On His Sophomore Album, Victony Is Bold And Takes Risks That Mostly Pays Off.
After warming his way into our hearts courtesy of a Mayorkun co-sign and an elusive personality that was laser-focused on making soulful therapeutic music—Victony released his debut album in 2024, at the heat of the mid-year release craze that pervades the Q2/Q3 calendar periods. Despite OGs and his generation heavyweights releasing the same year, he managed to come out on top and clinch the title of the most critically acclaimed project, that also enjoyed its fair share of commercial success.
Since then, Victony has only continued to grow as one of the most influential artists of his generation. Sonically, there are a lot of copy cats biting off his style and thematically—not many artists can play in his ballpark on a writing level. He’s a very lethal combination of a unique vocal talent, that’s potent enough to also back up his lush vocals with great storytelling. It was only natural for expectations to be rocket high for Starlife, after an impressive run of singles like Fre$h and $lick. And now that Starlife is finally here, did Victony escape the sophomore slump?
Victony opens the album with lighthearted vanity on Too Lit, setting the tone quite early that this album is a distinct tonal departure from its thematically dense predecessor. It isn’t titled Starlife for no reason, if hedonism and partying vices weren’t being indulged and Vic is up to his eyeballs—drowning in the lifestyle. The rumbling bass synths make way for quixotic guitar strings and raunchy beats on Who This.
Victony and BNXN take turns in bragging about who has the flyest babe and it’s pixel clear, this garage template is specifically tailored for BNXN—who for some reason is quite underwhelming on the track. The rumbling bass synths return on the eponymously titled track featuring Blaq and YKB. YKB and Blaq turn in more impressive degenerate verses about their promiscuous ways, but this track has little it does differently from the opening track.
PINO is a step in the right direction, as it sees the soulful ambience of trademark Victony returning in form of the rich background vocals and dynamic vocal delivery. Victony’s writing remains hollow however and is still a far cry from his previous work, but it’s clear he’s prioritizing atmosphere over message on this LP. AV’s cameo is apt for the song, but is mostly forgettable although the hook is one of the more memorable ones.
FRE$H is arguably Victony’s best single ever with an infectious chorus and a melodic nostalgic base that is reminiscent of late 2010s Afropop. Fyne operates on a similar sonic formular, as it samples Orezi’s You Garrit—but the bass here is more electric and alive. Despite the production being livelier than FRE$H, it’s hardly a better song—because the chorus doesn’t work as much, but the verses remain stellar.
The topical musings on both songs don’t venture beyond the usual adulatory musings of his gorgeous love interest and this writer understands how this can be frustrating for the average Victony fan that cherished the depth of his pen, but once again—it is by design, so the listener’s focus is fully immersed in the sound and not distracted by nuanced storytelling. Clear is ever so emblematic of that approach, because it’s so stripped of narrative and subtext and is straight up lamba primed for the dance floor. The roaring electric guitar synths gives the song an angst edge that distinguishes it from other songs.
$lick is the viral single that’s been tearing up dancefloors for the better part of a month now and for good reason. The drums here are perfectly engineered for the grooviest of frequencies and Victony’s lyrics straddles the little pockets of beats interspersed within every high and low, to make for tantalizing rhythms. The choral vocals are simply the cherry on top a great single. 2Fresh keeps the high octane energy with a galloping bounce that aids melodic rapping from Vic and once again, he’s delirious about the voluptuous curves of his woman
Armed & Dangerous heads deep into licentious Afro-Swing territory, where he recruits Young Jonn for one of the better guest performances on the album that salvages an otherwise mediocre performance from Victony, despite the inspired House fusion production. Classical guitar strings permeate the bounce on Can Juice, and the moment makes for a second song Victony fails to usurp a riotous swing beat to its full potential, by somewhat phoning it in with a nonexistent chorus despite a grand entrance on said song.
Missing Piece slows things down into intimate territory, that reminds you of classic Victony and how candid and vulnerable he gets on romantic tracks in the past. It’s a refreshing departure from the endless sensual vanity fare that defines the bulk of the LP. Unfortunately this victory is shortlived and the hedonism returns pretty early on TWIN, but FOLA steals the show and reminds us why he’s one of the best popstars around on these pop-leaning, R&B fusion beats.
Victony paints explicits vivid imagery and compares the resilience of his woman in bed to an Amazon warrior on Amazon, before the curtains finally close on Typo—where he entertains some much warranted braggadocio and chest-thumping. It’s not groundbreaking stuff but after an entire album of singing praises of his woman, it’s a welcome deviation.
Starlife isn’t the tightly curated thematic album Stubborn is, as it prioritizes ambience over narrative and by design—is more interested in documenting the adventures of a promiscuous popstar, than it’s keen on unpacking the weight and mental toll it takes to be a star. But that’s not to say it isn’t good in its own right, even though this writer can admit that it could have fared better with more dynamic writing in certain places.
Final Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion: 1.6/2
Expansive Production: 1.5/2
Songwriting: 1.2/2
Delivery: 1.3/2
Track Sequencing: 1.4/2
Total: 7.0/10
