Paul Play Dairo – Forever (feat. Alibu & B. Rite)

That unmistakable guitar strum still hits first, followed by the odd, almost human flute-like sound that somehow feels both playful and urgent. From there, Paul Play Dairo settles into “Forever,” the standout cut from his mid-2000s Hitsville album on Playground Entertainment, with Alabai and B. Rite sliding in for the features that give the track its extra bounce.

Released at a moment when many still insisted Nigerian hits needed heavy pidgin or local-language hooks to connect, the song quietly proved otherwise. Paul Play wrote and produced it himself, keeping the arrangement sparse, light strings, calypso-tinged percussion, that signature tinny falsetto, while delivering a lyrically agile plea for lasting love. The result was pure Afro-R&B without the usual American shiny-suit gloss or forced street slang. Industry skepticism melted once the track started living on radios and in bedrooms across the country.

By 2007 it had claimed Recording of the Year at the Hip-Hop World Awards (later The Headies), helped Hitsville take Best R&B Album, and earned Paul Play a cluster of other trophies that same night. Years later the song still ranks high on lists of Nigeria’s greatest love records, gets sampled by a new generation (Blaqbonez among them), and pulls nostalgic comments from listeners who first heard it as teenagers dreaming about the real thing. One spin and you’re right back on that love boat, sailing for forever.