On his just-released Gangster Romantic EP, a follow-up to 2021\u2019s LV N ATTN, the artist pushes this advantage ruthlessly, dissecting a labyrinth of emotions on the fondness arc while fetching from his sexual heroism. The seven-track collection studies the tension between love and power \u2013 or the power of love \u2013 adorned with charming hooks and explicit freedom. All thanks, perhaps, to his leading colleague Wizkid, Afrobeats’ most notable apostle of this style today.<\/p>\n
Lojay\u2019s prurient theology starts with \u2018Yahweh\u2019, whose title and position on the LP trick the listener into embracing the song as something religious. Once it starts playing, however, the traditional sentiment attending the word, and the privacy of its author\u2019s libidinous escapades, are segregated to the back. Instead, Lojay deploys the word as an exclamation for unchaste provocation impossible to disengage from. The absence of rectitude generally underlines pop from these parts. And yet, Lojay\u2019s take is unprecedented \u2013 an ingenious contrivance and clever introduction to the project.<\/p>\n
Other offerings such as \u2018Moto\u2019 and \u2018Ova\u2019, toss Lojay into crushing pain, leaving him trembling in internal debate at the corner of unreturned affection, or wallowing at the junction of the extermination of once healthy romance. \u2018IYD\u2019 is a moving number orchestrated as an invitation to vulnerability, while \u2018Leader\u2019 soundtracks pop arrogance. \u2018Canada\u2019 and ‘Availabu’ regale the listener with more playful anecdotes about romantic devotion \u2013 or a semblance of it.<\/p>\n
Gangster Romantic is the temperature of something both infernal and a cool freeze, and though ignited by thumping dancehall sensuality, it expands into a fabulous collision of genre-bending fine points; quintessential 90s R&B, amapiano, West African pop and more.<\/p>\n
The singer disclosed upon the arrival of his new body of work that it was bereft of commercial targets, but rather, was born out of an artistic compulsion for enduring connection. Seeing how beautifully his approach continues subverts traditional trends, particularly in his conveyance of pleasure and pain. He is undoubtedly presenting himself at the door of Afrobeats renown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigerian singer Lojay\u2019s approach to Afropop is marked by delicate wit and a definite tendency for erotic themes, and his voice, which at once percolates boyish innocence and imposing charm, allows him to broach even the most vulgar talking points with warm allure, while the haunting brilliance of his compositions deepens their soppiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":27139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,31],"tags":[7,14,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-27142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-music","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"yoast_head":"\n