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.
