Switched On: Obongjayar

A true triple threat, the Nigerian-born, London-based musician Obongjayar pens stirring and spiritual lyrics with a distinctive voice that flits between rap, song and spoken word. Melding afrobeats, soul, rock and hip-hop influences, he has created a bold genre-defiant musicality.

2022 saw Obongjayar release his debut album Some Nights I Dream of Doors to critical acclaim across the board, and capped it all off with an electrifying UK tour including a sold out headline show at London’s KOKO, and a triumphant headline appearance at Art X Festival in Lagos.

However, arriving at Some Nights I Dream Of Doors has been a life-long journey – from his childhood spent listening to US rap music in Calabar, Nigeria, to the release of God’s Own Children, for which OB won Best Song Musically and Lyrically at the Ivor Novello awards, followed by a year of huge collaborations with Little Simz, Pa Salieu and Nigerian super-producer Sarz – Obongjayar truly reached his destination having meticulously honed his craft and comes armed with answers to some of the questions he’d spent his young career asking.