It's a sunny afternoon in early March, andJoeboy is late for our interview. When he arrives, he's apologetic, bearing about his person the self-awareness of someone constantly on the go. It could be because the 27-year-old Afropop superstar is no longer just an artist but a custodian of a new music label,Young Legend, hence a new sense of responsibility has emerged.
We're in a large office space at the heart of Lekki, in Lagos, Nigeria, less than a week before the release of his latest album,Viva Lavida. Preparations for a video shoot are in full swing downstairs, and there's a buzz of activity around the building.
Unlike his former role as a music artist, when it would have been okay to sit back and let other people handle the technical side of things, Joeboy is as concerned and involved with the administrative as he is about the creative. "I've been busy making calls, having meetings, shooting videos, clearing songs, and just making sure everything is right and ready for when the project drops," Joeboy, real name Joseph Akinwale Akinfewa-Donus, tells OkayAfrica.
Ironically, this sentiment of complete control is missing—in a good way— from his new album. As the meaning of Viva Lavida suggests, Joeboy is simply living life. In this work, he is an astute observer; his concerns wander from love to existential questions and unrequited love intertwined with moments of vulnerability. There are no self-assured themes here, no grating sense of righteousness or braggadocio about his ability to move through desire unscathed. In his latest work, this soulful hitmaker lets go, hoping to inspire the listener to do the same.
Photo by Pelumi Olaniyan
As the meaning of Viva Lavida suggests, Joeboy is simply living life in his new album.
Taking from life's experiences
"My headspace was just living and taking it as it comes," Joeboy explains. "I just wanted to make music in a free way. There's a difference in how you make music before and after you blow up. You get so many voices in your head sometimes, and you have to calm down and take it back to the source, and that's exactly what I did."
To help him return to the source, the Lagos-born singer went back to the neighborhoods he grew up in, riding around in a tinted car to limit attention but also able to move through them and remember what it meant to be a student at the University of Lagos with aspirations to make it in music.
True to his word, Viva Lavida bears traces of the artist from 2019, the slightly bashful loverboy who bared his heart out on his early hit"Baby." The sound in the new album draws influences from a range of places, from highlife to classic Afropop. On "Streets Are Lonely," Joeboy isn't afraid to admit that romantic connections are growing increasingly fickle. It's an open admission that the drought of romance doesn't make an exception for people with full lives.
On theTempoe produced "SMH (Something Missing Here)," he's unafraid to acknowledge the decline of a once beautiful relationship, expressing willingness to make it work. In many ways, this new project is also a call to unapologetic romantics, to dreamers who know unrequited affection and are unafraid to articulate it. He had this demographic in mind when he made the album.
"I was trying to be vulnerable," he says. "I feel like we don't make enough music for unrequited love; everybody's just on this toxic [thing] right now, so I was just like, let's sing for those people. And that's just my way of connecting."
Keeping it open
Since his emergence on theNigerian music scene in 2019, the singer has brought a refreshing openness, capturing the restlessness of being young and in love, the uncertainty of desire, and how that connects to our collective humanity.
To listen to early Joeboy, much like the Joeboy on this new album, is to sit next to someone fascinated with the unpredictability of human behavior, and rather than judge or become tainted by it character-wise, he chooses to document it. His ability to describe commonly felt feelings in language that offers a new perspective makes him interesting as an artist. It's a skill he says comes from being emotionally tapped into the work he is creating.
"There's a way you tap into emotion, and it just really helps with your writing," he says. "When you go deep, there are some lyrics that you never knew you had [in you] that come out."
To help guide his process while working on new projects, the Afropop star starts with a theme or storyline, and for Viva Lavida, freedom was the primary theme. "Freedom in the context of being able to express vulnerability, and there's also the introspective part with songs like 'Sinner,' 'I'll Be Okay,' and 'Hey Father,'" he explains.
For Joeboy, the plan for Young Legend, a label idea he's had since he entered the music industry, is to make it a generational institution that will continue to incubate talent long after he has exited the music industry. "My plan for Young Legend, in general, is to be one of the biggest in the industry," he says.
As for what he hopes listeners feel or take away from Viva Lavida, the ask is simple: just have a good time. "I just want them to feel good, vibe out, and enjoy the music. I am not here to give you mathematics to solve."