unexpected moments comes through a collaboration with Kae Strings on an Afro-house record, showing Gaise’s willingness to push beyond the conventional boundaries of Afrogospel.

The result is an album that moves between Afrogospel, Afro-house, hip-hop influences and Nigerian musical heritage, while still holding on to the faith-driven perspective that has always defined Gaise Baba’s artistry.

At its core, God Is Cooking is about creating work that refuses to lose its core but isn’t afraid of progression, modernity, genre fusion and everything that can come with it. God Is Cooking is the natural answer to this: a body of work as rooted in its gospel origins as it is in its African roots. It is sleek, danceable, moving, present and, ultimately, a delight.

God Is Cooking is available now on all major streaming platforms.

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