Buy Cheap, Buy Twice Single Launch

Buy Cheap Buy Twice is my reflection on the ebbs and flows of life. It's about accepting that we often have to experience the difficult moments before we reach the good ones, and I wanted that journey to be felt as much as it was heard.

As the sole producer, I built the track from over 50 stems to create a dreamy, textured sound world. I embraced experimentation throughout the process, allowing accidents to become part of the composition—like the panning percussion that moves around the listener to create a greater sense of motion and immersion. The song unfolds as a three-part sonic odyssey, using shifts in sound, energy, and atmosphere to mirror changing emotions. I wrote lyrics that are both inspirational and abstract, leaving space for listeners to find their own meaning within them.

Although the song was created in joy, it was finished through grief. That contrast shaped every creative decision and is why, despite its uplifting energy, there's an emotional weight running underneath it.

BCBT OFFICIAL SINGLE COVER

Buy Cheap Buy Twice Lyric Video

I was drawn to the themes of business, value, and self-worth, so I built the visual identity around the aesthetics of a shop. This concept developed from an earlier project, Tray's Dada, where I transformed my life into an online retail store to explore identity, value, and consumer culture. The cover artwork for Buy Cheap Buy Twice is a direct cross-reference to that project, using one of the product images from the online shop as the single cover.

The photograph itself carries a deeper personal meaning. It shows me at five years old wearing a gingham suit with shoulder pads. My parents always dressed me for success, and that image reflects the ambition, confidence, and work ethic they instilled in me from an early age, while also honouring my Nigerian roots.

As an independent artist, I photographed all of the promotional images myself and also shot the footage for the lyric video. I was inspired by surveillance, which naturally fed into the CCTV and VHS aesthetic running throughout the visuals. The set design was influenced by 90s game shows like Supermarket Sweep, with its bold graphics, clean layouts, and retail environment. I extended this language by using receipt typography and shop-inspired graphics across the project, creating a visual world that felt playful while reinforcing the song's themes of value and self-worth.

SCREENSHOT FROM TRAY'S DADA

Buy Cheap Buy Twice Promotional images-
Shot by Tracy Sada

Stills from Buy Cheap Buy twice lyric video

Shooting
BCBT LYRIC VIDEO

These behind-the-scenes images were captured during the production of Shake It Up in my studio building at Set Woolwich at around 2am. The sequence was entirely self-produced. I designed the set, sourced the props and filmed the footage using my iPhone and a VHS camera. To achieve the overhead shots, I rigged the camera to the ceiling and repeatedly performed beneath it until I captured the movement I envisioned. This process reflects the resourcefulness and hands-on approach that has become a defining characteristic of my creative practice.

I was shaped by my references to Supermarket Sweep (1994–2000) and discount supermarket, Kwik Save, pulling from that working-class British 80s/90s high-street aesthetic. I leaned into an “anti-design” approach—bold, functional, and intentionally cheap—using blue tones and graphic patterns to reflect mass-market retail and broadcast visuals.