REVIEW: Lojay headlines his first event at Ultima Studios

August 16, 2021 Uncategorized 17 Views

The event came after Lojay’s EP, LV N ATTN with Sarz became one of the country’s favourites of 2021, producing the buzzing ‘Tonongo’ and his signature, ‘Monalisa.’ With creative songwriting, he was able to create memorable records that hid his developing gifts, as an Afro-pop artist.

On the night, the event which was billed to start at 7 pm only truly began at 11. But people didn’t care, they were there to savor the goodness of Lojay and they weren’t to be denied.

At the venue, popular OAP, Melody Hassan said, “Even if they start at 12, I still want to whine my waist to ‘Monalisa,’” and she did just that.

The night was a blend of sentiment from longtime Lojay fans who were happy to finally see him thriving, true to his storied talent and new fans, who simply wanted to enjoy a live experience of songs they have enjoyed.

For Lojay, it was a night of emotions and he was supported by his ‘cool kids’ crowd. In attendance were Tomi Thomas, Zamir of LOS, Jess Finesse and more. From the more mainstream crowd were Osi Suave, Excel Joab, Melody Hassan, BadmanTej, Alpha P, DJ Obi and more.

When Lojay finally started performing in front of his 300-strong crowd, it felt like a 1000-strong crowd. His creative use of his vocals might have ended up being offkey while performing ‘Tonongo,’ but nobody cared. His team were also visibly excited and busy as they paraded the venue to make sure everything was working right.

But the highlight of the night included three things;

Before Lojay performed ‘Monalisa,’ he looked at the crowd and sincerely said, “Thank you for coming, I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.” It might seem light now, but the emotion in his face and the excitement he showed while rocking with his crowd underlined the depth of those words. He was here and he wasn’t taking it for granted.
After he performed ‘Tonongo,’ he gave a shout-out to the legendary producer, Sarz, who helped him to craft ‘LV N ATTN EP.’ While that might seem pointless, it wasn’t. Despite his legendary status, the industry sometimes forgets the impact of Sarz and fails to give him his flowers. It was nice to see Lojay hand him those flowers.
Lojay’s dad and his friends: In attendance was a powerful rollout of Lojay’s dad and his friends, who rolled in with elegance and obvious wealth, dripping from their fountain of grace and expensive accessories. While Lojay performed ‘Monalisa,’ they seemed to be held aback by the weight of the crowd’s response that they started tapping each other and whispering in each other’s ears. At that moment, the pride on the face of Lojay’s dad was second to none. It felt like a weight was off his shoulders and he knew that his son was on the rise.

Yes, the event started late and the sound wasn’t great, and it wasn’t perfect, this was more about the night of wins. And it’s okay, to sometimes give room for sentimental victories, than negatives.

Lojay’s stagecraft needs work, but his enthusiasm will always help him excite his crowds. But he needs to learn to control his enthusiasm, so he doesn’t ignore certain plans to rock with his excited crowd. Part of stagecraft is following a plan and letting the crowd go crazy.

Anyhoo, this was a good one. Lojay is definitely on an upward trajectory.