As an artist, he\u2019s had much to celebrate. One of just a handful of Nigerian artists to make it to single digits in the US Billboard Afrobeats chart with his \u201cMona Lisa\u201d (which also happens to be the most globally Shazamed Afrobeats song of all time) Lojay has garnered much success alongside the likes of legendary Nigerian star producer Sarz, as well as Wizkid, whilst sharing stages with Tems, Boj, Amaarae, Ladipoe and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a man, the ride hasn\u2019t been so smooth. There\u2019s wisdom in his voice, which comes across steady, fresh, and thoughtful even in his lower register \u2013 an almost unrecognizable tone against the ones we usually hear on the much more emotive, fluid love songs peppering his wildly successful 2021 EP, LV N ATTN<\/a><\/em> (Love and Attention). Known for his remarkable ability to draw from his surroundings, infusing desire, lust, intimacy, and fun into ballads for the lovestruck, this year, like so many, he\u2019s disillusioned. Cuffing season is officially over, and love today often feels like a minefield where one wrong move can have one sustaining lifelong emotional injury. In a time where patriarchal sentiments abound and go head to head with a new breed of women who are finding that they are no longer beholden to the desires of so-called mediocre men, it\u2019s hard to imagine what love songs will sound like when vulnerability is so deeply entrenched in risk, as toxicity comes from all sides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In his latest offering, Gangster Romantic<\/a><\/em>, Lojay is a far cry from the man who was willing to risk it all to see his love requited. With past pining lyrics such as \u201cI need your love and attention<\/em>\u201d on the self-titled track, to the present\u2019s self-asserting \u201cgive me devotion properly<\/em>\u201d on \u201cYahweh<\/a>,\u201d Lojay turns love inward. Speaking on his journey from heartbreak to breakthrough in seven breezy tracks, Lojay and PAM talk about love, lessons, and finding himself a rugged exterior that he hopes will protect his tender heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project is an expression of what has happened between the last 12 to 18 months. I\u2019ve met a lot of people, some genuine and some not so much. And in that time I realized that, although I am a romantic and I am a loverboy to an extent, I\u2019ve also had to realize that at the end of the day, we are all in the streets. I\u2019ve just had to toughen up and become gangster with my emotions just to survive the streets. Everything that comes with it says I\u2019m still romantic, I still care, I still want love, but at the same time I\u2019ve also learned that where I am, I need to be tough and close my heart to a lot of things. \u201cJust move gangsta<\/em>\u201d quote, unquote!<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s start with the title. Why did you call the EP \u201cGangster Romantic\u201d ? Or rather, what does it mean to you to be \u201cgangster,\u201d and what does it mean to you to be \u201cromantic\u201d?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n