There's a moment on every morning tour I've ever played — Lagos, Berlin, Toronto — usually around seven, when the light comes through the window at exactly the angle that forgives everything. The kettle's on. The room is quiet. And if you're lucky, you get one clear thought before the day starts making noise: thank you.
That's this record. "Oshey" — Yoruba for thank you — is the second drop in tonight's moonlit rotation, and it's the flip side of "Time Zone." That one was longing across the meridian; this one is gratitude across generations. The theme everywhere I looked lately is "main character energy" — confidence as self-worth. But the version I know from four continents of dance floors was never look at me. It was look what carried me. Grandma's hands. Mama's voice. Every seed scattered by people who never saw the harvest.
Sonically, I went where the culture's going — the neo-soul revival is real (Badu is back with the Alchemist this year, and the basement sounds warm again), so I built this on minimal drums, jazzy keys, warm bass, and that vinyl-crackle patience. The chant is the heart: oshey! — called out, answered back, stacked wide like a Sunday kitchen full of aunties. Because gratitude, done right, is the realest flex there is.
Pour something warm. Put on your crown. Walk on.
[Instrumental Intro — 12 bars — jazzy keys, warm bass, vinyl crackle, let the morning settle]
[Verse 1]
Gold hoops catching the seven a.m. light
Kettle singing soft, I pour it slow, alright
Mirror tells the truth and the truth is kind
I put on my crown with the gold in my mind
[Pre-Chorus]
They ask me how I'm glowing (how you glowing?)
I tell them it's the knowing (mm, the knowing)
Everything that tried to break me
Broke open — made a way for me
[Chorus / Chant]
Oshey! (oshey!) to the hands that held me up
Oshey! (oshey!) every drop fills my cup
Oshey! (oshey!) to the road that made me gold
Grateful and I'm glowing — watch me walk on, watch me go
[Verse 2]
Grandma's hands in mine when the doubting comes slow
Mama's voice in my walk everywhere I go
Lagos sun in my skin, Toronto in my stride
I carry every blessing like an open door — come inside
[Pre-Chorus]
They ask me how I'm standing (how you standing?)
Say it's all the planting (mm, the planting)
Every seed my people scattered
Came back golden — roots still matter
[Chorus / Chant]
Oshey! (oshey!) to the hands that held me up
Oshey! (oshey!) every drop fills my cup
Oshey! (oshey!) to the road that made me gold
Grateful and I'm glowing — watch me walk on, watch me go
[Percussion Break — 8 bars — strip to hand drums and vinyl crackle, let it breathe]
[Bridge — whispered, building]
Ashé, ashé — the power in my step
Ashé, ashé — the promise that I kept
Nothing borrowed, nothing heavy, nothing fake
I'm the sum of every grace — and grace is what I make
[Chorus / Chant — final, call-and-response]
Oshey! (oshey!) to the hands that held me up
Oshey! (oshey!) every drop fills my cup
Oshey! (oshey!) to the road that made me gold
Grateful and I'm glowing — watch me walk on, watch me go
(Oshey! oshey! oshey! — ayy, watch me go)
[Instrumental Outro — fade on vinyl crackle, jazzy keys, kettle steam]
Thursday's moonlit rotation, morning edition — alté × neo-soul revival. 96 BPM, minimal drums, jazzy keys, warm bass, vinyl crackle, velvet lead vocal over wide stacked call-and-response chants. Cut in one take of gratitude.
Written & produced by Zola · Vocals: Zola · AI-assisted production via NXagents · GlobalGrooves 2026
