BlownBoy RU
BlownBoy RU Album ∙ African Dancehall ∙ 2025 Ruger A portrait of a rising singer-songwriter’s transformation into a coveted star, and elegantly depicted by the album artwork, Blown Boy Ru houses the fun, trials, romance, and triumph associated with exponential growth. Ruger (born Michael Adebayo Olayinka) makes a fiery statement on chest-thumping opener “REIntroduction” before “Muah (Soulmates)” contains the lines, “Are you happy with your man or you want to switch lanes?/Baby don’t you ever let your man block you from your soulmate,” a reference to his cheeky concert antics. To that sensuality, add bravado (“Give Away”), revelry (“Jay Jay”), and vulnerability (“Toro”) as this sure-footed sophomore album fleshes Ruger’s Afro-dancehall out with explorations of amapiano, trap, R&B, and Brazilian funk. These soundscapes are largely fashioned by Kukbeatz and depict expansion—of both Ruger’s persona and into the varied worlds of Zlatan, Kranium, Haile, Valiant, and Tiwa Savag...