Fresh talents in the music industry no longer have to depend on a label to reach an audience. Thanks to the popularity of social media, budding artists can now connect with their audiences solely online. It has allowed them the liberty to present their signature style without limiting their talent to a contract under a label. Rising music sensation Josymar “Llay” Freire, popularly called Llay, is one such example. He claimed fame with his natural talent and passion for music, although he started with a music band.
Llay is a Portuguese singer-songwriter and vocal producer. The artist of Cape-Verdean and Guinean origin grew up in London. The amalgamation of music cultures in the city has a profound influence on his signature music style. Llay is a big fan of traditional genres that is reflectedin his music, an amalgam of hip-hop, R&B, Zouk, Trapalongside Kizomba, and Afrobeat. This unique combination helped him to stand out in the extremelysaturated industry.
From his teenage years, Llay was drawn to music, so much so that he used to organize parties to promote his music. Llay and some of his friends used to hire clubs in London for parties which became the venue for music promotion. In 2015, Llay was a lead performer in a band named “Exl”. He along with his friends who shared a similar interest in music formed this band and also worked to promote the type of music they performed.
Exl’s first EP single “Vou Te Pegar” was released in 2016 and became an instant hit among the audiences. Thesong was produced by DJ Waldo and had electrifyingenergy that enthralled listeners. Within a few weeks of itsrelease “Vou Te Pegar” received more than 2 million views on YouTube. This was quite an achievement for a music band that had just stepped into the industry. Following thesuccess of their debut EP, the band released two more singles which replicated the success of “Vou te Pegar”. This growing popularity of Exl gave them an opportunity to perform at one of the renowned
Afro-Latino Festivals in Latvia.
After the release of three successful EPs with Exl, Llay decided to go his own way to navigate the music industry as an independent artist. His debut solo single “Toca NoMeu Body” produced by DJ Pausas introduced him as an independent artist in the industry with a refined andunconventional style of music. The song was wellreceived
by the audience and was featured on one of the mostpopular Afro-Kizomba YouTube Channels in Portugal called “Mais Kizomba”.
After his initial success, Llay never looked back. He kept getting offers from across the world. The most notable so far was his invitation to the third edition of the prestigiousmusic event “The Made Of Music” that was held in Paris in October 2021. Llay had the chance to perform for thousands of fans who watched online. Following this event, Llay released his next single “No Talking” produced by DJ Pausas. The song was featured on RadioTelevision Timor Leste, GlobalZoukGalaxy Channel, andAfro Music Channel, which is one of the famous Afro Pop channels across Europe and West Africa.
At present, Llay is focused on his next release “Too Much”. The song is due out in July 2021 and is expected to be featured on the YouTube channel Qiqi Garcia. He isoptimistic about this project and hopes to present more fresh and engaging music to his audiences.
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