Connecting the Dots

A year on from Smallgod’s 2021 debut album, Building Bridges, the Ghanaian music entrepreneur-turned-artist returns with a follow-up that builds on his express intention to map out the latticework of collaborations and kinship supporting the ever-evolving genre that is Afropop. While Building Bridges cast a wide net over the many artists Smallgod has worked with during his 15-year career, 2022’s Connecting the Dots has a narrowed focus on emergent artists whose success disassembles old hierarchies thanks, in part, to democratic avenues for recording, releasing and promoting music. “They also need the platform. They also need the push. They also need the applause,” Smallgod tells Apple Music of the coterie of artists he selected for his sophomore album. “I’m like a ship they can use to get to where they want. We all have one dream, which is to bring Africa to the world.” The change in tack also applies to the up-and-coming producers employed for the album, all of whom combine autonomy with collaboration: “Ninety per cent of the time I play a beat for an artist I thought they’d like, they do like it,” Smallgod explains with the surety that only passion and experience can bring. Ultimately, his goal is clear and simple: get the music right and get it to the world. Here, Smallgod (Nana Appiasei) breaks down Connecting the Dots, track by track. “Falling” [Smallgod, KiDi & DARKOO] “We probably recorded ‘Falling’ before KiDi recorded [his 2021 hit] ‘Touch it’. We were not trying to create another ‘Touch it’. It was just the zone he was in. KiDi is an incredible writer and a very good producer. DARKOO is very close to me; the lyricism she brings to her melodies is top-notch. I believe dancehall and Afrobeats are distant cousins. Only maybe language and sometimes recent culture [differ], but they are very close for me. The clave on the beat was a conscious decision to combine both the dancehall and Afropop elements. Africa is my home, and my mission is to, ultimately, c