Victony Just Wanted to Drop an EP, Instead He Made an R&B-Soaked Album Called STARLIFE
Nigerian singer Victony teamed up with producer Ozedikus and turned what was supposed to be an EP into his sophomore album STARLIFE, out August 21, with a sound that leans surprisingly heavy into R&B.
Back in January, Victony's plan was simple: drop an EP and save the full album for 2027. After all, his debut Stubborn had only come out two years prior. But once he got in the studio, things spiraled — songs kept pouring out one after another. "Every time I finished a song, I realized I could carry that same feeling into the next one. I don't remember making music being this fun," he said in a recent Zoom interview.
His Instagram backs up that energy: yacht photos with rapper Loe Shimmy, and footage from a strip club floor covered in cash dating back to December 2025. Victony says he was already living in a world of unapologetic playboy indulgence around that time — a world that ultimately gave birth to what he describes as the "sexy and smooth" sound of his sophomore album STARLIFE, out August 21.
The turning point came through his collaboration with producer Ozedikus, the man behind Rema's 2019 breakout hit "Dumebi" and Oxlade's unforgettable "KU LO SA." Victony had only admired his work from afar before the two started "bouncing ideas off each other," growing close over the fact that they're both from Lagos.
They first cooked up the laid-back, flirtatious single "FRE$H," followed quickly by "SLICK," which was already blowing up online before it even dropped. Victony revealed that "SLICK" was actually made the same night "FRE$H" was released. "We went two for two. I was in the studio telling him 'congrats' because that was my first release of the year. That's where it all started."
Throughout STARLIFE, the production stays effortlessly cool, giving Victony plenty of room to "talk his romance talk." You can hear him whisper a soft "heeeyy" into the mic, or let out a cocky "huhs" between verses. At its core, the album is Afrobeats, but its DNA is clearly spliced with R&B.
From the bounce of "2 FRESH" to the Orezi easter egg hidden in "FYNE"
"2 FRESH" moves with a stripped-down, bouncy rhythm — one kick drum away from a Cash Cobain-style beat. "CAN JUICE" layers in gently plucked guitar and ambient rain sounds, the kind of touch you'd expect on an old-school slow jam. Then there's "MISSIN PIECE," which sounds like it could slot right into Justin Bieber's SWAG or JOURNALS era — or like a 2am voice memo Victony left for someone.
Despite the obvious R&B undertones, Victony says the sound direction of STARLIFE wasn't something he planned out. In the studio, they mostly went with whatever he was feeling in the moment. It wasn't until he recently relistened to the songs that he realized just how strong the R&B influence had become. The one thing he was conscious about was keeping both his singer and rapper identities alive on the record. "I'm a singer now, but you can still hear from my flow that I want to show my rap side," he said. "Even on a song like 'SLICK,' I'm touching both worlds at once while I'm creating."
He specifically pointed to "FYNE," which samples Orezi's classic track "You Garrit," and he's clearly proud of it. "That part was intentional. I wanted to build a bridge and bring back some of that old-school Afrobeats vibe."
Overall, STARLIFE reads as a victory lap for Victony's future — one stacked with (more) fur coats, silver jewelry, and all kinds of "baddies," something he calls his "aura." He says none of it would've been possible without straying from the original plan and just enjoying the process. "For a long time, I was so focused on getting everything right — this is the first time I've learned to let go," he said. "I want people to feel the same freedom I felt while making this tape."
