For many emerging artists, success is imagined as a single lightning-strike moment, that one song that changes everything. The chase for it often leads to constant reinvention or relentless experimentation, hoping something sticks. For Fola, born Odunlami Afolarin, that moment arrived with “Alone,” a mid-2024 release that quietly but decisively altered the course of his career.

The Lagos-based singer followed that breakthrough with his debut EP WHAT A FEELING on December 5, 2024, winning over listeners with standout records like “Who Does That?” featuring Bella Shmurda. But 2025 marked a different level entirely. Fola became impossible to miss, delivering memorable performances on “Dangbana Riddim” with Bella Shmurda, Zlatan’s hustler’s record “Get Better,” **Wizkid and DJ Tunez’**s “One Condition,” and complementing Kizz Daniel on “Titi” and “Lost.” Each appearance felt deliberate. Each one struck gold.

Then came CATHARSIS.

Released on September 4. Fola’s debut album takes its name from a word that means the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. It’s a concept that could easily dissolve into abstraction, but on CATHARSIS, Fola grounds it in lived experience. The album has a unique warmth, filled with vulnerability and honesty, driven by a voice that carries dreams, doubt, heartbreak, and hope with equal conviction.

Songs like “Eko” speak to the restless ambition of a young man finding his footing, while “You” is for hopeless romantics; “Robbery” captures the ache of a love gone cold and “Disco” provides levity. CATHARSIS' strength lies in its album cuts, helmed by a dream team of producers, including Sbthaproducer, Kel-P, LOL, Damie, Shallythechampion, KTIZO Hoodini, Jhay2unez, Harrison Song, and Adam Fritzle they created the cohesiveness that listeners return to repeatedly, long after first contact. That depth is now translating into history.

CATHARSIS has spent 14 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart, making it the longest-running No. 1 debut album in Nigerian chart history. It is only a week from hitting 15 weeks at the summit, a feat that would tie the record currently held by Asake’s LUNGU BOY, with a small chance to surpass it outright.

To grasp the scale of this achievement, consider what CATHARSIS has already outlasted: Wizkid’s MORAYO (11 weeks), Davido’s TIMELESS (10 weeks), and even Asake’s own WORK OF ART (9 weeks). Only Seyi Vibez’s BILLION DOLLAR BABY 2.0 (14 weeks) and Asake’s LUNGU BOY (15 weeks) are on par or ahead of FOLA’s debut album – and Seyi Vibez’s debut album benefited from the re-release of a deluxe version.

In an era defined by short attention spans and front-loaded debuts, sustained dominance has become the true measure of impact, and Fola is excelling at it.

The comparison with LUNGU BOY is particularly telling. Where Asake’s album tells the story of a boy from the ghetto rising onto the world stage, CATHARSIS turns inward, offering emotional relief and reflection. One is expansive and triumphant; the other is intimate and confessional. That both can command similar chart longevity speaks to the evolving tastes of Nigerian listeners and their growing appetite for albums that reward patience.

At just 26, with a career that only gained national spotlight in 2024, Fola’s ascent feels both rapid and earned. Every track he has released to date has made a first-week appearance on the Official Nigeria Top 100, reinforcing the idea that this run isn’t accidental; it’s the product of connection.

There’s a saying that the best artists create music you never quite get tired of, songs that reveal something new with each listen. In a streaming era obsessed with immediacy, CATHARSIS is thriving on endurance. And as it edges closer to history, one thing is already clear: wearing your heart on your sleeve still pays.