Obongjayar

Nigerian-born, London-based musician/singer/songwriter Steven Umoh creates haunting but intense sounds under the Obongjayar moniker, drawing on inspiration from both his Nigerian upbringing and futuristic hip-hop and electronic influences. After contributing to Richard Russell's Everything Is Recorded project, Umoh readied more solo material, releasing his four-song EP Bassey in 2017 and finally delivering a full-length debut in 2022 with the critically-lauded Some Nights I Dream of Doors. A year later he was featured on Fred again..'s infectious hit "Adore You," then released several singles of his own including 2024's "Just My Luck." Steven Umoh grew up in Calabar, Nigeria, living with his grandmother until he moved to London at age 17. Active in both the Nigerian music scene and his new home in England, Umoh began posting songs online as Obongjayar around 2014. After releasing several tracks, he completed debut, Home, in 2016, a five-song EP that offered an early look into this mixture of raspy vocals and strange, rhythm-heavy production that melded together organic and synthetic instruments. Shortly after that, he became involved with Everything Is Recorded, offering vocals on the 2017 song "Washed Up on the Shore." With growing visibility, Obongjayar released the Bassey EP and also did some support dates opening for King Krule. Throughout the next year, Umoh contributed to more Everything Is Recorded tracks as he issued several Obongjayar singles. In 2019 he appeared on multiple tracks from Detroit rapper Danny Brown's fifth album Uknowhatimsayin?. 2019 also saw the release of the single "Frens." The song would be featured on his 2020 mini-album Which Way Is Forward? alongside "Still Sun" and "10K." Obongjayar collaborated with Nigerian producer Sarz for the 2021 EP Sweetness and its standout single "Gone Girl." That year he also featured on the track "Point and Kill" with rapper Little Simz and also worked with British rapper Pa Salieu. In 2022, Obongjayar and Jeshi released a series of jointly-created songs that kicked off with bouncy funk track "Protein." Debut album Some Nights I Dream of Doors was released in May of 2022. The album was the boldest representation of Obongjayar's multi-genre sound to date, collecting elements of rap production, electronics, Afrobeat rhythms, spoken word performances, and other disparate sounds. It was also a significant critical success, earning an Ivor Novello nomination for Best Album. Next, he was featured on producer Fred again..'s single "Adore U" which became a chart-topping hit in Australia and reached number four in the U.K. Obongjayar returned with solo music in 2024, including the singles "Just My Luck" and "Tomorrow Man." ~ Fred Thomas