Shoday, the Lagos State-born 2024 breakout artiste, has been having a good time in the spotlight. For the past 24 months, he has been getting songs on heavy rotation, minor controversy, and his interviews are sparse, like his collaborations.
More than ten months after the street embracing “Hey Jago,” he further cemented his status with a partnership with Davido, Kizz Daniel and more. The Sony Music UK-signed artiste finally released his debut album, “HYBRID,” on February 6, 2026.
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It arrives after more than four years of active song release. Shoday, real name Shodade Solomon Segun, is a bundle of talent. Before he found joy in recording music, he was a stand-up comedian and MC; he levelled up with content creation and later music.
This switch has finally paid off, as he currently commands 3.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. “Casablanca,” his biggest song, has twenty-seven million streams on Spotify.
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Calculated risk
Releasing a debut album is always a calculated risk for most artists. By releasing the project in the first quarter of 2026, Shoday gives fans and critics enough time to assess him. It is a mix of emotions, with some of the previously released singles getting included on the album.
Weak guitar strings kick off the album opener “Glam and Fame.” At the same time, he attempts to tell the listeners his rise-to-fame story, but he falters as he sticks to relating pressure from family, women, pain from fame, and more. It is a declarative statement against issues associated with stardom; the saxophone gives the song a clean and neat ending. “Joy” is hinged on a hard-hitting drum with Shoday philosophising on what gives him joy.
The pain of struggle, the joy of success, permeates Shoday’s music, he is the type of artiste who finds it hard to forget his battle with poverty. Yet, he is quick to pop champagne to celebrate his success, a track like “Somebody,” brings that to life as he prays for success for all, “one car is not a convoy,” he quips.
Combined efforts
FOLA, the 2025 breakout star, comes up on the romance tinged “Paparazzi,” this tracks finds two generational star combining effort to score up a hit track, FOLA seems to be on a familiar turf on this track, he owns the track, hardly giving Shoday a time to fight back. “Shoday Kilode” interpolates lines from Alhaja Aminat Ajao (Obi Rere) “ Kilese Mi” with the singer self-adulating his skill, aura and talent, an uncredited Poco Lee leads the way with his hype.
Shoday and BhadBoi OML both channel their street savviness into “OBT,” as they pray for breakthroughs as they navigate life; the latter’s vocal cadence is similar to Asake. “Postcode” is driven by a hard-hitting drum pattern with copious tribute to Dancehall.
“Figure 8” celebrates African beauty with the Shoday, exploring minimal lyrics; not even a mediocre rap line could save the track. Kizz Daniel’s understated impact on “A1” is difficult to ignore; while it sounds like a typical Kizz track, Shoday was still able to make his mark.
Hybrid
The 2025 release “Screaming Beauty” finds Shoday and Olivetheboy effortlessly bouncing off each other as they gush about their better half, Olivetheboy having a better grasp of the song than Shoday. R&B new kid, Taves, comes up on “Bad and Boujee,” the mid-tempo production put to good use by the singers. Taves sings about loving a twin, is obsessed with time, and even likens their beauty to Sango (Yoruba god).
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On “Sober,” Shoday escapes reality with liquor and drugs; his cadence is similar to Fireboy DML. “Halle” is a more profound gratitude-themed track with a lot of advice and warning against arrogance. Ayo Maff and Shoday are cut from the same cloth; perseverance, poverty and pain, they all exploited this arc on “Casablanca, ” the album closer.
HYBRID is an ambitious, calculated, and expressive album by Shoday. He skilfully marks his debut album register by operating from his strengths, featuring some of his trusted hands. It shows an artiste who is in tune with reality, embraces it, and is ready for a long-lasting career in the music industry.
Verdict
7/10
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