- Source: Lost and Found (Simi album)
Lost and Found is the fifth studio album by Nigerian singer Simi. It was released through her independent record label Studio Brat on 5 July 2024. The album features guest appearances from Tiwa Savage, Lojay, Bella Shmurda, Aṣa, Falz, Ladipoe and Ebenezer Obey. It was mainly produced by Louddaaa, along with additional production from Vtek, Bigfish, Funwon and Simi herself. Lost and Found serves as the follow-up to her previous album, To Be Honest (2022).
Background
Simi first hinted at the album on a podcast titled "Tea With Tay" with podcaster Taymesan, saying that the album would be released in 2024. On 18 June 2024, Simi revealed the title of the album, while on 20 June 2024, Simi revealed the tracklist and cover art of the album along with a promotional trailer. In an interview with Chinonso Ihekire of The Guardian, Simi revealed that she had been recording the album for two years, and she said that the reason for the name is "I had a phase in my life, especially after I gave birth to my daughter, where music became just about work for me. It was trying to get my job done, [but] I was juggling more things. The Afrobeat space and the industry had an explosion at that time as well. I have always been very heavy on being authentic, but at the end of the day, regardless of how authentic you are, you still have to adapt to your environment. So, I was trying to discover how to find my place in that situation. I think I lost some of my childlike passion for music where it was just about me telling stories and finding melodies, and I started to connect to that again while working on this album. So, that's what that is about; the album is heavy on melody and all the things that I was."
Singles
Prior to the album's release, it preceded three singles. The lead single, "All I Want", was released on 23 February 2024 and produced by Louddaaa. The music video for "All I Want" was released on 29 February 2024 and directed by 1 Of My Guys. The second single, "Men Are Crazy" features Tiwa Savage and was produced by BIGFISH and released on 5 April 2024. The music video was directed by Director Pink. The third and final single, "Borrow Me Your Baby", features Falz, was produced by Vtek and was co-produced by Simi. The song was released on 31 May 2024 and the music video was released on 22 June 2024 and directed by Perlinks.
Critical reception
Adeayo Adebiyi of Pulse Nigeria called the album nostalgic of the earlier days of Simi's musical journey, comparing it to her second studio album Simisola, and ranked the album a 7.4 out of 10. He stated that "while the album doesn't carry songs that seem capable of replicating the commercial success she enjoyed with pre-streaming era hits, it does reflect her current position in her career." Abioye Damilare Samson of Afrocritik described the album as a "confident assemblage of tracks distinguished by Simi's sonorous vocals, specially orchestrated for listeners to experience the music that propelled her into prominence." and rated the album a 6.3 out of 10. Tomide Marv of Zikoko described the album as "a dizzying package of unfiltered love confessions and unapologetic romanticism, young-wifey melodies, subtle girl-next-door vibes, Owambe special numbers, and comeback attempts". Marv also called the album nostalgic of older projects, saying that she "finds comfort in her strength again, then makes another good album out of her rediscovery." Aaron Ashuman of Doth Music rated it a 67.7 out of 100, and stated that: "The album started off well, but it had some inconsistency in the middle, showing its ups and downs. Simi's magical vocals were a highlight throughout, but she could have pushed for more from the featured artists. This may not be Simi's best work, but it still provided a good overall listening experience, considering her high standards over the years."
Track listing
Personnel
Simisola Ogunleye – vocals, producer, mixing engineer
Tiwatope Savage – vocals
Lekan Osifeso Jr. – vocals
Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi – vocals
Ladipo Eso – vocals
Folarin Falana – vocals
Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed – vocals
Bukola Elemide – vocals
Samuel Idowu – producer
Kehinde Alabi – producer
Abayomi Ilerioluwa – producer
Victor Kpoudosu – producer