2016 was a year without Ed Sheeran in the music scene or even in any connection with his friends and family. After spending all year traveling without technology, the 26-year-old British singer-songwriter is back—creating his best album yet.

“÷” (pronounced divide) is Sheeran’s third full-length album that is similar to his other two, but stands above the others with its cultural influences from his time spent travelling and lyrical content.

The album begins with hip hop track “Eraser” which states “I beg you don’t be disappointed with the man I’ve become.” Sheeran has stated before in songs such as “Take it Back” from “X” (pronounced multiply) that he isn’t the greatest rapper, but he continues to write songs such as these that incorporate rapping about his personal life experiences.

Of course it wouldn’t be an Ed Sheeran album without any heartfelt ballads. “Perfect” was written to top his previous Grammy-winning single “Thinking Out Loud” but it is in no way the best one on the record.

“Happier” is about moving on after seeing an ex with a new significant other saying “‘cause baby you look happier, you do…but I know I was happier with you.” Sheeran said that he wrote this song as a mature ballad to take a new step forward.

Recalling the funeral of his grandmother, “Supermarket Flowers” is personal, deep and original.

“It was written (from) my mom’s point of view,” Sheeran said in an interview. “My grandmother was very ill…and passed away at the end of me making the record, so we wrote this song as a tribute and just left it on.”

This has a similar meaning to “Afire Love” from “X” which talks about his grandfather’s death after Alzheimer’s, but Sheeran topped himself with “Supermarket Flowers.” Religious undertones and personal dialogue make this song his most creative ballad yet.

“÷” takes a different turn from his other albums by reflecting different cultures from his time travelling. Holding the number 1 spot on the Billboard 100, “Shape of You” is an extremely catchy dance hit with percussion inspired by his time in spent in West Africa.

“Bibia Be Ye Ye” also has African instrumentation and Ghanaian dialect known as Twi. This was inspired by the people he lived with while staying in Ghana and the title translates to “all will be well.”

Incorporating a Spanish/Latin vibe, Sheeran wrote “Barcelona” as a love song to the city itself. It was originally intended to be the first single, but manager Stuart Camp said it wasn’t good enough: I strongly disagree.

This song is completely unlike the sound of Sheeran’s other works because it adds more cultural flare to the album and hopefully will inspire his future albums to take more risks like these.

But the cultural influences are far from over. Sheeran takes two songs on the album to incorporate traditional Irish folk music, representing the blended family he lives in.

“Galway Girl” depicts a couple who meets in an Irish pub and celebrates life and enjoys their time together. Another nod to his grandparents, “Nancy Mulligan” is about how his grandparents married even when their families—and their religions—were against them.

This song goes chronologically through their life and shows how their different religions and running away from their families had no negative impact on their love.

In regards to the album’s Irish influences, Sheeran was worried that fans wouldn’t like it.

“I don’t think enough people use [Irish music] in pop music,” Sheeran said. “For some reason it’s considered twee and old, but it’s such exciting, youthful music; it should be at the forefront of pop culture. Hopefully if these songs are successful, more people will do a bit more like it.”

With the perfect blend of hip hop, ballads, meaningful lyrics and cultural influences, “÷” has emerged as one of the best albums of 2017 and the best album of Sheeran’s career.