by
Deji Osikoya
Victony’s move to assemble up to 14 members of Afrobeats’ new guard on his latest single, Ohema, is a milestone for marketing and collaboration in the genre. An irresistible earworm with anthem potential, the track comes to life with production skillfully crafted by hitmakers Rexxie, Blaisebeatz, and Semzi. While lead artists Victony, Crayon, and Bella Shmurda set the stage for a musical journey alongside contributions from Rema, Ayra Starr, Blaqbonez and others whose contributions range from resonant and scene-stealing (see: Ayra) to microscopic and virtually nonexistent (#justiceforBloodyCivilian).
Amid calls for Afrobeats artists to counter low ticket sales by doing joint tours, the song is a victory for collective creativity. A message from the younger generation about what is possible when premier artists set aside their egos and join forces. As a heartening sidenote, the collaboration also signifies a triumphant bounceback for Victony, who is firmly back in the spotlight after a challenging performance at Rema’s O2 concert. There’s also something almost poetic about the first ‘We are the World’–style collaboration from Afrobeats’ new guard being a spirited tribute to womanizing and sex, with playful euphemisms like “Miliki for front.”
(Capturing the essence of collaboration: Ayra Starr’s recording session for ‘Ohema’ which gave Victony courage to reach out to subsequent collaborators)
One can only marvel at the sheer workload required to pull off Ohema. The likely whirlpool of administrative tasks: orchestrating strategy meetings for the art and music, securing vocals from numerous artists across different time zones with some of the acts on worldwide tours, and dealing with conceivable intricacies like split sheets. Pulling it off is a feat worthy of admiration. Moreover, the release is a testament to the deftness of Victony and his team, whose intentionality has shone through every phase of his career.
On this occasion, the artwork for Ohema stands out – be it the street fighter-style animated video, or the cover art showcasing Victony’s 14 collaborators clustered around his blue-skinned avatar sidekick, ‘Tredax.’
(They should call themselves ‘The Ferocious Fourteen!’)
In other instances, it’s Victony’s retro-inspired personal style that dazzles, with his trademark beret and oversized tracksuits and blazers that have become synonymous with his brand.
(Timeless Trends: Victony channels 90s vibes with his trademark oversized suits and beret, joining the ranks of style icons Michael Jordan and Janet Jackson.)
Such elements join a long line of memorable marketing tactics that include: promoting his ‘My Darling/Angelus’ two-pack with the ‘Outlaw’ logo briefcase rollout that mirrored Travis Scott’s ‘UTOPIA’ marketing campaign; the campaign for his ‘Jaga Jaga’ single which birthed Victony’s ‘God’s Plan’ moment of giving back to the community through wheelchair donations; and his use of AI to generate promotional verses for his recorded takes of the song as though they were voiced by Tems, Burna Boy, Dave, and Central Cee.
In the midst of these successful endeavors, Ohema also highlights the drawbacks of ‘snippet culture’—a practice where artists release song snippets before their official launch date to generate buzz. This practice, while often successful, can also backfire, as in this case, where it created expectations of an All of the Lights-level melding of voices that the song would have been hard-pressed to fulfill.
(Not quite All of the Lights, but a banger in its own right!)
Nevertheless, in a month that has been tarred with contrived, tasteless and frankly disgraceful PR stunts, Victony’s approach has been nothing short of refreshing. If it didn’t entirely live up to expectations, it honed in on the music, and that’s more than can be said for many other recent attempts in the industry.
Deji Osikoya is a lover of all things that are clean, cool and fun. He holds strong opinions about music formed by life experiences, more than five years of working experience in the music industry, and a deep love of R&B, Afrobeats and all music he considers, ‘contemporary easy listening’. He co-hosts an Afrobeats music podcast, With An S which releases every Monday.