Lojay’s come-up has been one of the most compelling to watch in Afrobeats. If you were there for Midnight Vibes in 2017, you’d be proud of how far he’s come. From his breakout with Monalisa and the LV N ATTN project, Lekan Osifeso Jr. has carved a path that’s both deliberate and dynamic.
Since then, he’s released Gangster Romantic, earned a Grammy nomination, teamed up with JAE5 on Loveless, and dropped the Falling / Unleash two-pack.
Now, he’s here with his long-awaited debut album, XOXO. For many, it feels overdue, but for Lojay, it feels right, like a message sent at the perfect time.
XOXO is confident, intimate, and intentional, a statement of who Lojay has become. The album rollout hinted at purpose, but the music itself delivers something deeper. From its intro, Salê, to its closer, Alright, Lojay is fully in his element, taking listeners on a heartfelt, immersive journey.
After our first conversation in 2023, following Gangster Romantic, it feels good to sit with him again, calm, measured, and more certain than ever.
“It Came at the Perfect Time”
When I ask how he feels about it all, there’s a stillness in his voice.
“I’m feeling blessed,” he says simply. “Honestly, it’s taken a while before the debut album dropped. At the end of the day, it’s out now, but I feel like it came at the perfect time. It came at the right time. I’ve had a lot of things happen to me in my career, a lot of great things. I wanted all of that to happen and then go into the album, all of that energy.”
I’m curious to know what he thinks of his evolution from Gangster Romantic to XOXO.
“It’s a more refined version of me,” he says. “A more assured version — one that, in many ways, deviates from the Gangster Romantic version of me.”
I press about the timing of the album. Why now? Why this moment? He laughs softly, like he’s been here before.
“I guess it’s a divine feeling,” he says. “Plus, this was always the plan. There was a roadmap for how I wanted to release my projects. But the timing of everything that’s happened, that was divine.”
“Mental Restructuring” and Realignment
At one point during his rollout, he mentioned a pivotal conversation with his creative director that helped him realign mid-process. I ask about that.
“I can’t share the entire conversation because it’s very private,” he begins. “But it was something I needed to realign myself. It’s natural — as you grow, sometimes everybody needs realigning. She knew me well enough to put two and two together and communicate how she felt about the whole thing. We ended up with an entire mental restructuring, I guess.”
He calls it “mental restructuring.” I call it a moment of self-awareness. Every artist needs people who can pull them back to the centre, and he had that, thankfully.
It became a turning point in the making of XOXO, and the conversation, he says, was crucial to the version of the album the world is hearing now.
Real-Life Experiences and Setting the Tone with Salê
Listening to XOXO, I wonder how much of it comes from imagination or experience. He clears that up quickly.
“I write from mainly real-life experiences,” he says.
The opening track, Salê, caught my attention immediately. Album intros matter, they set the tone and signal intent. Salê had everything: emotion, rhythm, and a yearning honesty.
“It wasn’t like too much thought went into making it the first song,” he says. “I just made the song, enjoying myself and expressing myself. And at the end, it became a song that felt worthy of being first. Because like you said, it set the tone for the entire album.”
He pauses, then adds:
“I wanted to shift away from what would be the norm. Everyone would have expected me to come in braggadocious, hyping myself up, which is fine. But I wanted a more subtle approach, vulnerability with Salê. That’s what it was.”
That vulnerability isn’t accidental at all; it’s the album’s heartbeat. By opening with Salê, Lojay makes it clear this chapter isn’t about proving anything; he wants you to feel something. From the warmth in his voice to the gentle pull of the guitar strings, it’s an invitation into his world, a statement that beneath the polish and confidence, there’s still a soul searching, reflecting, and reaching for connection.
At one point, I ask if fame, touring, and the speed of it all ever made him feel disconnected from himself, in terms of relationships and just in general.
“Yes and no,” he says. “I wouldn’t say I lost myself, but there were times when I just needed mental restructuring. In the process of making an album, you kind of lose your mind and then piece it all back together in a new way.”
I bring up something I’d noted in one of his rollout videos, how he lost a relationship because of how fast things moved. He nods.
“Yeah, music made me lose relationships. Very much so.”
There’s no self-pity in his tone, just understanding.
Music as a Genuine Experience, and Alright, the Perfect Outro
When XOXO dropped, a music page on X ranked the songs, and “Jericho” caused a stir because of how low it was placed. For me, it’s one of the standouts. When I bring it up, he smiles.
“Jericho, like all the others, was a genuine experience,” he says. “I can’t make music unless it’s genuine. Everything you hear on that song is everything that was, there’s truth in it. It’s as direct as could be.”
It’s moments like this that remind you of the intentionality behind his craft.
We talk about Alright, the final track, meditative, grounded, the perfect closer.
“It was a very reflective song,” he says. “I wanted something that didn’t just speak to love but also to me, to self-love.”
In an earlier chat with Clash Music, he described it as a message to himself:
“That last track felt like the perfect way to close that chapter. Everyone has seen my highs and lows. Some things have been good, some not so good. That song is my personal mantra. No matter what I’m going through, I always tell myself, ‘Everything’s going to be fine.’”
Collaboration and Chemistry
XOXO features a diverse cast of Tyla, Odeal, Victony, and Feid, yet it still sounds entirely like Lojay.
“I just have range,” he says with a grin. “I wanted the album to be as diverse as possible, and that meant exploring different angles and pockets.”
None of the collaborations were forced. Each one grew out of genuine connection: a Christmas night session with Odeal in Lagos, a Miami studio moment with Feid built on mutual admiration, and a laid-back hangout with Tyla that turned into Memories.
“All the features are personal,” he explains. “These are people I’ve actually spent time with, had meals with, built real relationships with.”
For Victony’s feature, it came down to trust.
“I needed someone to take the song somewhere else, and Victony did. From the moment I heard it, I knew it had to go on the album.”
That same energy flowed into the production.
“Working with P. Prime, Black Culture, Sarz, Tudorr, and Godomarr was amazing,” he says. “Every single one of them, a seamless experience.”
Identity, Phases and Honesty with Art
How do you stay distinct amid so many influences? His answer is philosophical.
“We’re all influenced by what’s around us,” Lojay says. “Authenticity is just your way of interpreting the influence you’ve gotten. No idea is new per se, it’s how you translate it. Sometimes I let myself get influenced intentionally, just so I can turn my mind into a melting pot for all these ideas.”
The LV N ATTN, Gangster Romantic, and XOXO trilogy feels like emotional documentation, each project an imprint of where he was at the time.
“It’s just steps in my life,” he says. “Periods and phases in my emotional journey. I put that out there for people to connect with me in their own way. That’s what matters most, creating music people can feel.”
If LV N ATTN was curiosity, and Gangster Romantic was defiance, then XOXO feels like acceptance, peace after the storm.
When I ask if vulnerability feels risky in today’s Afrobeats landscape — especially with lamba dominating — he doesn’t think twice.
“No, it’s not a risk,” he says. “In creativity, it’s always best to be honest.”
That honesty, he believes, will always keep the music grounded, even as Afrobeats continues to expand globally.
“I’m African, I’m Nigerian,” he says. “As long as I’m making Afrobeats, it can’t be watered down. It’s my sound. Some might try to dilute it, but fans will always know. The fact that I’m always looking to push the envelope means I won’t fall into that trap.”
Staying True and Building Legacy
With Lojay’s growing global presence, is there pressure to cater to international tastes? He shakes his head.
“We got here by making African music, the African way,” he says. “We don’t need to change that to scale up. The sound will evolve naturally, but it doesn’t need to be ‘more appealing’ to anyone else.”
That quiet confidence and the refusal to bend, is the essence of his artistry.
Outside music, there’s a curious, nerdy side, fascinated by science and the universe.
“It influences how I process the world,” he says. “It shapes how I think, even if not directly in my music.”
When the topic turns to legacy, his answer is calm but pointed.
“The only way to honour music is to make something that lives beyond you,” he says. “To do that, you just have to tell the truth. Be honest. Be creative. That’s what I’m doing.”
I circle back to his independence. Lojay’s been moving on his own terms for years. Is that changing soon?
He smirks.
“You’ll find out.”
On touring, he lights up again. He’s set to tour the U.S. and Canada in the coming days.
“I can’t wait to be on tour,” he says. “I hope you guys are streaming XOXO. If you’re not, go stream it. It’s my debut album. It’s an amazing body of work. I can’t wait to share it with you guys on tour. I love you guys so much.”
“I Want Them to Feel Sexy”
As we wrap up, I ask Lojay what he wants people to experience when they listen to XOXO. He smiles.
“I want them to feel sexy.”
He says it playfully, but it holds weight. Because really, that’s what XOXO is all about; feeling.
With XOXO, Lojay channels emotion into rhythm, making it confident, vulnerable, and real. It’s music that draws you in and reminds you how authenticity really sounds.
He wants you to listen and feel sexy, feel in love, and feel alive. Lojay sounds happy, honest, and grounded, and that’s what it’s all about in the end.
