Great albums aren’t just a collection of sonically pleasing songs. A great album is crafted with the intent to be a riveting experience for the listener. Same way a cinematic production enthralls the viewer and a novel entertains the reader, a great music project is supposed to be a rewarding experience as a wholesome entity.
So, lumping together misfit songs and non-complimentary sonic soundscapes on a project would impair the essence of a wholesome, rewarding experience. Hence, the art of curating an album is an highly skilled craft that eludes many artists. Lojay though isn’t in such category. In Afrobeats especially, he is amongst the distinguished few that excel at it.
This might sound like a stretch because he doesn’t even have an album out yet, but that’s what makes this feat all the more impressive. On an EP, he attains such brilliant sonic and thematic cohesion that many fail to replicate on full-blown projects. EP’s usually get more artistic scrutiny leeway, in the sense that it’s allowed to just be a collection of few songs to introduce the artist’s style and brand to the audience and not necessarily mean more than that. On Gangster Romantic however, Lojay takes the execution of this EP to that of impressive concept albums.
Starting with the cover art and the title, the former depicts the artist staring at a splintered mirror, with a love emblem engraved right in the center of its cracked fragments—almost as if it’s a bullet point of impact. That imagery conveys the savage sentiment around the persona staring right at it and the fact that it’s a love sign, portends romance at the same time. It’s such an efficient image, because it’s illustrious as an aesthetic and also highlights the title of the project further. This already sets the proper thematic atmosphere for the listener before they even delve into the project.
Previously released singles aside, we get our first proper glimpse into Lojay’s character on the opener, YAHWEH. The song has a minimal beat with a prominent thumping kick at a mid-tempo pace, but is suffused with melodic eerie background vocals, that could come off as haunting cries for a dark, enigmatic background. Just the right environment for a gangster. And Lojay’s lyrics are well attuned to the sentiment with matter-of-fact lines and assertive requests.
“Give me devotion properly, I don’t need no secret love” he sings, right after painting vivid sensual imagery and declaring that he’d keep recordings of their conquests, just because. This is the sort of treachery one could attribute to a gangster. The whole theme of the project could have been fumbled if this song was some corny or mushy declaration of love in a lover-boy/starry-eyed sentiment that doesn’t match up with a gangster. Lojay though, understands the assignment and sticks to executing it.
When we get to the P-prime produced single, LEADER it’s important to note that Lojay is a top 3 songwriter of his generation and he’s not number 3. “If she move wrong, leave her” he sings in a chorus, that once again nails the sentiment of his character. His character is no simp or naive person that would tolerate shortcomings on the side of his partner. He knows his worth and because he has “too many babes on signal“, he’s easily gonna move on to the next one. Throughout the song, he’s affirming that he’s not to be messed with and he’s not short of witty lines like “she give me submission like Kurt Angle” and double entendre like “off a Julio like Caesar.”
MOTO seems to be the song receiving the biggest mainstream acceptance and some people might opine it slightly deviates from the Gangster Romantic sentiment, as it’s an heartfelt love song but even at that, such logic would be a stretch. Lojay is not unnecessarily sappy or subservient in anyway. Gangsters are allowed to love and express themselves too. Especially when they do it in a matter-of-fact, no-bullshit, like the way Lojay does on the record.
The fact that he decides to leave an ailing love interest behind, despite her meaning the world to him, because she’s detrimental to his wellbeing—couldn’t be more in line with the thematic direction. Matter of fact, it emphasizes his stance on LEADER. His babe has moved wrong and he’s left her and now driving away in his MOTO. The song is this writer’s favorite song of the year so far and it’s perhaps the most melodic bop on the joint. Rhythmic guitar riffs coalesce with elastic jolts of the beat—that are prominent on other songs—alongside confessional writing and you have on your hands, one of the best Afro-R&B songs of the year.
Canada was one of the better, underrated Amapiano records of last year. The same elastic jolts return on the beat, despite it having a whole different composition to the other R&B songs and being produced by DJ Maphorisa. Amapiano songs aren’t known for intricate songwriting and elaborate storytelling, because it’s groovy chaotic atmosphere’s sole motive is to make you move.
Lojay manages however to weave in a narrative of a promiscuous lover that tries to gain advantage of him, whilst not detracting from the mindless fun of the song and thus keeping it in line with the themes of the album. This is the level of intentionality behind this project. Ensuring even an Amapiano song doesn’t stray off topic and services it further.
It would be hard to connect with a character that’s all danger and menace, and that’s why IYD is pivotal to the narrative arc of the project. It shows that the gangster romantic, despite all his swagger and intolerance for bullshit—is only human at the end of the day and could in fact miss an old lover and be in a sober, lonely place.
“Your friends think I’m rude, I’m a villain. I’m secretly fighting my demons” lines like this affirm the humanity of our character and even shows an awareness of being aware of his own demons and the affinity to right his wrongs, as he attempts to in the chorus and beckons for an audience with his lover, asking her if she’s down for conversations in an attempt to fix their problems.
AVAILABU is the erotic anthem that has Lojay back in his sexual, treacherous ways after his moments of reflection on previous songs. It also has the most jaw-dropping lines, that would leave you stunned like “booty thicker than lava” and “I’m the nigga you sing, when you’re tipsy.” Just pure hyper-masculine debauchery on display. The beat is more Amapiano-fusion, than it is pure Amapiano unlike Canada—and at the production helm, you have none other than Magicsticks who is a maestro in such sonic environment. If pushed well, the song has strong pop appeal that could blow up.
On OVA, Lojay confesses that he was fighting a lost battle in trying to make things work. He doesn’t relent anymore in sugarcoating things or in patching up the festering wound. “It’s over” he sings, multiple times over a mellow beat stacked with the sort of orchestra played at burials, almost as if to commemorate the burial and ensuing end of his failed relationship escapade. And like a true gangster, he’s bitter about investing so much only to have it all fail and admits “I should have cheated on you“, thus coming full circle with his character arc.
Gangster Romantic is a brilliant Afro-R&B/Soul project with intentional thematic arcs, sonic cohesion and impressive songwriting. Lojay’s dynamism in delivery and vocal inflections also make the emotions more palpable and believable. This is arguably the best project by a mainstream artist, so far this year and it’s definitely worth a listen. This writer hopes it truly gets the love and appreciate it deserves, even though it is unlikely it would experience the same sort of mainstream success, a dominantly pop project would.
Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion: 1.7/2
Unharried Transitions: 1.5/2
Expansive Production: 1.5/2
Songwriting: 1.9/2
Optimal Track Sequencing/Topical Progression: 1.5/2
Total: 8.1/10
–This review is written by T.J. Martins, an Album Talks writer.
Listen To ‘Gangster Romantic’ here:
