On May 11, 2026, Nigerian superstar BNXN and super-producer Sarz released their collaborative effort, The Game Needs Us. The project arrives almost a year after the release of BNXN’s commercially successful sophomore album, Captain, and almost eight months after Sarz’s long-awaited solo debut album, Protect Sarz At All Cost. It is not the first time the duo have teamed up, having previously collaborated on Gwagwalada and Pidgin & English off BNXN’s debut album, Sincerely Benson.
Titling a body of work, The Game Needs Us is indeed a bold move, especially when one considers the current state of Nigerian mainstream music. Mainstream Nigerian music is in a strange place. The music coming out of it is not bad by any means. Nigerian artists continue to churn out good records. However, much of the music feels heavily regurgitated. There is a severe lack of creativity, with artists relying on tried-and-tested formulas to recreate music that has already proven popular with audiences. Innovation has taken a back seat to familiarity. The music is enjoyable, but it is increasingly more of the same thing fed to audiences repeatedly.
So when one of Nigeria’s greatest producers teams up with one of the most talented artists of the new generation of Afropop superstars and boldly titles the project The Game Needs Us, it is not unfair to expect music that delivers the defibrillator shock the game desperately needs. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The Game Needs Us does not offer anything particularly innovative or different. In fact, it sounds remarkably similar to the bodies of work BNXN has previously released.
As expected, the strongest elements of his artistry shine brightly. BNXN delivers exquisite songwriting wrapped in infectious melodies across the EP’s five tracks. The dreamy strings of Rum and Soda welcome listeners into the project before BNXN punctuates the atmosphere, bitterly crooning about a beautiful relationship turned sour. “I’m alone now in the corner / Holding back my tears as he holds you,” he sings while narrating the pain of watching his former lover intimate with another. “It should have been me, not the other way round, not with an imposter”, perfectly encapsulates his feelings of pain and regret.
But he does not allow himself to wallow in pain for long. He swiftly finds himself Back Outside with the intention of moving forward. The record interpolates Ko Neye Mounka Allah La by Amadou & Mariam from their 1990 album Vol. 2. The interpolated Bambara chorus translates loosely to “No matter what happens, we will keep going; don’t worry / Whatever comes our way, we will face it and move forward,” reinforcing his willingness to move on while reminding whoever needs reminding that the music, lifestyle, and energy are still intact. BNXN, never one to be shy about the superiority of his talent, confidently declares, “My gbedu no go finish.” And honestly, when an artist can consistently pull immaculate records like this one out of the bag, he has every right to make such claims. It’s one of the best records of the year so far, and its widespread acceptance within a month of its release is proof of its imposing quality. His ability to mould melody is his strongest quality, and his melodic performance on this record is exceptional. His vocals, which cut deep like a hot knife through butter over mid-tempo folksy production. Stellar record all round.
“O yẹ kẹ ti da mi mọ I be top player / The game fucking needs us,” he declares again on the introspective Already, where he doubles down on his desire to remain locked in and laser-focused on his paper chase. “I for follow you party / Iṣẹ mi lo n rẹ mi / I gats work for my money steady before they call me ọlẹ ni,” he sings. The record sees him reflect on how struggle, pressure, and changing relationships have matured him, tying his growth directly to lived experiences. “My circumstances changed me,” he acknowledges. Yet, the flows and melodies employed on the record do little to reflect that same growth sonically. We have heard this song before. The cadences, the flows, and the melodic pockets, BNXN has explored these repeatedly across previous records. And this is not to say the song is bad; far from it. In fact, the songwriting on Already is arguably the strongest on the tape. But the excellence of the lyricism is stunted by an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
The log drum-punctuated Emotional High sees him stretch his vocals in an attempt to capture the intoxicating rush of intimacy mixed with the fear that it may not last, while album closer Frank Sinatra finds him exhausted, frustrated, and emotionally drained from inconsistency, disappointment, and double standards. Despite these frustrations, he remains unwilling to completely let go, still attempting to salvage what remains of the relationship.
The story of this project is ultimately similar to that of BNXN’s previous two bodies of work. The music is not bad. In fact, it is beautiful music stunted by familiarity and what is beginning to feel like a worrying case of monotony. It also does not help that his production choices continue to lean heavily toward his preferred mid-tempo Afropop/R&B fusion. One would have expected that a joint project with Sarz would push him outside his comfort zone and truly test the strength of his artistry, but that never quite happens here. This does not feel like a true BNXN and Sarz joint album; it feels more like an extension of Captain (which itself often felt like an extension of Sincerely, Benson) produced by Sarz. Rather than captain the ship as he has done on his accomplished joint projects with Wurld, Obongjayar and Lojay, Sarz often feels content simply being aboard it.
Still, perhaps BNXN is simply sticking to what works. Despite similar critiques directed at Captain, the album went on to become one of the most commercially successful Nigerian albums of 2025. As the saying goes, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. In BNXN’s case, as long as the fans continue streaming, there may be little incentive to change. And when you can produce records like “Back Outside” (one of this writer’s favourite songs of the year so far and one poised to perform exceptionally well on streaming platforms), any argument demanding a drastic stylistic shift begins to feel less convincing.
Titles also heighten expectations. When you title a project The Game Needs Us, particularly within the context of today’s mainstream landscape, the expectation is a body of work that emphatically justifies that claim. This project, while enjoyable, does not quite do that. The game genuinely needs something. This EP simply is not exactly it.
