The self-proclaimed Afrobeats’ ‘King Of Love Songs’ sophomore album is one of the best Afro-R&B projects in recent times. Body & Soul encapsulates all the best elements of Joeboy’s artistry; confessional & heartfelt writing, emotive melodies and an overall sentiment of emotional vulnerability in the songs.
The sophomore slump is always a gargantuan task for any artist to brace, irrespective of the quality of their debut LP. Why? Basically, the artist is making a statement that they’re here to stay and that their initial success wasn’t born out of sheer luck and opportunity. It’s also an avenue to showcase dynamism, growth and versatility of talent. So releasing a sophomore album that’s critically and commercially successful isn’t simply about creating a great body of work when you’re a mainstream artist. It’s about making a very solid statement and that’s why a lot of artists’ sophomore albums are usually their most ambitious.
As you would expect, Joeboy felt some of that pressure going into this album. Especially when you consider the fact that he’s not had a solid hit record since 2021’s Sip (Alcohol) and the general consensus about the fact that most of his peers he broke out with in 2019 might have left him behind. His debut album, Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic was also a triumph. Not exactly a stellar album or a classic, but it was a good LP nonetheless that is highly revered in the artist’s primary audience.
Body & Soul however is a massive improvement on SBBM and is easily the better album. It’s much more sonically cohesive. Majority of the songs are R&B and the few pop songs exist in that blurred line between mid-tempo pop and mainstream R&B. It’s also much more streamlined with little to zero filler tracks. Not that every single song is great, but there is something sonically distinct about Joeboy’s approach to them. The transitions are also better and it contributes to an overall better album experience.
The album opens with Joeboy in a reflective and gratitude mood on Normally. He takes only the hook and leaves the lyrical heavy lifting to the guest acts on the track, but does justice to the hook—painting an emotionally resonant sentiment of turning up after reaping the rewards of labor. BNXN reminds us why he’s arguably the best writer of the new generation of popstars with a verse that recounts struggles from the past in a way that elevates the emotional payoff and reward of the moment.
Odumodublvck comes right after and it’d have been easy to get lost in the shadow of BNXN, because of how impressive the singer was—but the grime rapper does his thing and is unapologetically himself with his dogged flows and trademark infused street lingua even on the mellow soundscape. It works well on a sonic level and also gives a lot of perspective on why he has a lot of momentum on his side these days.
The transition into Body & Soul is seamless and because of that the song sounds even better when played as a part of the album. Although this writer believes Normally sounds like an outro because of its gratitude element that creates a ‘curtains fall’ sonic atmosphere that’s very common with Afrobeats albums. Nonetheless, the transition to the next track makes me pardon the placement on the track and not be so antsy about it.
Check My Phone was this writer’s favorite track at first listen and is probably the most emotive and best written track on the album. The beat is minimalistic like most of the production on the album, but it’s stacked with some euphonious violin riffs and sombre reverbs that set the right moody tone for the topic. Joeboy’s pen is at its most effective, when he’s vulnerable and on the song he is outrightly telling his lover to violate his privacy if that’s the price for him to pay for her staying, by telling her to “check my phone.” Alongside Lojay’s Moto, this is arguably the best R&B track out of the country this year.
The topical progression to the next track is another impressive highlight. Joeboy goes from lamenting about the bleakness of his lover leaving him to hitting rock bottom and confessing that he doesn’t want to Lose Ya. On here, he is making declarations in a bid to negotiate and convince his lover to give him one more chance. Once again, the production is too minimalistic and isn’t exactly a ceiling raiser of Joeboy’s competent vocal performance but it doesn’t depreciate it either. It is what it is.
The transitions remain smooth as it bleeds into the next 2 tracks that are singles. Like Body & Soul—Duffel Bag and Contour still manage to sound mint and fresh because they aren’t just great songs, but also sound great when played alongside the other songs on the album. This is a glaring evidence of the intentionality behind the album and shows you that it was properly curated and songs weren’t just recorded, arranged or chosen as singles at random.
Contour was one of 2022’s best offerings. That signature woozy flute that Tempoe is beginning to make a staple, coupled with very lively classical guitar chords and an unconventional mid-tempo bounce resulted in a very sonically pleasing moment. Joeboy’s delivery was also impressive and this writer believes that if the song had been released by an artist that had a lot of momentum on their side last year (e.g. Burna Boy, Asake) it could have become a smash hit. However, it wasn’t a great choice for a single because it’s a very experimental song and Joeboy needed a hit record at the moment. This writer is glad to see it getting some of its deserved flowers.
Putting Oli Ekun on the interlude of the album is an ingenious move and his crooning about his tales of sexual promiscuity and abundant wealth fits like a glove into the album, especially when you consider the context of the ensuing track, Wetin Be Love being about the importance of money in a relationship. Ckay goes as far as saying wealth changes one’s fortunes totally to the point, that they’re considered “funny” and “handsome” when money arrives. The acoustic guitar strings at the start of the track bled from the preceding interlude and it works to a tee.
We deviate a bit from the dominant mid-tempo soundscape of the album to a Willis produced Amapiano-fusion one on Woman featuring Oxlade. The song is a fundamental bop that does it basics right and isn’t really dynamic. This is the closest thing to a filler track that we get on the project not because it’s a bad song or even the worst on the album. It just doesn’t fit in sonically or topically, like the other songs on the album and once again doesn’t have an impressive performance from either Joeboy, Oxlade or Willis either.
Chicken, Spice & Curry has the best chorus on the album and it is to this writer’s frustration that it was sang only once. Ludacris does his bit with a catchy flow and compliments Joeboy quite well. It is a pop song, but still has the same minimalist approach to its production that’s synonymous to E Kelly. At this point, it’s important to note that whilst this isn’t exactly detrimental to the album, this project could have faired better with even grander and layered production. Want evidence? Look no further than the few tracks produced by Tempoe.
collage of Tempoe, P.prime and Kel-p being previous colleagues at Sarz academy and current leaders of the production crop.
Better has the same visceral, cultural drums that’s becoming synonymous with Tempoe. The beat is also interspersed with some synth-pop and electronic snares and synthesizers that makes it even more wholesome. On it, Joeboy sings about avenging a lover that’s been emotionally bruised and battered by another man. It’s not his typical lover-boy, swoony topic but it still fits into the stand-up qualities of a lover-boy, so it works. This song is a slow burn and has massive potential. If properly serviced and promoted, it could become a smash hit.
Sip (Alcohol) is on the album for number optics primarily, but somehow Joeboy and his team made it work with a placement that doesn’t make the song sound out of place. Matter of fact, the segue from Better to it is just as smooth as the prior ones. More so, it might not be so sonically fitting but it sure as hell fits thematically into the darker, edgier aesthetic of the album with its topic of drowning pain in alcohol as an unhealthy coping mechanism.
Slowly belongs to a sensual playlist alongside Omah Lay’s Bend You, Fireboy DML’s Tattoo, Rema’s Soundgasm and Ckay’s Mmadu. It doesn’t have the most explicit, treacherous lines like some of these songs but it has a broody, soothing sonic environment that makes it ideal background music for creating pathos for slow, intimate sex. Joeboy knows this and doesn’t do too much lyrically and mostly lets the beat breathe.
The Best For You has choral segments and a bounce that gives it a gospel feel. Like Normally, it could have also been a great outro because of the sentiment of saying goodbye that it gives and it’s mostly a good song, but the log drums on it are absolute unnecessary. Log drums seem to have become salt in the hands of some Nigerian producers were they deem it fit to just sprinkle a bit of it on everything and anything. It’s not exactly disruptive on the song, like it is on some other songs but it doesn’t elevate the beat.
Album closer, Halle sounds like an intro and here lies my dilemma with this project. The song has a slow start, before becoming energetic midway and that’s the ideal way to pick up an album pace at the beginning. The topic of offering prayers and striving to rise above one’s foes is also appropriate in a context of affirming one’s zeal and determination to go all the way and it hits harder at the start, because you have to prove said point on the album. Instead, it comes at the end and we got a record that would have been a befitting closing at the beginning instead.
These are only small details though and perhaps won’t be an issue for most people. That doesn’t in any way negate the fact that Body & Soul is a great album and a solid improvement on its predecessor. It might not hit a similar peak for some people like SBBM did on its best tracks, but as an album, it definitely is an overall better experience. It’s also arguably the best album out this year, so far. Kudos to Joeboy and his team.
Hopefully the music succeeds and hits the heights that it deserves to.
Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion: 1.5/2
Seamless Transitions: 1.5/2
Expansive Production: 1.3/2
Songwriting: 1.5/2
Track Sequencing/Topical Progression: 1.7/2
Total: 7.5/10
–This review is written by T.J. Martins, an Album Talks writer.
