Nigerian multi-hyphenate Cruel Santino (fka Santi) has released his sophomore album, “Subaru Boys : FINAL HEAVEN”.
A 21-track conceptual album (co-produced by Cruel Santino), the project is broken up into multiple arcs, each with its own theme and navigator, guiding the listener through a sonic tale of war and glory.
Joining Cruel Santino on this epic adventure are the project’s special guests including Skepta, Amaarae, Koffee, Gus Dapperton and a slew of new music darlings from the auteurial “Subaru” world.
Written across continents, the first half of the project squarely taps into the Alté and Afrobeats lane (with songs like “Matilda” and “Swagger Back”), Cruel also lends himself to sample from recent Grime resurgence on “The Pearls.”
While the latter half is influenced by more modern genres heard on “Fallin” (which leans R&B) and “Beautiful Nothing” (draws from bedroom pop sounds with a little help from collaborator Gus Dapperton).
Gliding through genres and musical inspirations, Cruel taps into many references to create a body of work that is both cohesive and aims to please many listeners. Subaru Boys : FINAL HEAVEN was released on Monster Boy — a joint venture deal that Cruel Santino announced with Interscope Records in 2020.