There cannot be a discussion about the present – and future – of Afropop without Victony. Whether in terms of sonic malleability, imagery, or creative vision, the former rapper turned sirenic songbird is at the forefront of the genre’s stylistic revolution thanks to a meticulous mind and an abiding search for identity that brings heft to all of his music. It’s a pairing of tools that has largely served as the propelling force behind his rise since fully leaning into a new arc as a singer on 2020’s ‘Saturn.’ And in the years since that introductory EP, Victony has been through a series of crushing lows and euphoric highs that have further swelled his bank of experience and made him an artist with a burning message to pass on. 

Now, on his debut album, ‘Stubborn,’ the singer makes a bold attempt to memorialise his journey from being a curious kid in Ojo, to standing on a pedestal as one of Afropop’s great hopes. It’s a delicate task that requires a slight recalibration of his sound from the sun-drenched dancehall and soul fusion of 2022’s ‘Outlaw’ for a more pared-down sound that still manages to be a vibrant mosaic of the people, places, and experiences that have made a mark on Victony.  

In many ways, the artist is a product of a specific Lagos subculture that has survived for decades. Despite the divisive narratives spread by bigots online during the 2023 presidential elections,  families from all over Nigeria, and across all income levels, have always lived side-by-side in the coastal city largely without issue. In these communities, kids of all tribes play football together, shop at the same local markets, sing aloud to the same songs, grow up celebrating at both Eid and Christmas, and have developed a creolization of their many languages that’s often adopted as a lingua franca. It’s a heritage that Victony proudly claims as his across ‘Stubborn.’ 

Per local hood lore, someone who is stubborn is usually viewed as an outcast or seen as possessing a strong sense of ambition that is typically out of the ordinary. Across ‘Stubborn,’  Victony channels his feelings of being misunderstood while weaving his come-up story around the Lagos-specific pidgin of his childhood for narrational effect. Album opener, “Oshaprapra,” takes its title from the street-lingo for radiant but it’s really a crash course in the path that set up Victony for future success as he battled societal pressures and self-doubt to make a name for himself. His soft, buttery voice skirts languidly over the mid-tempo instrumental to share how he has had to purposely steel himself to achieve everything he has. Guest, Shorae Moore, adds luster to the song via melodic singing on his delightful interlude but Victony is quick to return to explore how he’s still standing tall despite all he’s going through. 

Often, debut albums are spent in service and remembrance of the places and themes that have left the biggest imprint on an artist and ‘Stubborn’ is no exception. The streets of Victony’s childhood and early adolescence colour its margins and are never too far away from the singer’s mind. “Tiny Apartment” with SAINt JHN is a ghetto love story played out for a global audience. On the song, Victony imagines what it might feel like to miss a love interest while all alone in the popular face-me-I-face-you apartments that dot Lagos’ landscape. Anyone that has dealt with the heartbreak can instantly recognize all the ways that a relationship’s end can shatter even the most composed person. And when Victony sings, “In my tiny apartment / As you say make I park well / Girl, na my blankie I use hold body,” he’s giving words to a whole universe of unspoken feelings. The genius of “Tiny Apartment” is how it manages to elevate a decidedly Lagos story by tying it into a global emotion with SAINt JHN’s dulcet vocals melding perfectly with Victony’s. 

Love undoubtedly plays a crucial role in the narrative of this album. On “History,” Victony is asking a lover not to let the past determine the parameters of their love. It all comes to a head on the song’s chorus where the singer is gently pleading, “No go dey calculate my baby.” He’s more forthright on “Anita,” telling a love interest that he’s attracted to her. Thematically, “Anita” sticks out like a sore thumb on the project as it doesn’t advance any of the ideas that the singer builds towards throughout this album; if anything it feels like the long-lost twin of “All Power” off 2022’s ‘Outlaw,’ in the way it suggestively captures Victony’s fascination with a lover’s physical attributes.

Generally, the best Victony romance songs build towards a certain type of pulsating release that comes from his wide-eyed enthusiasm for the subject, rather than the kind of tired lasciviousness that can falter. It’s that abiding sense of elation that made his Blaisebeatz-produced “Everything” a must-listen upon release. Referencing his knowledge of Nigerian pop culture, the singer promises the world without reservation to a love interest. Within ‘Stubborn,’ “Everything” still retains its sense of magic and chromatic wonder as longing and genuine appreciation converge for a true highlight.  “Pier 46” is similarly unique in how the singer approaches making a ballad. It’s the sort of writing and delivery that Victony has made a stock-in-trade since ‘Saturn’ as he deftly uses the upper registers of his sirenic voice to explore warmth and romantic desire in ways that many Nigerian male acts wouldn’t dare attempt. 

Victony has always slipped between sounds and influences with the ease of a dexterous curator. His sense of non-conformity is heightened in patches on ‘Stubborn’ even if the ambition shown does not necessarily function in service of any distinctive purpose or cohesive vision. The trap-leaning “Risk” lives up to its name as it loops elements of Fuji and Blues into its delivery scheme for an experimental affair. The lyrics also paint a picture of a yearner who might fall in love with a girl he’s meeting for the first time on a random night. “Love in the club no be wetin you dey find / Excuse me, shey you know this your behind / E dey cause me me trouble, so make I no go blind / Darling, shey you know I for like to get to know you,” Victony sweetly coos for all to hear. 

The collaborations on ‘Stubborn’ sway between inspired and lukewarm even if Victony manages to find interesting pockets to operate in throughout. Afropop juggernaut, Asake, dials in for an inspired cameo on the titular track that sets the pace for what the album is thematically built on. When Victony sings, “Me I no dey hear word / Me I no fit be your idolo,” it’s done with a relatable sense of mischief that brings the words to life. “Slow Down” offers much promise but lacks the riotous verve that a typical Teezo Touchdown showing typically offers while “Ludo,” featuring Shallipopi platforms the best of both artists with Shallipopi making space for the Benin-born rapper vocal tics. 

Victony takes things up a notch on “Kolo (Kolomental II),” a  swaggering update on “Kolomental,” off the ‘Outlaw’ EP. The only criticism for “Kolo (Kolomental II)” would be its brevity but it’s a highlight that articulates the self-confident energy coursing through this debut. “Jobless people dey find wetin do ogbeni / Get the fuck out my LinkedIn,” Victony briskly warns. It is rare to find him channeling this kind of angsty energy but he captures the essence of the emotion artfully. “Bs$tard, Don’t Be Silly” is similarly confrontational even if the chip on the singer’s shoulder is informed by previous unpleasant experiences. 

The album ends on a somber note with “Street Affair,” a quasi-hymnal that finds Victony considering all the betrayal he’s faced, the feats he’s accomplished, and all that’s still ahead of him. It’s a solemn song that calls back to his larger message of being misunderstood, as he invokes divine guidance and prays that his affairs never become fodder for public dissection. For the first time on the record, the singer sounds genuinely weary as he sings into a swooning mix of guitar and piano keys. “Make e my family meeting no turn to street affair,” he softly whispers from time to time. It is the ardent prayer of a person that has belatedly found grounding and is eager to keep his winning streak going.