Lekan Osifeso Jr. (born 28 April 1996), popularly known as Lojay, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer. He peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart with a remix of his song "Monalisa" with
Sarz
Osabuohien Osaretin (born 17 March 1989), better known by his stage name Sarz, is a Nigerian record producer, mixing engineer and musician. Born in Benin City, Edo State, he is popularly known for the tag "Sarz on the beat" or "Really", at the b ...
, which features
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
. He received a nomination for
the Headies Award for Next Rated
The Headies Award for Next Rated is an award presented at The Headies, a ceremony that was established in 2006 and originally called the Hip Hop World Awards. It was first presented to Aṣa
Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982),2022 Headies Award.
In 2023, Lojay alongside Nigerian singer
Davido
David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian American, Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer.
Davido was born in Atlanta, U.S, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He made his mus ...
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
. The song debuted at number 71 on the ''
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...
'', serving as Davido and Lojay's first entry on the chart. The song earned him his first career nomination at the
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
, he lived in
Ikorodu
Ikorodu is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1 million inhabitants, Ikorodu is currently the 12th largest city in Nig ...
and later moved to
Victoria Island
Victoria Island () is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it is Canada's second-largest i ...
with his family. He graduated from the
University of Portsmouth
The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...
, UK in 2018. Lekan has shown great potential and inclination towards music since he was a child. While in secondary school at Nigerian Turkish Secondary School in Nigeria, he was in a local rap group called Dkoy. While in Dkoy he released hits like Kilode. As his mother was a pastor, Osifeso went to church regularly, as a family routine during his formative years. While growing up, Chris Brown was one of his favorite singers.
Career
Lojay's stage name is an abbreviation of the first letters of his full name "Lekan Osifeso Junior" (LO-J). He picked interest in music and singing as an adolescent. And pursued his passion through his teenage years. He is fluid with the genre of music he does and switches from one gnere to the other. In an interview with ''Nataal'', he said
He started music professionally in 2016 on a part-time basis while he was still an undergraduate and then went on to focus solely on music after obtaining his degree. In December 2017, Lojay released his debut EP, Midnight Vibes, which consisted of five tracks. The titles of the tracks from the EP are "Atarodo", "Alomo", "Kele", "10K Splaw" and "Whine & Bubble".
In 2019, he released the single "Ariel" and in 2020 he released another single titled "Ogogoro". Between his initial sojourn into the music industry in 2016 and the release of his breakout songs in 2021, Lojay dropped several singles including "Along, Kuli Kuli, Over the Bar" amongst others.
In May 2021, his sophomore EP titled ''LV N ATTN'' (stylized from Love and Attention), which was a duet EP alongside producer
Sarz
Osabuohien Osaretin (born 17 March 1989), better known by his stage name Sarz, is a Nigerian record producer, mixing engineer and musician. Born in Benin City, Edo State, he is popularly known for the tag "Sarz on the beat" or "Really", at the b ...
, was released. ''LV N ATTN'' is a five track EP that contained his breakout single "Tonongo", the song "Monalisa", which he went on to remix with Chris Brown, ,"LV N ATTN", in which he featured
Wizkid
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobea ...
, "Panty!" and "Park O X3". The body of work earned a nomination for
The Headies Award for Next Rated
The Headies Award for Next Rated is an award presented at The Headies, a ceremony that was established in 2006 and originally called the Hip Hop World Awards. It was first presented to Aṣa
Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982),The Headies 2022
The Headies 2022 was the 15th edition of Nigerian music awards The Headies. It was held at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on 4 September 2022. Hosts were by Anthony Anderson and Osas Ighodaro.
Wizkid lead ...
. In November 2021, he and
Zlatan Ibile
Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael (born 19 December 1994), known professionally as Zlatan Ibile or simply Zlatan is a Nigerian rapper and singer. He is the CEO and founder of Zanku records. In 2014, he won the Airtel-sponsored One Mic talent show held in ...
were featured by
DJ Neptune
Imohiosen Patrick (born 26 September 1990), professionally known as DJ Neptune, is a Nigerian disc jockey and record producer born in Lagos, Nigeria.
Early life
Imohiosen Patrick was born on 26 September 1990 in Lagos, he hails from Edo State, N ...
on the song titled "Only fan".
In 2022, he took part in the Heineken
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
trophy tour in Nigeria.
In March 2023, Lojay released his second solo EP titled ''Gangster Romantic''. "Monalisa" was certified Silver by the
British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...