Much of London’s recent music output is indebted to west Africa. Whether it’s the way that contemporary Nigerian pop genre Afrobeats has melded with rap and dancehall to create the breezy Afroswing that has become a chart mainstay, or the burgeoning jazz scene that pulses with the euphoria of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat and Ghanaian highlife, the cross-pollination has created some of the capital’s most vital sounds.
Enter Obongjayar, AKA Steven Umoh. Since his 2016 EP Home, the south London artist, 26, who lived in Nigeria until he was 17, has been carving out a name for himself with music that oozes vitality and spirit, as his contributions to everything from Richard Russell’s Mercury-nominated Everything Is Recorded to rapper Danny Brown’s most recent album attest.
On Umoh’s forthcoming EP, Which Way Is Forward?, his vocals dance fluidly between spoken word and soft yet gruff singing, while he ruminates on the political and the personal (break-ups and borders are both on the agenda).
The beats, meanwhile, are intricate and uplifting, blending Afrobeats’ urgency with grittier electronics. Last year, Umoh shared the origin of his moniker with Wonderland magazine – and it feels fitting of his oeuvre. He is Steven Junior (“jayar”), while “obong” means God or king: “No one else has this name – it’s unique to me and to the music that I make.”
Which Way Is Forward? is released on 7 February
