Nigeria: Nezsa releases sophomore EP Soul Searching

The six-tracker follows recently released singles ‘Trouble’ and ‘Should Have Cared’. Written and composed by Nezsa, with production from long-time collaborators like GMastered and Gbedu Boss, Soul Searching probes themes of life, love, loss and personal growth, drawing from her own struggles and triumphs.

Opener ‘Pressure’ discusses anxieties of living up to expectation, while ‘Trouble’ confronts adversity head-on. The EP then transitions to a softer tone with ‘Technicolor Bliss’, which paints a picture of idealised romance, followed by ‘Nervous Juice’, which chews on self-discovery and empowerment. The EP concludes with ‘Should Have Cared’, founded on regret and heartbreak and ‘NWTG’, themed around complexities of emotional attachment.

“Living life, experiencing things, this is a reflection of who I am as an artist, a piece of my soul laid bare for you to hear,” Nezsa said. “This EP marks a turning point. The start of a season where I accept the path I’ve chosen, although fraught with challenges and obstacles. But it’s in embracing those challenges, and in refusing to let go of the one thing that makes sense to me, that I find the strength to keep moving forward. Every note played, every lyric sung, is a testament to the unwavering determination to chase my dreams, no matter how daunting the journey may appear. For in the pursuit of music, I discover not only my truest self but also the boundless possibilities that lie beyond the horizon of doubt.”

Born in Nigeria, and residing in Canada, Nezsa’s work blends pop, alternative R&B, neo soul and indie music, with her debut EP Bitter-Sweet amassing over 2.5 million plays online. She was recently spotlighted in Apple Music’s Up Next artist development programme. Her artistic influences span Frank Ocean, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey and Coldplay, among others.