Victony’s journey as an Artiste has been nothing short of interesting. He came into the scene as The Outlaw King and has built a tribe loyal to him, his music, and his brand. His contribution to Mayorkun’s “Holy Father” is widely credited as the song responsible for his breakout even though he had been active and buzzing before the collaboration.
His sophomore album’s creative direction was inspired by the resilience he has personified from when he was a struggling child to now that he’s a superstar. From the cover art, which shows him in a war helmet anyone familiar with the Arthurian legend would be familiar with, to the visuals of the titular track. Resilience, which he referred to as stubbornness, is the main theme of the album, and this is especially evident in the track with Asake, which is titled after the album, “Stubborn,” and “Oshaprapra.”
On “Oshaprapra,” he speaks about his challenges and describes them as “hellfire” while enlisting Shorae Moore, another creative genius who complemented Victony beautifully. On “History,” Victony reached deep into his lamba bag to describe his struggles while growing up. With his hand still dancing at the bottom of his lambag, Victony featured Shallipoppi, the Nigerian Shakespeare, on “Ludo” to create a sultry song rich with Afrobeat lamba-esque poetry.
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“Anita” carries a mean hook you don’t have to listen to more than once to get infected by. Victony, who is known to be a staunch preacher of b#mb#m supremacy, describes his desire to “eat Anita’s cake” (wink, wink). On “Everything,” Victony sampled Post Malone & Swae Lee’s “Sunflower.” “Everything” is another track in which Victony reached deep into his lambag as he compared his woman to everything good and nice poetically in the Nigerian way.
On “Risk,” he’s more vocal about his love for b#mb#m as he speaks of his partner’s backside while singing her adorations. The different vocal textures and styles he employed on this song almost make it feel like he featured at least one other Artiste, but it’s just one genius behind the microphone.
Victony featured SAINt JHN on “Tiny Apartment.” This song shows the two Artistes bending and switching beautifully between different delivery styles. On “Slow Down,” Victony displays more versatility while retaining his unique vocal texture as he delivered a beautiful pop-influenced verse to accommodate Teezo Touchdown‘s country-influenced verse.
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The titular track, “Stubborn,” where he features Asake, another Nigerian star, explains what it means to be really stubborn: the resilience, the doing things people have told you you wouldn’t be able to do, the being headstrong even under unfavorable situations. He describes what it has been like being a poorer, younger him and all the struggles he had to overcome.
As someone that enjoys experimenting with both his music and imagery, often incorporating various alter egos like is seen in his alien personality, “Tredax.” This characteristic of Victony is evident on “Kolo,” where he delivers lambastic Afrobeats writing and flows, describing his crazier, street-oriented side. “Ba$Tard, Don’t Be Silly” is another track that draws from the same well while telling people not to mess with his bag.
Victony can be described as a deep lover with the way he expressed vulnerability and longing for his woman on “Pier 46,” on which he featured KTIZO. The song offers solemn, yet catchy lyrics and melodies that many are going to have a good time serenading their love interests with. On “Sunday School,” he pours out his bleeding heart after being stabbed in the heart by a partner he had given his all to.
Wrapping up the album, Victony reaffirms his spirituality by asking God to ease his affairs and guide his steps as he resiliently goes through life on the track, “Street Affair.”
Victony’s STUBBORN is an Afrobeats masterpiece that’s going to birth many chart-topping tracks as people get into it more and more, just like Omah Lay’s “Boy Alone” did. It’s definitely part of our top five favorite projects of the year 2024 so far.
