Obongjayar

Nigerian-born and now London-based, Steven Umoh performs and records under the name Obongjayar, shaping dense, atmospheric tracks that fuse memories of his Nigerian childhood with forward-looking hip-hop and electronic textures. After appearing on Richard Russell’s Everything Is Recorded series, he prepared independent work that surfaced first as the four-track EP Bassey in 2017 and later as the widely praised full-length Some Nights I Dream of Doors in 2022. The following year he joined Fred again.. on the single “Adore U,” then continued issuing his own material with 2024 releases that included “Just My Luck.”

Umoh spent his early years in Calabar, Nigeria, raised by his grandmother before relocating to London at seventeen. Already active in both Nigerian and British circles, he began circulating tracks online under the Obongjayar name around 2014. Those initial uploads led to the five-song EP Home in 2016, an early showcase of his gravelly delivery set against intricate, beat-driven arrangements that blended acoustic and electronic elements. Soon afterward he contributed vocals to Everything Is Recorded’s 2017 track “Washed Up on the Shore.” With increased exposure he issued the Bassey EP and opened several concerts for King Krule. Over the next twelve months he added further vocals to Everything Is Recorded releases while dropping additional Obongjayar singles. In 2019 he appeared on multiple tracks from Danny Brown’s fifth album Uknowhatimsayin? and also unveiled the standalone single “Frens.” The latter track later appeared on the 2020 mini-album Which Way Is Forward? alongside “Still Sun” and “10K.”

Collaborating with Nigerian producer Sarz, Obongjayar released the 2021 EP Sweetness, whose key track was “Gone Girl.” That same year he joined Little Simz on “Point and Kill” and worked with British rapper Pa Salieu. In 2022 he and Jeshi began issuing jointly made songs, beginning with the funk-driven “Protein.” The full-length debut Some Nights I Dream of Doors arrived in May 2022, presenting Obongjayar’s broadest range yet through rap-styled production, electronic textures, Afrobeat rhythms, and spoken-word passages. The album earned an Ivor Novello nomination for Best Album. Shortly afterward he featured on Fred again..’s “Adore U,” which topped the Australian charts and reached number four in the U.K. Returning to solo output in 2024, he released the singles “Just My Luck” and “Tomorrow Man.”