Nigerian soft bad boy, resident heartbreaker, and tortured playboy Omah Stanley Didia, stage name Omah Lay, is back to give us his first studio album. This is actually quite surprising because it feels like Omah Lay has given audiences an album before. His previous EPs, Get Layd and What Have We Done, got such massive airplay that Omah Lay’s voice has become a fixture on charts and streaming services across all platforms.

Known for his raunchy lyrics and dexterous use of Port Harcourt slang, Omah Lay has grown his fan base to the millions over the last five years so it’s not a surprise that Boy Alone is successful. On the album, Omah Lay sticks with his tried and true form of music making hypnotic percussions, light beats, and a voice so honest it’s easy to see why he has taken the world by storm. In this album, he speaks of the growth he has achieved, which is easy to see as he’s shared the stage with some of music’s biggest names like Justin Bieber. And how difficult that growth can get especially for someone with humble beginnings.

Omah Lay’s ‘I’m a mess (official music video). Credit: YouTube

I’m a mess is a testament to exactly how hard an adjustment it has been for Omah Lay to go from anonymity to stardom in the blink of an eye. The Niphkeys produced song is raw and completely straightforward. He bares his soul to the listeners unabashedly, telling us of his struggles and his journeys.

He admits that he has no friends because he prefers his own company to any other and is so terrible at keeping friends. It’s an admission that resonates with anyone who has ever felt alone and stuck being alone. He tells us of his reliance on alcohol both as a friend and as a coping mechanism to dull the pain he’s had to deal with. In the midst of the solace he finds from being high, he admits sobriety is a distant thought, not when the feeling of a bottle brings him such comfort.

He also speaks of heartbreak and the fact he hasn’t properly recovered from the hurt. But he doesn’t blame that for his addiction to alcohol or inability to create lasting friendships; instead, he blames a force much bigger than him, something he doesn’t quite understand.

In such a time as this, when conversations around mental health and unhealthy coping mechanisms are a hot topic, this song feels very timely. It’s stripped-down instrumentals followed by his plaintive voice saying…

One for the belly, another for the broken heart

Three for addiction, four, so, I don’t go back

Lookin’ for somebody wey fit watch my shoulders

So, I can never be sober

 …best captures the feeling Omah Lay intended to describe in Boy Alone quite effortlessly. It is the lynchpin of the entire album.

Hearing a musician sing so honestly about his own struggles with loneliness and its effects on him gives the average listener who’s going through the same struggle a sense of validation. It’s like, suddenly, your worries are seen and understood by someone with the ability to turn suffering into art.

This isn’t the kind of song that will be played on repeat at clubs but that is okay. The listener will be just as happy to blast it from their headphones anyway. The magic of I’m a mess is in its relatability.

Didi Dan-Asisah is an art enthusiast and critic. She lives in Lagos.

Lyrics

Intro
It is what it is
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Oh yeah (Niphkeys)
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, yeah

Bridge
Sometimes I’m happy, sometimes I’m sad
I don’t know what’s over me
Sometimes I’m good, sometimes I’m wild
I don’t know what’s over me

Chorus
I don’t know what’s over me
I’m overthinking everything
At times, it feels like nobody
Can understand the way I feel
‘Cause I am fucked up totally
I don’t know how to keep company
So I’ve been drinking cognac
I’ve been too many shots of cognac

Verse
One for the belly, another for the broken heart
Three for addiction, four so I don’t go back
Looking for somebody wey fit watch my shoulders
So I can never be sober
I can never be so, oh, oh, oh
(I can never be so) Oh, oh, yes, I did it
How many million I make for a living?
Wear my Louis Vuitton, post for the pic
Let the camera light hit my teeth, you know
Nobody’s better than me
Nobody’s better than me
I do it differently
Everybody can see

Chorus
I don’t know what’s over me
I’m overthinking everything
At times, it feels like nobody
Can understand the way I feel
‘Cause I am fucked up totally
I don’t know how to keep company
So I’ve been drinking cognac
I’ve been too many shots of cognac

Outro
One for the belly, another for the broken heart
Three for addiction, four so I don’t go back
Looking for somebody wey fit watch my shoulders
So I can never be sober
(I can never be sober)
(Niphkeys)

                                                                                                  -Ends-

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.