Jeriq
Billion Dollar Dream
Album · Hip-Hop/Rap · 2022
As the follow-up to 2020’s Hood Boy Dreams EP, Nigerian trap star Jeriq’s debut LP sees him unleash new levels of ambition. “After making the millions I dreamt of [with] the EP, things changed—the money I thought was a lot of money became smaller by the day,” he tells Apple Music. “Not because I was running out of money, but because even though I had fulfilled the hood boy dreams, I had to make the dream bigger.” The album is Jeriq’s declaration of his singular focus to succeed—and his acknowledgement of what the journey may cost him. It’s a story of levelling up, encapsulated in the title track—yet it’s on other cuts, like “Back to Basics” and “True Life Story”, where Jeriq reveals the less materialistic, more mission-driven goal of an eldest son who wants to provide for his family in the wake of losing their patriarch. There’s a spiritual element of gratitude here, too, as “Oluoma” adds the highlife style of Flavour to the mix. Elsewhere, Jeriq and Alpha P fuse the confidence of younger generations with the wisdom of experience on “Backdoor”.