Four years after breaking into Nigeria’s mainstream with a sound he famously dubbed “Afro-depression,” Omah Lay returns with Clarity of Mind, a sophomore album shaped as much by expectation as it is by experience.
His 2022 debut, Boy Alone, introduced listeners to a brooding, emotionally raw take on Afrobeats, one that resonated deeply with listeners navigating loneliness, desire, and the complexities of love. The project earned him a devoted fanbase, and it positioned him as one of the most emotionally distinct voices in the genre.
However, the years that followed were anything but steady. Between 2022 and 2025, Omah Lay’s public updates paint a troubling picture. Across X, Snapchat, and Instagram, he spoke candidly about his mental health struggles, at times hinting at losing control. That tension appeared to peak in 2024, when he accused a fellow Afrobeats star, who was widely assumed by fans to be Rema, of appropriating the concept and sound of his then-unreleased work. The fallout reportedly led him to scrap the project entirely and begin again.
Clarity of Mind, released on April 3, is a product of this mental state and feels more like a reset, an attempt by Omah Lay to reclaim narrative, sound, and self.
In this review, members of the Culture Custodian team share their unfiltered thoughts on one of the year’s most anticipated release.
What’s your favourite song off the album?
Alex: Jah Jah Knows, I was instantly pulled in by the instrumentals. The rich blend of drums and guitars elevated the lyrics, adding depth and emotion that made the entire sound feel more powerful.
Damilola: My favourite track right now is Canada Breeze. I like how slow and unassuming it starts, and at the chorus, it picks up a bit more and becomes very bouncy till the end.
Seyi: Definitely Artificial Happiness. The wailing of “igbo is telling on me” is good!
Tosin: None?
Ife: Probably Waist. It’s catchy, reminds me of With You.
John: Oliver Twist-ing on this one to say I like all the songs. No clear favourite like safe haven on Boy Alone.
Which track do you think has the most superb production?
Naomi: Canada Breeze! The song literally feels weightless. At the risk of sounding somehow… this and a blunt?
Tony: Canada Breeze
John: The first three records (ARTIFICIAL HAPPINESS, CANADA BREEZE, and WATER SPIRIT) and AMEN are particularly stellar. But JULIA takes the cake. Tempoe fused Country and Gqom(?) without the fear of God.
Seyi: I am drawn towards Waist.
Zainab: For me, it’s Julia …I love a nice guitar riff!
Ife: Water Spirit. And I don’t typically like Amapiano Log drums. But it works well in this song.
What verse, if any, particularly stood out to you?
Favour: Elmah’s verse on Coping Mechanism stands out more to me. The tone of conviction and message of solidarity it carries, and its melody strikes a yielding chord
Mariam: I won’t say it stood out to me, though, but everything he said on Don’t Love Me? Raw and vulnerable, it’s a song that real lovers should not romanticize. In fact, run away if someone you are talking to sings the song a little too much beside you.
Seyi: The chorus of Artificial Happiness. Nothing else.
Tosin: I listened to two songs and shut it down. So tbh nothing stood out.
Anjola: I really love the chorus of Canada Breeze. That really is the standout track.
John: Verses 2 on WATER SPIRIT and WAIST. The latter is what you’d expect from an unrepentant philanderer in the confession booth.
Given the chance, what song would you boot off the album, and why?
Alex: Coping Mechanism felt a bit too slow for my taste. I struggled to really connect with its pacing and overall vibe, and it didn’t quite hold my attention the way other tracks did. It’s not necessarily a bad song, just not the kind I’d naturally gravitate toward or keep on repeat.
Tony: Artificial Happiness. It has the elements of an album intro, but it’s not just good. If I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t have listened further.
Sherif: None. I actually think this album has no skips, even though it’s not as strong as I anticipated it to be.
Ife: I Am. Maybe because his words are unintelligible, so I couldn’t make them out. Honestly, I couldn’t make out most of the lyrics in the album. Also, the lyrical compositions in I Am just don’t land for me.
Seyi: Honestly, none. But I am sure there are some songs that don’t necessarily belong on the album. This is a contradictory response, though.
John: None. It’s cohesive all the way through.
In your opinion, how well does the album live up to the hype surrounding its release?
Mariam: I had to go check if there was a hype around the album because I didn’t see anything on my timeline. Some listeners say the album has great vibes and good production, while others call it repetitive. I agree, most of the songs sounded almost the same to me. He talked about smoking weed quite a number of times in the album, and personally, it doesn’t appeal to me. The sound? Great. Vibe? I shook my head a few times, maybe more. But overall, what’s new?
Zainab: I didn’t particularly pay attention to the hype. Besides watching a few clips of Omah Lay himself talking about the music, I went into this totally unbiased. I would say that I did expect this sound from him; it’s not entirely fresh.
Naomi: Was there hype surrounding its release? I think there was genuine concern. The album did exceed the general expectation, though, in my opinion.
John: Just shy off the mark. You can’t talk a big game like that and not deliver a superior sophomore. You just can’t. That said, this is likely to be the best-produced mainstream LP of 2026, and one of the most cohesive thematically, so maybe folks cut him some slack.
Favour: Omah Lay had some sort of campaign ahead of the release of his song, including his ‘Warehouse Spirit Sessions,’ but the album comes off as slightly underwhelming when you compare it to this rollout campaign. Generally speaking, there was minimal hype from the listening public ahead of the release, and the album’s release has failed to fire so much — if any at all — discussions about it. He shows signs of strength on a couple of tracks, but it wasn’t all that.
Seyi: I think there was minimal hype about the album. But, about it living up to that hype, I can’t assertively answer. There have been very tepid conversations after the album was released, though.
Potential hit (No. 1) song?
Anjola: Waist and Canada Breeze.
Seyi: Artificial Happiness and Waist.
Tosin: You people will not be disappointed, but I see no re-listen potential for me here. If anything goes No.1, I’d be the last person on this earth to guess what it is.
John: None in sight. Sleeper hits/Niche hits? Yes. CANADA BREEZE for the stoners. WATER SPIRIT for the lovers. MARY GO ROUND for the situationship warriors.
Which track has the best replay value?
Damilola: WAIST is probably a cop out because it’s been out since 2025, but it will certainly remain in my rotation.
Ife: Julia. The drums >>>>
Sherif: Jah Jah Knows. He maintains a great rhythm throughout the song, and the lyrics have a great melody as well.
Zainab: Water Spirit. Production-wise, it’s my second favourite after Julia.
Favour: I’m very torn between Waist and Coping Mechanism. They have really strong melodies.
Seyi : Artificial Happiness.
John: We will all return to Waist at the appointed time.
Overall first impressions and your personal rating of the album
John: 7.5/10. From how frequently Nigerian artists explore hedonism, you could be misled to think executions on this level are commonplace. CLARITY OF MIND is a production and arrangement masterpiece, dragged back by weak writing from an artist whose streams of thought are frenetic and disturbingly broken.
Naomi: I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s a solid body of work. I love the way he played around with different sounds in the production. Also, Omah Lay is a really good songwriter. 6.5/10.
Anjola: I enjoyed listening, but aside a couple of standout tracks I probably won’t revisit it much. 6/10.
Mariam: 4/10. About 5 songs were enjoyable for me. But I won’t be listening to them again, though.
Ife: The production and engineering quality is undeniably good. I think the way Omah Lay infuses very obvious Pentecostal Christian influences with secularism (money, sex, drugs) is interesting and also very Nigerian. The cover art direction is also very cool. CLARITY OF MIND is a 5/10 album for me.
Seyi: I have repeatedly listened to Artificial Happiness while scantily listening to other songs on the album. That speaks to how underwhelming the album was for me. I often struggle connecting deeply with any of the songs beyond Artificial Happiness and Waist. When other songs play, they are mostly background noise. 5/10 for me.
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