The Afrobeats star opens up about his messy management split, finding therapy through music and reclaiming control of his career with his new six-track set, Still in Charge.
BNXN Mykyta Vashchenko
After a heated split with his former management team in 2025, BNXN finds himself in redemption mode. The Nigerian hitmaker, who dropped out of college after catching Burna Boy’s attention in the early 2020s, is looking to recapture his momentum, one song at a time.
“A whole lot has changed,” BNXN reflects shortly after releasing his new EP, Still in Charge. “After I dropped the Captain album, I toured, reshuffled my team, and took a lot of time off to prepare the music that was coming next. Came back in May and dropped a little project with Sarz called The Game Needs Us. One of the songs went really crazy, “Back Outside.” I’m really excited I got to put that out because it showed people that [Captain] wasn’t a joke. He really knows what he’s doing.”
With Still in Charge, released earlier this month, the Afrobeats star sounds rejuvenated and eager to turn the page. Whether he’s joining forces with Asake on the opener “Eja Meja” or wrestling with his past on “Deliberate Work,” BNXN (pronounced Benson) moves with purpose and intention. The six-track offering also radiates a warm, festive energy as he looks to shed the remnants of his turbulent past and embrace a fresh start. On “Shamaya,” BNXN trades his frustrations for celebration, revealing a lighter, more carefree side of the twenty-something singer-songwriter.
Billboard caught up with BNXN for his explanation of each of the six tracks on Still in Charge, the surprising amount he paid Qing Madi for her background vocals on “16,” and how he bounced back from his highly publicized online crashout.
-
“Eja Meja (Feat. Asake)”
We finished the collaboration in June. It was a very organic collaboration because the both of us been friends, but we never really put work out together. It’s a very luxurious sound. It’s like jazz with Afrobeats. I’m really happy that we were able to knock that one out, especially with where we’re from anyway. In Nigeria, they love Asake, they love me, but that merging of two worlds together is super amazing and people like that kind of stuff. That’s why we had to do that one. Amazing stuff.
-
“Online”
It was produced by Telz. We met at university when I was still trying to figure music out. Telz is one of those producers I’d go to his room and knock off some vibrations.
Fast forward to 2019 ending and Burna Boy signs me. I remember the day and his uncle was like, “Come to the house.” I went to Telz and Steph — those are my two core producers. Burna Boy ended up signing Telz and I. 2020, 2021, I went back to be independent to chase my own thing and Telz was still with Burna Boy. They worked on a series of jams like Twice As Tall. What was really important was that we maintained that friendship. When I was about to record “Online,” I went to go see Burna at his house just to chill and Telz was sitting in the studio. He started playing beats and Burna was getting his hair done. When Telz played the “Online” beat, he’s vibing and moving. Then, it’s just me and him, and I started recording.
It’s super crazy because people started walking in asking, “When did you do this?” That’s how we got “Online.” I felt like it worked so well with this project mainly because in the intro there’s a skit. It’s saying, “Please don’t be upset because I haven’t been online for a while. I went to beat up my ex’s family.” [Laughs.] That’s the joke of it: people who don’t really do the online space find their way to come back time and time again.
-
“16”
Steph is the other producer from university I used to work with. I used to go to his room all the time and record music. He’s always been there at every point of my career, especially when something new was about to happen. He produced the song that put me out there in the Nigerian market. Steph went back to school after we dropped out to finish studying music.
When we came back, it was a different feeling. He was a different person with a different sound. I remember him playing me the “16” beat and then we recorded it. I’m hearing some guitars on the song and we find one of the most OG guitarists in the game. His name is Fiokee. He came to the house and I told him there were certain things I needed him to replicate. When you’re as talented as someone like that, there’s a lot of ego, especially when someone is telling you to do something their way, but Fiokee didn’t feel that way.
I’ve been listening to this song since February. The guitar, the flow, I still feel it. “16” is actually my best record in the project. It makes me feel sunshine. And Qing Madi did the background vocals on that one. She’s super amazing. The voice is all I can say. We made two records together that are super dope. When I called her that day to do the background vocals, she took it to the next level. I had to give her my bracelet. Nine thousand pounds.
-
“Deliberate Work”
I explain what really caused the rift between me and my ex-manager. It was a very intentional record. I needed to be a little vulnerable. It’s almost how I like to be on all my records. It’s important that you do that so somebody can feel something. The entire episode of what happened last year is on that song. I was hitting certain points of my life on the song and it’s one of those records that people are going to ask me about it like, “Who’s the guy?” They should just run with it because in early January people saw me on the internet crashing out and losing my s–t, but nobody could understand. I wasn’t trying to be explicit as possible, I was just upset, but I found a way to put it back into the music. It gave me a sense of therapy.
-
“Shamaya”
That was very last-minute. I literally finished the project and I went back to Lagos. We were playing the project for Fola and he said, “I have to be a part of this.” I asked him to send me some ideas to see which works, and he sent me “Shamaya.” I was considering what the Nigerian market would accept most easily, and what I wanted the video to look like.
“Shamaya” is an expression to celebrate, or to get buzzed. I imagine a video where it almost looks like a traditional Nigerian wedding, where 100 men are looking amazing with their red caps and are watching Fola play. It would look super-amazing and cinematic. If you really understand how the traditional events always run, the ladies and guys look amazing.
-
“If You Like”
That’s my manager’s favorite song. I remember going to the studio to record the song. It was out of boredom. We booked the studio session, and we’re like, “What are we going to do today?” I call Semzi and he sent me a few beats. The title of the beat was very unique and that’s why we picked it. It ended up being “If You Like.” It was originally called, “One Blow, Seven Die.” [Laughs.] People name their beats the most random things. So I got on that one, and I remember after the second verse, my DJ was like, “What the f–k?” We played the song the whole way back home because it had a very infectious vibe. When we sent it back to Semzi, he was like, “F–k man. You’re giving me work!”