“I feel like most people will relate to the project,” Aymos tells Apple Music; “even the older audience will be able to connect with amapiano which is considered ‘ama2000’ [Gen-Z] music. But with my album, I think, it's got a wider appeal.” On Yimi Lo, the musician and his collaborators explore a wide range of topics that indeed appeal to both the young and the old. He touches on love and relationships, encourages self-love and sings about his backstory and profound relationship with music, while the light-hearted tracks that pepper the album make for ideal party soundtracks. To craft this versatile body of work, Aymos retained his long-time producers TO Starquality and Mas Musiq while welcoming contributions from Kabza De Small, Felo Le Tee, DBN Gogo and a few others. Here, Aymos (Babili Amos Shilihas) breaks down the inspiration behind each track. Jemeni [ Aymos & Focalistic] “I appeared on DJ Maphorisa’s ‘eMcimbini’ and after that, Mas Musiq and I released the EP Shonamalanga. I then went silent for a while. ‘Jemeni’ was the first song came up with when I had the idea of coming back into music. I wanted [to return with a bang]. [I featured Focalistic because] I wanted someone relevant, but who also understands the aesthetics of music. ‘Jemeni’ refers to German cars; fast, heavy machines, reliable and beautiful. They look so muscular. So, that was how I interpreted my comeback in the whole amapiano scene.” Ababuyanga [Aymos, Major League Djz & Josiah De Disciple] “‘Ababuyanga’ means ‘they never came back’. I have this niece who’s always out and sometimes doesn’t comes back home. She stresses her parents out. She’s a 2000 [Gen-Z]. My siblings and I, when we were younger, never used to do that. So, the song was inspired [by that behaviour].” Lyf Styl (feat. Mas Musiq) “It’s about the lifestyle of a musician, the lifestyle of being a celebrity. We are celebs, twelebs, we are trending, we’re on TV and radio… it's that life. So, I am telling people about my purpose in music. [Being a musician] has led me into this lifestyle, the lavish lifestyle. I'm not saying my life is lavish but that's how [being a celebrity is viewed].” AmaPaperBag (feat. MuzQALsthe & TheologyHD) [Aymos & Josiah De Disciple] “It's a continuity of ‘Lyf Styl’. Because once you've made it, everyone sets standards for you: ‘Now you're trending, you probably stay in Sandton, you probably drive a BMW or a Merc.’ [People] who’re at the forefront of the amapiano movement—they put us under pressure, as the guys who are coming up. They love these high fashion brands, so everyone is just thinking that's the way to go. Whenever you get a big paycheque, then you have to rock Gucci, Louis [Vuitton] or Balenciaga and... So in this song, I'm saying I worked hard to afford those brands, I don't even know these brands much.” Risasekile (feat. TO Starquality & Mas Musiq) “‘Risasekile’ means ‘beautiful’ [in XiTsonga]. In the song, I personify ‘Risasekile’ as a beautiful woman; our relationship was beautiful, but not necessarily a love relationship; it could be any relationship basically. In relationships, most people don't communicate about the clashes they have. Maybe someone said something that I would think wasn’t such a big deal, but it hurt the next person. Relationships often end like that because of the lack of communication. But if we could have spoken about it, we could have worked it out. So the song is saying, ‘What have I done wrong? Where did we go wrong? Tell me, and we communicate so we can fix things and move on with our lives’.” iParty Yami [Aymos & Kabza De Small] “Here, I was just loosening up. I often get people saying, ‘Aymos, you, you're too serious. You are too soulful.’ But people have parties every now and then.” “uYangibiza (feat. TO Starquality & Sekiwe) [Aymos & Mas Musiq] “‘uYangibiza’ is about how music called Aymos into the industry. The line ‘Sengibathe ngishona le ngazama ukubaleka/nangu uyangibiza’ means music called me. Now that I'm actually officially doing music, I’m inside, I’m relevant—[but] I’m also seeing another side of it that I never imagined. So many temptations; in the club, you see this and that. And there is so much freedom, you can literally do anything. You can do anything. You have a gig far away from home where there are no cameras.” Yimi Lo “The song was inspired by the people who’ve been asking me to drop something of my own because I've been doing a whole lot of collaborations, and because of that, they’re like, ‘Dawg, you are so dope, why can't we just have a whole album, a whole project of just you alone?’ And Yimi Lo was the answer.” “Olwangempela (feat. Mawhoo) “Most people they don't agree [with the idea that] not all men are heartbreakers. I still believe there are still loyal people who love truly and genuinely. I took forever to settle down in a relationship, because I felt like there was no one who genuinely loved me for who I am, and not for what I can do or for what I have. But even before I found that person, I still knew true love existed, and ‘Olwangempela’ describes that.” Rata [Aymos, Mas Musiq & Boohle] “There's a lot of people who I love dearly and appreciate, and we are very tight, but I would never tell them, ‘Man, I love you’. It’s probably because of ego and pride or I'm just shy. There's a lot of reasons behind that. So, the song is about encouraging people to express their love to those they care about. Don’t wait for them to die first and then you want to play their music; you want to say all these nice things about them. It becomes all pointless. Muhle “[Here] I’m adoring and valuing people just as they are. I was raised by the notion that we are made in the image of God, which means, if that's the case, then God is beautiful; God is great; God is love. So, there is no way that a person can be ugly. So, when I say, ‘muhle akazenzisi’, I mean ‘she’s beautiful without makeup and accessories’. You are beautiful just as you are, you don't need anything extra.” Ntombo [Aymos, DBN Gogo & Felo Le Tee] “It’s a continuation of ‘Muhle’. I had just recorded ‘Muhle’ and there was a ‘Ntombo’ that was trending on Twitter. People were saying she’s ugly but, Ntombo stood up for themselves. They were quite confident. I was quite inspired by Ntombo, especially for doing that on Twitter. Because I already have a Mas Musiq and TO Starquality doing most of the work [on the project], I felt like I needed a different hand and different feel. DBN Gogo and Felo Le Tee gave me a couple of beats; it’s hard but at the same time it has so much soul.” Matla [Aymos & Zakes Bantwini] “In this song, I’m saying that, whatever you do, always remember home, remember your family. Because a man is not defined by a lot of money or masculinity. I define a man by him being able to take care of his own offspring and his own family. Those are the values that make a man. I wanted to have Zakes Bantwini on the album—and we didn’t just record, he told me about his background and warned me about mistakes to avoid in the industry.” iXesha (feat. Touchline) After matric, I knew I wanted to do music. I took a gap year to try music out. The year I was just about to finish, I really needed something solid to keep me glued to music. In November, Mas Musiq and I dropped “Zaka”. So music rescued me at that time. If it wasn't for it, I'd probably be stuck in nursing somewhere in Pretoria.”