JOEBOY INTERVIEW [DIGITAL COVER STORY]

May 15, 2025

JOEBOY INTERVIEW [DIGITAL COVER STORY]

JOEBOY INTERVIEW [DIGITAL COVER STORY]: Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, Joeboy has carved a sonic niche that’s both instantly recognisable and deeply engaging. With a string of hits that effortlessly fuse Afrobeats’ infectious energy with R&B’s smooth sensibilities, Joeboy has proven himself to be more than just a fleeting sensation. His voice is shaping the future soundscape, one catchy hook at a time. As he touched down in the UK during the European leg of his tour, VIPER sat down with the man behind the music to delve into his journey, his inspirations, and running his own label, Young Legend.

Your latest tour recently started, what are you most looking forward to?

I like to travel, so touring is the chance to do that. Then the fact that I get to connect physically with people that love my music from so far away, it’s just special to me. We have a couple more dates for Europe. I think eleven dates for Europe, next up is Italy. We just had Copenhagen and Stuttgart last weekend and it was great; it was lit.

Any cities you’re performing in for the first time?

Norway, I’ve been checking my analytics and I get so much love from those regions too so I’m just excited.

It’s great timing as well, having dropped your album just before going on the road. Is there a song from the album that you’re really excited to perform?

100% ‘Magdalene’, because of the tempo and the energy the song brings. It just makes you want to move, makes you want to dance, without even understanding what the lyrics are about. It just gets the crowd going, we tested it in Copenhagen and the energy was amazing. People came on stage and started dancing, I really enjoyed it.

With ‘SMH’ you spoke about self-love and the complexities of relationships. Where did that side of you come from and do you prefer to kind of tap into those more vulnerable sides of your personality when writing?

Yeah, right now I feel very open to being vulnerable. Vulnerable in that sense doesn’t even refer to my stories in general. It’s just about talking about stuff that people naturally go through but they’re not really known to talk about. Because everybody wants to be a hard guy on the internet now. I decided to put those feelings and experiences into a song and ‘SMH’ is one of the songs that shows that vulnerability.

How does the theme of ‘SMH’ connect with the other themes on the album for you?

It connects with the theme of expression and being free to express. The three major points I tried to touch on with this album are introspection, good vibes and being vulnerable. So every song on the album has a bit of those things. So even a song that has a sad topic like ‘SMH’ still has a bounce to it that it makes you want to groove. And there’s a vulnerable part… [Sings, “And as I work it out, all my meds e be all I’m sipping here.”] These are things that people don’t like to talk about but I decided to put it in a song, speaking for the people.

You’re known for having catchy melodies, but also provoking lyrics. Was that always there for you when you started making music, or did it take some practice to bring that quality to your music?

From making music, one thing I always held onto is, staying consistent with my recording process and not being afraid to talk about stuff. So when I’m trying to make music, I don’t box it in. I just express myself freely, then when it’s done I can start adjusting and fine-tuning. That freedom to create without any barriers really helped my sound become what it is now.

From this recent recording process, do you have any songs that you love, but they just didn’t fit the box that you had for the album?

Yeah definitely, there were a couple of songs that I really wanted to come out but it wasn’t necessary on the album. But they’re still coming out, just not yet.

How do you navigate creative control in your career and what advice would you give to other artists in facing similar situations?

I just try to maintain the balance. There always has to be balance because at the end of the day, you’re not just making music for yourself; you’re making music for an audience. I’m of the firm belief that if you do something that really comes from a genuine place in your heart, you’ll always connect with people. Because people can actually feel when the energy is from a deep place. So it gets to the point where it doesn’t matter what you’re singing about, it’s just the way that the sound or the idea or lyric means something to you. The way you express it, people will just catch on and understand your vision. What I would say to every creative out there, is make music that feels real and pure to you. Also make sure you make music that you enjoy and then other people enjoy. And don’t make music just for your ego, make it because you are blessed with the ability to create; that’s the mindset that I have.

Your music has significantly impacted the Afrobeat scene and contributed to its global rise, but how do you perceive your role in the evolution of Afrobeats, and what elements do you believe define your unique contribution to the genre?

I’d say a big shout out to everyone who’s pushing the sound, there’s so much amazing talent from where I’m from. Every month, there’s always one new artist popping off because we have so many stories to tell. We have so many ideas to share with the world – our sound, our energy’s powerful. So I’d say I’m just one of the many, to be honest. It’s not just me, I’m happy and grateful to be doing my part. We keep pushing until we can’t keep pushing more. That’s the way that I see it, thankfully I’ve been blessed with the ability to make music that crosses beyond my home front to different parts of the world. I’m just really excited about that, so one thing I always do is make sure people know and understand where I’m from. Maybe from the kind of words I use in my songs, most of my songs, there’s a high chance you’ll hear pidgin English; it’s just to represent. It could be an R&B song, but I use pidgin English. That’s my own way of showing people that this is where I’m from and that’s who I represent.

You grew up with obviously a lot of diverse influences, but how did that help you shape your sound and make sure you created something that was unique to yourself?

Where I’m from, Akoka, is a small area in Lagos and I grew up in a music loving family. Since I was three or four years old, I had access to listen to a bunch of music, from Destiny’s Child, Sean Paul, Backstreet Boys, Boyz II Men, Nelly. This was OG music that I got the opportunity to listen to because I was the youngest in my family, so I got exposure quickly. In Nigeria we used to listen to so much music, like Gospel music in church; everybody had to go to church. I wasn’t in the choir but most people are in the choir. Any young kid that went to church, would most likely be in the choir so that influenced our subconscious love for music. The OGs that were making music at that point in time, from Dbanj to Plantashun Boiz to The Remedies, Styl-Plus, P-Square… they made it so fun to see because they were making music from such a pure place. There’s almost no Nigerian kid that grows up not loving music. It’s almost an impossible thing, so that transferred to the way we created our own music too. So I’d say I just stay true and stay myself when creating.

Afrobeats then didn’t have the same global reach that it does now. Did it surprise you when you started to see the international, or did you always expect that it could go this far?

In general, I definitely didn’t think it was going to get this far so soon. Because now, Nigerian artists are international artists. That’s not to say that it’s not a big deal anymore but at the time if anyone left town, it would be the talk of the town for like five or six months [laughs]. But now it’s becoming something that seems normal. So I’m very happy to see it, this was always the dream. I’m just happy to be one of the people fronting that movement, the Afrobeats for the world movement. It’s been great to see the journey from where we’ve come from.

Especially at this stage of your career, you’re still a young artist and you’re able to travel the world.

Yeah, I’m able to travel and do tours in different regions. We have bookings in Canada, bookings in South America, around the world. It’s good to see, because when I started making music, your mind doesn’t really go beyond your environment. Especially when you’re just starting out, you keep going and realise how big it’ll actually get. Now, the way we see it, there’s no limit. The young kid that’s trying to pop in music back home doesn’t see limits anymore. They know they can drop a song and it can become one of the biggest songs in the world tomorrow, because they’ve seen it happen multiple times.

With your own label, Young Legend, you’re now able to mentor and inspire young artists. What do you look for in artists when it comes to deciding who to work with?

I’d say uniqueness, having the ability to have a sound that just stands out. Something that makes people think, “what is this song? I haven’t heard a sound like this before” The easiest way to cut across the music industry now is being unique and one of the easiest ways of being unique is being yourself, because there’s nobody like you. When I come across that, I just know.

When you’re an established musician, it can be hard to find inspiration and to stay fresh. How do you maintain that unique sound yourself?

I just make sure I show up every day. I think one of the major attributes of greatness is being able to stay consistent and do seemingly boring stuff continuously. So that’s what I try to do, even if I’m not working or putting out an album, or even if I already have an album out, I’m always trying something daily. It can be just 30 minutes, just trying to create a melody or a sound. Like when we were shooting [the VIPER photos) downstairs, someone asked what song was playing, that was an instrumental I’m writing to. I try my best to do that daily so that it keeps me in the flow because when you keep doing something continuously, it gets to the point that it’s just natural because you show up everyday to do this. It becomes as easy as drinking water or breathing.

How do you maintain such a grounded nature?

It’s always been a situation of me doing what I love. My why is just being able to create, that’s it for me. The fact that I can create something that people can connect with and vibe with keeps me going; I always make sure that’s why I’m always creating. It doesn’t have to be immediate but I’m always in the process of creating things, that keeps me grounded.

How do you prepare for your live shows? And, how do you maintain the energy to convey your music to your fans?

I just make sure I’m in a good mood before I step on stage so people can feel that happy energy when I’m on stage. I like to make sure the sound is right so I do sound checks before. I make sure that we have a plan when we get on stage. The plan can change depending on the energy but we usually have a plan and we just adjust it while we’re performing. But the major plan is, make sure I’m in a good mood before I step on stage.

Give me an example of when the plan’s changed and you had to roll with it and it’s made the show even better.

Maybe a situation where we were supposed to do a song, where the song remained a particular way but based on the energy, my sound director or my DJ will suggest we try another angle. So we adjust it based on the energy sometimes but the fact that we’ve been working together for so long now makes it easier to be adaptable. Before I step on stage we have a plan like, “this is how we’re going to do this part.” Some sections, we just engage the fans with no music, just conversations. We always plan it out before, we have meetings. There’s a meeting every day of the tour so everybody’s aligned.

Out of the places that you regularly perform, which are your favorite cities where you know your fans are always on point there?

This is my first time touring Europe officially as a headliner. But in Europe, so far it’s London, the energy London gives me is fire. The last London show I did was KOKO Camden, it was amazing; it was full, everybody was turnt, I was even performing deep cuts on my albums that I thought people wouldn’t know and they were singing along. It was amazing, London has shown me so much love, it’s one of my favourite places to perform in this region.

Which is your favourite deep cut to perform?

I’d say ‘Normally’ featuring ODUMODUBLVCK and BNXN. And ‘Police’ off my debut album. Those are the deep cuts I like performing that I’m pretty sure that people love.

When you see how tuned in your fans are, does it unlock a new confidence in you?

Yeah, 100%. Energy is contagious, you’re giving your energy and they’re giving it back. It’s like an exchange, it just keeps going. You’re performing to people that are excited to see you perform. As a performer, as a professional, you have to make sure you have enough energy for yourself. It’s definitely better if the audience is also on your vibe.

If you’re maybe still making music on the road, how do you maintain your energy in order to perform your best at every show?

Sleeping [laughs], I try to get some sleep. Performing has now become something that I genuinely enjoy, when you enjoy something you don’t really get tired of it. When you really love video games, you can go for ten hours straight and you won’t feel tired. So it’s now become something that I really enjoy doing so that it’s easy for me to keep going.

After touring so much, can you sleep anywhere?

No, I’m no expert. But if I’m on tour, it’s easier for me to sleep on the train or on the plane. So once I get on the plane, I sleep. I try to make sure that I catch as many power naps as I can.

When it comes to finishing a tour and restoring your energy, what do you do in your downtime?

One thing I do after every tour is I go to the hospital for a full body checkup. I make sure that I’m okay in every way and anything I need to adjust healthwise, I do that. After the tour, I travel somewhere because like I said, I like to travel and just feel the energy as a normal person for a week or two and do cool stuff. That’s why I started jet skiing, bungee jumping, and paragliding. After the tour, I get to do all those things. I like to do high energy stuff, it makes my heart pump. So that excites me out there and relaxes me.

What about outside of music, is there anything creative that you do that people might not be so aware of?

Right now, everything is still linked to entertainment in some way. I love video games, at some point I’m going to start streaming video games and doing competitions. That’s something I really want to do because I love video games. I like to work out, I love to read books a lot. So when I’m not doing anything too creative, I make sure I read everyday. Reading helps me stay inspired. It’s easier to write about stuff, it broadens your mind, even your use of words gets better.

What’s your best video game and best book?

My best book has to be the 50 Cent one, ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’; I really love that book. And my best video game right now has to be The Last of Us but I know when the new Grand Theft Auto comes out, that’s going to be my favourite video game. The new one comes out this year.

What challenges and rewards have come with being more open and vulnerable with your music?

I don’t see it as a challenge, just being able to be vulnerable means you’ve overcome a challenge already. And the reward is, that’s how you get core fans. You get a lot more core fans because you’re speaking to a deeper level because they feel more connected to you. So I think that’s one of the good sides about being vulnerable in your music; you get to attract people that connect with you. You create super fans, that’s when you get messages from people that feel like you’re talking to them directly. It really works to be vulnerable, that’s definitely the best way to create music that stands the test of time. Not music that’s just going to be trendy, viral stuff – music that 10 years later, they’re rocking with it.

When someone says to you, “this song changed my life,” is that the biggest compliment you can get?

Yeah that’s definitely one of the biggest compliments you can get, not just as an artist but as a creative. When people are inspired by the work you do, people that don’t know you from jack. Maybe you get a message from someone from India, “yo, your music helped me get to this point.” It feels really special and inspires you to keep creating and keep recording.

Have you ever been surprised how far a song has travelled, with fans from other countries?

Definitely, we went on tour in Australia. Australia is on the other side of the world, it took us a two day flight to get there and there were people not just from my region and my diaspora. People that are not from where I’m from are excited and singing songs that I didn’t think they would know. Someone asked me to do ‘Slow Burner’, one of my deep cuts from 2020, I was like, “wow, you’re that locked in!”

How do you see your sound evolving and what are your long term goals as an artist and as a music executive?

The beautiful thing about evolving is that you don’t even know the next point you’re getting to, you just know that once you get to that point, you know this is the right direction to go. So I’ll definitely always be evolving sonically and the fact that I get to travel a lot means a lot of influences from my travels will be heard in my music. It’s already obvious on my latest album ‘Viva Lavida’, you have sounds from the Middle East and those parts of the world, samples from India. That’s the kind of person I am when I’m traveling from place to place, I try to pick up on the cultures and fuse them with my own sound. I’d say the more I travel, the more worldwide my sound starts to seem. That’s my next step in evolving. I’d say my main goal as an exec is making sure my label Young Legend gets to become one of the major indie labels representing where I’m from. So while I’m conquering the world, the label is conquering on its own side.

Catch him live across the UK on his Lavida Tour in London, Birmingham and Manchester – tickets available here: joeboy.lnk.to/Uktour