Soundway Records is proud to reissue Got To Be Me, the cult-favourite LP by Rick Asikpo & Afro Fusion—a synth-drenched blend of Southern U.S. jazz-funk and West African soul, originally recorded in 1981 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and pressed only in Nigeria. Long sought-after by collectors, the album now resurfaces as a vital missing link between the dancefloor experiments of Houston and Lagos.

Rick Asikpo was a Nigerian student living in Houston when he joined The People’s Workshop—a Black artist collective known for nurturing youth musicians, poets, and performers. Their Houston Talent Expo LP included “Let’s Get High,” a soulful, slow-burning track that notably featured Charlie Singleton of funk super group Cameo on guitar. This track is also featured on Got To Be Me, suggesting Asikpo’s close ties to a vibrant community of Southern U.S. musicians whose influence stretched beyond state lines.

Asikpo recorded the album at River City Studios in Baton Rouge with local Louisiana musicians, including Ray Mouton, a key figure in the regional zydeco scene - bringing a subtle touch of Louisiana’s rich musical heritage to the project. The result is a distinctive blend of boogie, soul, Afro-disco and funk reminiscent of Earth Wind & Fire and The Crusaders, all refracted through a diasporic lens.

Pressed in small quantities on the Nigerian Afrodisia label, the album has since become a rare collector’s gem. Following Got To Be Me, Asikpo went on to release a string of boogie-infused records throughout the 1980s and early ’90s, incorporating elements of hip-hop and early rap that reflect his time in the U.S. His evolving sound earned him recognition in Nigeria as a pioneering multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. Four decades later, Got To Be Me is reborn—not just as a standout African boogie record, but as a pan-Atlantic artefact celebrating shared Black musical innovation.

Listen to “Got To Be Me” and pre-save the album here