British-Ghanian hitmaker Juls has become a highly revered producer since emerging towards the backend of the 2010s, with a sonic melting pot that chews up afrobeats, soul, hip-hop, dancehall and more, and spits it out in a succinct and vibrant amalgamation of sounds that feels unique to the renowned beatsmith alone.
Juls has shared a new record, Peace & Love, a sprawling 18-pronged opus that is as diverse as it is divine, crafting a work that traverses nations and continents but is grounded in the core of his sonic identity. Bringing together a plethora of rising and long-established artists, the album is littered with brilliant contributions from its decorated feature acts, from UK rap royalty Wretch 32 and Ghetts to R&B luminaries Jaz Karis and Miraa May, from US heavyweights JoeyBada$$ and Masego to hotly-tipped talents tendai and SamRecks and Afro favourites Tay Iwar and Black Sherif.
To commemorate the release, Wonderland asks Juls to take us through the delectable track-list, one cut at a time.
Listen to Peace & Love…
Read Juls’ analysis…
“Leap Of Faith” ft. Wretch 32
The production on this song makes use of the Nyabinghi drum which is a popular drum in both African and Caribbean culture. When I was making the album, it was important for the record to have a message and tap into the spiritual side of things, that’s why I used these drums. I couldn’t think of anyone better than Wretch 32 to start the album, who in my eyes is one of the greatest UK rappers ever. He was able to speak about my journey in a way that even I didn’t look at things. The title “Leap Of Faith” refers to the name of my debut mixtape in which I was depicting my future hopes that my music career would take off. And here we are!
“Perspective”
This record was made with the intention of speaking about different cultures and the way we perceive different people around the world. I’ve had the privilege to travel to many places and take in different cultures. The song is speaking about taking in the perspective of people from different cultures but also about how us as men can look at things from the perspective of a woman, something that we don’t always do.
“Bad Bad” ft. tendai
This one is mainly for the ladies; a lustful record with a sexy groove. The beat was made in a different session, that wasn’t used by the artist I was working with at the time, but I loved it so much I was really determined to have it on the album. tendai is a man of many talents and very alternative and diverse in his style, so it was a real blessing having him on the track.
“Summer Never Ends” ft. Jaz Karis & Ghetts
This track is like a sequel that I made with a friend of mine that I collaborate with quite frequently; Jaz Karis. With our music we kind of try to bring summer out through our sonics, but because this album came out so late in the year, we’re kind of saying that our music always brings that good vibe of summer time. To have a legend like Ghetts feature on the track (who is one of my favourite rappers from the UK), is extraordinary because Ghetts doesn’t usually tap into this world, so he really trusted me to take it there. The session was amazing; we spoke about so much and I can’t wait to collaborate more with Ghetts.
“Hold You Down” ft. Odeal
“Hold You Down” is the first record that came out in the lead up to the album. It’s great working with an artist like Odeal who is on the rise and doing his thing amazingly well. We’d been trying to work for a while but the timing never worked out. When we made this record in winter, I already knew that this was going to be the first track I wanted to come out, just due to the tempo and vibe. It has the traditional Juls sound but also feels very different, due to the approach we took when making it.
“Best Interest” ft. JayO
This was a really fun record and gave me arguably my best moment of summer because we shot the video in Malta to match the feel good ambiance from the track. We threw some parties out there that I’ll never forget, we had a great time. Working with JayO is amazing, we’ve had so many sessions and even if we don’t make any music, we have extensive conversations that are just fun!
“Injabulo”
This track first came out in 2023 and was really just me trying to put my twist on Amapiano from a very jazzy perspective – they call it Private Piano. I collaborated with some very dope musicians on this record. It’s a record I’m really happy with and I’m looking forward to making more music in that Private Piano style because I really love it.
“Kpatunkpa”
Traditional Ghanaian sound, I had to make sure I rep Ghana! Worlasi is an artist I collaborate with quite frequently – we’re even working on our own album for next year. “Kpatunkpa” is really just a fun vibe! On this track we’re just appreciating the aesthetically pleasing ladies, but also playing off the word ‘Kpatunkpa’ which in Ghana relates to the sound of a drum.
“La Va”
“La Va” is a record I made in Ghana with taves after we had an amazing writers camp for Warner. I wanted to give taves the traditional Highlife sound and make a feel good love song. It was beautiful working with taves because he’s an amazing artist.
“These Days” ft. Tay Iwar
Tay Iwar is one of my favourite collaborators – we’ve made a lot of records together and will continue to make records together. We’re trying to do an EP soon. It would be criminal not to have him on the album. That record was made as an interlude at first, as I wanted Tay to have his own moment, but then it just developed into such a beautiful full song.
“Timing”
Another one of the singles from before the album release. I had to get my fellow homeland brother, Black Sherif on there, who’s someone I’ve been a fan of for a long time. Projexx is another incredible collaborator and one of my best friends in this music thing. I wanted him on there to blend Ghana and the Caribbean together. It was kind of inspired by a recent video of Buju Banton saying that Africans don’t tap into Caribbean culture and that modern African music has no substance. That particular clip made me want to challenge myself to bridge that gap.
“Love Or Lust” ft. Joey Bada$$ & Mereba
Joey Bada$$ is one of my favourite rappers, anybody who knows me, knows how much of a fan I am of Joey. I was determined to get him on this album. I stayed in New York for weeks just to make sure that I could get the session with him before I left. Mereba and I connected two years ago and we’ve had amazing sessions in the studio every time I’ve been to LA. Our conversations have always been about life, love and emotion. Me and Joey have had similar conversations so it just made sense bringing it all together. I was so glad to bring both of them into my world as they are both very passionate about Africa, Mereba especially as she has Ethiopian roots, and Joey being Caribbean has been longing to come to Africa, so hopefully this bridges the gap.
“Just Say” ft. Kali Claire & Louis Rei
“Just Say” was at first a Jungle record with just Kali on there, and I was thinking about it being an interlude. Then, Louis Rei hit me up out of the blue saying ‘bro, we need to get in’. When he got in touch I knew that he was the missing puzzle to the song. When I was mixing the song and it was turning into this Jungle riddim, he kind of slowed everything down, so I tried to make it more like a bossa nova record as well, similar to one of my riddims called Sade Riddim. Kali Claire is an amazing songwriter and artist and I believe we’re going to see a lot more from her in the future.
“Pretty Girls In Amsterdam” ft. Unknown T & Konshens
A very fun session I had in the studio with Unknown T. We were just talking about music and Unknown T asks a lot of questions which I really appreciate as you don’t always get this inquisitiveness from musicians. He’s one of my favourite new era rappers from the UK and he’s also from East London which is where I’m from, so it just made sense. Having Konshens on the record was legendary; my DJ sets are full of Konshens’ music, everybody knows I love to be an honorary yardie when I’m DJing. Shout out to Projexx for making that connection happen.
“Saint Tropez” ft. Victony
This record is all about grooves and vibe. It’s like a Highlife, meets Amapiano, meets a sped up Samba/Bossa Nova kind of vibe. I really wanted to get Victony on this record and do something for Africa and make something for the clubs.
“Special” ft. Miraa May & SamRecks
Miraa May is also one of my best friends in this music game. Amazing voice, amazing soul, we laugh all the time in the studio, it’s always fun and games and she just says it how it is. SamRecks is a young rapper I discovered last year who just has an amazing and pure energy, he’s definitely one to watch out for. The uptempo sound on Special is definitely something I’m definitely trying to continue going forward with in my music.
“Mshingo”
This is an instrumental where I’m trying to tap into different elements of Highlife, 3 Step and Amapiano at the same time and just make it fun for people to listen to. Mshingo means “traveller of the night”. The vocals are from an artist called DJ Buckz who is a South African legend, who was on the song Soweto Baby from DJ Maphorisa and Wizkid. He’s done a lot of music with Black Motion and Vigro Deep.
“Mntuwam” ft. Nkosazana Daughter
The last song on the record, featuring Nkosazana Daughter who has an amazing voice. She’s very popular in the Amapiano scene so I wanted to try my hand at that but still make it mine. The meaning of the song is “the love is right in front of you, I’m here when you need me”. All of these songs depict peace and love in a different way, whether it’s lustfully, emotionally or intellectually. The whole album is supposed to bring you peace of mind wherever you listen to it, whether it’s in the lounge, the car, or even the club.