Obongjayar returns with double release ‘Just My Luck’ + ‘Tomorrow Man’
PRAISE FOR Obongjayar
“Some Nights I Dream Of Doors LP”
“Some Nights I Dream Of Doors LP”
“Some Nights I Dream Of Doors LP”
“A master at work”
“A life-affirming record”
“Delicately fuses futuristic hip-hop and electronic influences with musical elements from his Nigerian upbringing”
“The London multi-hyphenate is building a unique creative cosmology, charting out a fresh universe one song at a time. His debut album is set to be a bona fide cultural event”
“Among the most engaging voices of his generation”
“Nowadays, “genre-bending” is how you describe an artist when you don’t have anything concrete to say about them, and Obongjayar has long since moved past that empty contemporary cliché. On Some Nights, he isn’t concerned with taking existing musical archetypes and bending them slightly, he’s building something new entirely”
“A cohesive statement that weaves the personal and the political, drawing on both his childhood in Nigeria's Cross River State and a young adulthood spent nurtured and embraced by London's thriving indie/jazz diaspora. Given the rare opportunity to shape himself into someone singular, Obongjayar chose to take it”
“There is a unique spirit threaded through the music of Obongjayar. One need only listen to the opening few tracks of his 2022 record, Some Nights I Dream of Doors, to get the vibe that this is an artist who knows his vision from the ground up. Importantly, it is a vision that requires him to walk to the beat of his own drum.”
“A passage of emotions and feelings that embody the sporadic and probing nature he suggests governs his music... Obongjayar is no stranger to existing in a cross-section of culture, exploring the themes of chasing fulfilment and wondering where he may fit in”
“Make no mistake, you know Obongjayar when you hear him”
‘Just My Luck’ / ‘Tomorrow Man‘ is out now via September Recordings,
buy/stream it here.
Obongjayar makes his return with a distinct double-single offering; the infectiously danceable and dreamlike pop creation ‘Just My Luck’, alongside the unflinching and percussive ‘Tomorrow Man’. LISTEN HERE + WATCH ‘JUST MY LUCK’ VIDEO HERE.
Reflecting on themes of loneliness and laziness respectively, these two sonically contrasting yet cohesive singles serve as an exciting preview of what can be expected from this next chapter. To celebrate the release today, he shares a cinematic Uncanny directed video for ‘Just My Luck’ that sees him performing with a synchronised swimming team. With a touch of cinematic eccentricity and visual identity, leaning into Obongjayar’s exuberant side of his personality, this video provides the perfect light-hearted texture to compliment the idiom in the lyrics.
Speaking on the single, Obongjayar shares, “‘Just My Luck’ is a song about loneliness, about wanting to be a part of a crowd and the fear of missing out. On reflection, not being part of those crowds I so desperately wanted to be, and being absent from whatever it was at the time that would make me feel like the world would end, allowed me to really dig deeper and not only discover myself, but also appreciate my unique self. Because there weren’t any distractions and nothing else to do but be in myself and flesh out the person I eventually became, I also spent that time writing, discovering my voice musically. I guess in some ways using that initial sting as fuel to propel me in self enlightenment! hahaha”
Earlier this year, Obongjayar has launched his intimate party series PARADISE NOW at Ormside Projects. Having previously invited artists and friends including Kwes Darko, James Messiah, Dean George, Peter Xan, Lava La Rue and more, later this week will see the third instalment of the series with performances from Obongjayar himself alongside Chi, Mrley, Kwes and Vivendii Sound.
Born in Lagos and raised in Calabar, Nigeria, before moving to the UK when he was 18 years old, while growing up, Obongjayar found an escape in music. Growing up, Obongjayar gravitated towards American hip-hop and R&B – Eminem, Ciara, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, and his prized possession, a bootleg Nelly and Usher compilation. It wasn’t until moving to London in his late teens that he really began to appreciate Nigeria’s musical heritage. First releasing his own music through Soundcloud, what quickly followed was a string of hugely successful EPs and singles including “God’s Own Children” which earned him an Ivor Novello award. In 2022 he released his debut album Some Nights I Dream of Doors to critical acclaim with praise from the likes of i-D, Crack Magazine, The Guardian, NPR, DIY and more. With a truly unique sound blending everything from electronic, soul, pop, afro-beat and more, his compelling music characterised by his thoughtful and emotional lyrics have led him to collaborate with everyone from Jeshi to Little Simz to Pa Salieu, and most recently Fred Again… on ‘adore u‘, that found the producer sampling Obongjayar’s “I Wish It Was Me” and garnering over 225 million streams globally.
Keep in touch