Losing The Plot with ADEOLUWA
Losing The Plot with ADEOLUWA is your overthinker’s guide to pop culture. Your host, ADEOLUWA, goes beyond the hot takes for deep dives into the why behind the trends. Each episode unpacks the hidden mechanics: the years-long sample clearances, strategic rollouts, and artistic evolution that shape the music and stories you love. Subscribe to decode pop culture with us every Thursday!
Episodes
The videos tell one story. Making them is another 😂
Wale and I revisit three of my music videos: “Ready,” “S'okan,” and “Dey Forever,” in that order.From making “Ready” in 2014 to releasing "S'okan" in 2019 and “Dey Forever” in 2025, we talk about how my creative process has changed, the work that goes into bringing these ideas to life, and what happened behind the scenes.
...
What happens when you watch yourself perform at 13?
In Part 2 of The Road to Grateful, Wale and I revisit two performances from different stages of my musical journey: a high school recital where I sang Adele's Turning Tables, and a performance of Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse's Valerie from three years ago.
We talk about my evolution as a singer and performer, the changes in my musical style, the confidence I've gained, and how much...
A birthday special on Losing the Plot.
Wale and I sit down to talk about the podcast in the first instalment of The Road to Grateful, a series looking back at my life and creative journey ahead of my birthday and the release of “Grateful” on November 3.
This is the audio edition of our video conversation, shared here as part of the rollout for my new single, “Grateful,” out November 3, 2026, on National Baba C...
Season One of Losing The Plot began with a simple idea.
Albums are never just albums.
Across the season the show examined the hidden architecture behind music culture. From Adekunle Gold’s Fuji to the blockbuster strategies behind Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, from Brandy’s influence on modern vocal styles to Beyoncé’s challenge to genre boundaries, each conversation revealed a deeper system shaping how music is crea...
Pop culture loves the story of the self made star.
The artist who arrives fully formed. The genius who changes everything through talent alone. The overnight success who simply worked harder than everyone else.
But the history of popular music tells a different story.
This episode examines the invisible systems that shape the careers of the world’s biggest artists. From Michael Jackson’s relationship with MTV to Beyoncé&rs...
The music industry often measures success through visibility. Chart positions. Viral moments. Cultural dominance.
But some of the most enduring artists in music history built their careers through a completely different path.
This episode explores the cult favourite career model through artists who achieved longevity by cultivating loyal audiences rather than chasing constant mainstream attention. Artists like Asa, Robyn, Johnny Dril...
Some producers create songs. Others create eras.
This episode examines Don Jazzy’s influence on Nigerian pop culture and the broader role producers play in shaping the evolution of Afrobeats. From the early dominance of Mo’Hits Records to the global reach of Mavin Records today Don Jazzy has repeatedly helped define the sound and structure of Nigerian pop.
The episode also expands beyond one individual. Producers like Sar...
Music movements rarely emerge from isolated artists. They are often built by institutions.
This episode compares three labels that helped define entire eras of popular music. Motown Records in the United States, Mo’Hits Records in Nigeria, and Mavin Records in the modern streaming era. Each of these labels did more than release successful songs. They constructed sonic identities that shaped the sound of their generations.
Motow...
For decades mainstream pop culture measured great singing through Western standards of technical precision.
But global music history tells a different story.
This episode examines how Asake and Bad Bunny became two of the most influential artists of their generation by rejecting those expectations. Instead of chasing traditional vocal perfection both artists leaned fully into the natural textures of their voices and the cultural trad...
Afrobeats did not always sound the way it does today.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s Nigerian pop music was defined by speed, density, and percussion. Songs by artists like D’banj, Wizkid, Davido, and P Square were built around bright synthesizers, layered drum patterns, and explosive rhythms designed for clubs, street parties, and high energy performance.
Over the last decade however the genre has gradually transformed. Afr...
King of Boys was never just a film.
This episode moves beyond visual ambition and into meaning, examining how King of Boys functions as social commentary on power in Nigeria. Where the first film established a new cinematic language, this conversation explores what that language is actually saying.
We break down how the film presents power not as individual success, but as a system of control shaped by invisible structures. Using the...
When King of Boys premiered in 2018 it did more than become a hit film. It fundamentally shifted the visual ambition and narrative scale of mainstream Nollywood.
This episode explores how Kemi Adetiba introduced a new cinematic language into Nigerian filmmaking. Through deliberate lighting choices, operatic color palettes, carefully constructed costume design, and political storytelling that embraced complexity, King of Boys reframe...
For most of music history, touring promoted the album. Today the album often promotes the tour.
This episode traces how live performance evolved from chaotic vaudeville circuits and segregated Chitlin Circuit routes into billion dollar global stadium machines. We explore how artists like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Madonna, U2, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Bad Bunny transformed touring from promoti...
A revisit, not a review.
ADELE’s 25 is often framed as the safe follow up to 21, but that reading misses the point. This episode revisits 25 as a study in restraint, adulthood, and emotional recalibration. We explore why the album felt muted to audiences expecting heartbreak theatrics, how its songwriting reflects emotional closure rather than devastation, and why growing up is rarely celebrated in pop music.
Was 25 a creative ...
This episode connects the dots from Brandy to Rihanna to Billie Eilish, SZA, and Tems.
We explore how intimacy replaced power, how technology reshaped vocal expectations, and why whispering can sometimes feel louder than belting. We also ask whether the dominance of softness has flattened emotional range, or expanded it.
Not every artist is allowed to evolve.
This episode examines how age, gender, and race shape who receives grace in pop culture. Why are women punished for maturity? Why are men celebrated for the same behavior? And why does reinvention feel riskier for some artists than others?
This is the human cost of the pop star archetype.
Musical theatre songwriting is one of the hardest disciplines in music.
This episode explores how pop has quietly borrowed from Broadway for decades. We break down character voice, emotional pacing, narrative arcs, and payoff, explaining why some pop songs linger while others disappear.
If pop is about moments, musicals are about meaning. This episode shows why both matter.
This episode makes an uncomfortable argument.
Great pop stars are not defined by vocal ability alone. Using Madonna and Taylor Swift as anchors, we examine how pop measures success through timing, narrative control, emotional clarity, and cultural intuition.
We ask whether not singing like Whitney, Mariah, or Beyoncé disqualifies an artist from greatness, or whether pop has always followed a different logic.
The modern pop star was engineered in the 1980s.
This episode breaks the era into five defining phases using Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson as lenses. We explore how spectacle, image control, authenticity, perfection, and branding became requirements, and why pop stars today are still negotiating expectations born decades ago.
This is not nostalgia. It is a rulebook we have not escaped.
Country and hip hop are more similar than we are taught to believe.
This episode explores how both genres share Black roots, narrative songwriting, and rhythmic evolution, and how racism shapes who is accepted when genres evolve. Using Lil Nas X, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift as case studies, we unpack why some crossovers are celebrated while others are resisted.
This episode is less about music and more about power.
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.