Joji stuns with the release of his sophomore album, “Nectar”
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Joji has continued his quick rise to fame after dropping his second studio album titled “Nectar” on Sept. 25. The once social media star and creator of the 2013 Harlem Shake dance released the 18-song album with features from artists such as Lil Yachty, Omar Apollo, and Diplo.
After the release of his first album in 2018 titled “Ballads 1,” which went number 1 on the Billboard R&B charts, fans had high expectations for the project. He continued with his tailored R&B sound that left many people in awe, but he also has been criticized for being too repetitious with his style.
One of the main songs on the album “Gimme Love” made its rise to fame on the app TikTok earlier this year and was an instant hit. The album is expected to sell around 60,000 to 75,000 copies within the first week, which would land him on the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Joji has his own unique sound and style in his music that separates him from many other artists. His psychedelic-esque love songs with upbeat and meaningful lyrics have placed his music into a trip-hop or lo-fi genre. He says he gets a lot of inspiration on his sound from old science fiction movies.
His music faces a lot of skeptics because of its unique style. Before listening, I too had my speculations that all the songs were going to sound somewhat similar, however, I can confidently say that this is not the case. Every song tells its own unique story that anyone can relate to.
In an interview with Billboard, Joji discussed his sci-fi influence. He stated, “Every three or four years some director drops an insane sci-fi movie, one we all collectively look at and say, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’ I love exploring these ‘what if?’ otherworldly concepts. Now that there’s so much CGI, people jump to the action and ignore the story, and now that movies are coming out at a faster rate, it's harder to find the gems.”
This album definitely shows how bright the future of this young artist is. After only making music for a few short years he has already become one of the biggest artists in the world.
“Nectar” is one of Joji’s best projects to date, which sets the bar high for whenever we hear from him next. This album is a must listen and sparks anticipation for what’s to come from Joji in the future.