Nigerian Afropop star Joeboy has released his long-awaited full-length debut album, Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic, out now on all DSPs via Banku Music/emPawa Africa.
The breakout act from Mr Eazi’s #emPawa100 talent incubator, Joeboy has become one of African music’s brightest lights since dropping his debut single “Baby” in Summer 2019, topping charts across the continent and beyond with an improbable run of smashes. With lyrics that capture the innocence of young love and the sting of youthful heartbreak, the 23-year-old is at the forefront of a new wave of Nigerian pop stars, having amassed over 500 million streams worldwide.
The Lagos-born singer continues his ascent with Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic, a celebration of love in its myriad forms. Joeboy is the sole vocalist across the project’s 14 tracks, flexing his overproduction from E Kelly, Killertunes, Dera, BeatsbyKO, MOG, BigFish, Tempo, MexFlairz, Semzi and Type A.
Ahead of the album’s release today, Joeboy has shared videos for “Celebration” and “Lonely” along with “Becoming the African Popstar,” a mini-doc charting his meteoric rise which premiered last month on Apple Music.
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“Working on this project was life-changing — I met a version of myself I never knew before,” Joeboy says. “It has always been my M.O. to spread good vibes through my music, put a smile on people’s face... make ‘em happy and all of that. And the epitome of happiness I’ve come to realise is love.”
Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic follows Joeboy’s 2019 EP, Love and Light, and notable 2020 collaborations including "Sun Comes Up” with Major Lazer and “Nobody” with Mr Eazi and DJ Neptune. “Nobody” was the #1 song of 2020 in Nigeria, topping Apple Music’s singles chart in eight countries on its way to over 100 million streams worldwide. Globally, “Nobody” was the #3 song of the year on Triller, where users uploaded more than 10 million videos soundtracked by the song.
Tune in to The Ebro Show on Apple Music 1 today at 4:30 pm EST (9:30 pm GMT) to hear Joeboy talk Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic with host Ebro Darden.
