Lojay is well aware of his origin story, and he’s very committed to it. His past two successful EPs, LV N ATTN (2021) and Gangster Romantic (2023), offered new dimensions that deepened that storyline, while working to reconstruct the boundaries between Afropop, its adjacent genres,  and everything orbiting it. Part of the allure of his majestic artistry has been the chase; his debut album, XOXO, was promised over a year ago. It’s here now, and my desire to dive in was tempered by what I would call a lacklustre pre-release momentum, as the singles preceding the drop, while serviceable, failed to establish the strong creative incentive required for a Lojay debut. Still, I was glad I did, if only because “Shiver” is on it.

The bulk of XOXO is submerged in its titular premise. It doesn’t quite lose the plot, being built around love’s ecstasies, but Lojay is too savvy a purveyor of atmosphere to neglect the floor entirely. Even as a self-fashioned soft boy, which he manifests via his art, he has always deftly managed his ability to pull in fire jams. “Shiver” ties into the album’s romantic thesis while breaking its mood open. True, the project as a whole lingers in relative softness, but this track snaps the listener back into the body. The sonic intent is purely propulsive. The pre-eminent silky-voiced serenader is largely eclipsed by a consummate crooner, one who wastes little time getting down to it.

Lojay is gone, but not so far gone that he disavows the imperative of consent (“I no fit touch your body / Unless you fully permit o bae”). The party starts almost immediately, but the full sensory experience is deferred. It is on the second verse that the beat completely drops out, sweeping the listener away with a cascade of syncopated melodies that capture the highs of a hedonistic hit jam. It’s an unrelenting fire-starter, providing the necessary rush of adrenaline that grounds XOXO.