Biography
Drawing from his immersion in Chicago's independent music community, the experimental producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist NNAMDÏ channels those origins into recordings that shift abruptly between modes and resist straightforward classification, moving as readily through lo-fi math rock as through hazy, abstract hip-hop. Active without pause since the late 2000s across numerous far-flung endeavors, he has also issued solo work at a steady pace, including the 2017 album Drool, the 2020 release BRAT, and the 2022 set Please Have a Seat, each one highlighting the quicksilver range of his exploratory compositions.
Born in California to Nigerian immigrants, NNAMDÏ moved first to Ohio before settling in the Chicago suburb of Lansing, Illinois. He launched his recording career under his given name, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, contributing to a range of projects inside the city's thriving D.I.Y. network while developing material for solo release. By 2011 he was already self-issuing efforts such as the Rotissabooty mixtape, which wove together an unusual blend of rap, electronics, frantic jazz, and additional styles beneath a layer of understated absurdist humor. New music followed in rapid succession, among them the 2013 project Bootie Noir and the 2014 release Feckin Weirdo.
In 2016 NNAMDÏ established the Sooper Records imprint alongside Sen Morimoto and Glenn Curran, then placed his Drool album on the label the next year. Beginning in 2019 he ceased using his full name, issuing subsequent material simply as NNAMDÏ. The 2020 album BRAT earned widespread critical acclaim and greater exposure, after which he delivered the largely instrumental Krazy Karl, shaped by math rock and cartoon music. The 2021 EP Are You Happy, an IDM-tinged electro-pop collection featuring Lynyn and Morimoto, preceded Please Have a Seat, NNAMDÏ's debut for Secretly Canadian, which appeared in 2022.
Born in California to Nigerian immigrants, NNAMDÏ moved first to Ohio before settling in the Chicago suburb of Lansing, Illinois. He launched his recording career under his given name, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, contributing to a range of projects inside the city's thriving D.I.Y. network while developing material for solo release. By 2011 he was already self-issuing efforts such as the Rotissabooty mixtape, which wove together an unusual blend of rap, electronics, frantic jazz, and additional styles beneath a layer of understated absurdist humor. New music followed in rapid succession, among them the 2013 project Bootie Noir and the 2014 release Feckin Weirdo.
In 2016 NNAMDÏ established the Sooper Records imprint alongside Sen Morimoto and Glenn Curran, then placed his Drool album on the label the next year. Beginning in 2019 he ceased using his full name, issuing subsequent material simply as NNAMDÏ. The 2020 album BRAT earned widespread critical acclaim and greater exposure, after which he delivered the largely instrumental Krazy Karl, shaped by math rock and cartoon music. The 2021 EP Are You Happy, an IDM-tinged electro-pop collection featuring Lynyn and Morimoto, preceded Please Have a Seat, NNAMDÏ's debut for Secretly Canadian, which appeared in 2022.
Albums
Singles
