Obongjayar: Merely My Fortune

      “The success for me is when a project is completed and you realize you’ve created something special.” In 2023, OB released a video for the deeply personal song ‘I Wish It Was Me’, performed just two feet away from its subject—his family, who listened intently on a sofa as he held a microphone on the floor. This heartfelt and vulnerable performance caught the attention of Fred again.., who transformed it into the Top 5 hit ‘adore u’, a feel-good anthem that filled the airwaves last summer. There was also an extraordinary performance at LA's Coliseum last year, where the pair performed the song in front of a crowd of 77,000 people. But which of these performances caused more nervousness? “Definitely the one in front of my family. I rarely get nervous at shows. Years ago, while performing with a friend, I thought we needed five days of rehearsal,” he chuckled. “My friend told me, ‘I can’t spare five days.’ He pointed out that since you wrote the song and performed it, you already got it right. As soon as you start worrying about hitting the right notes, you ruin it because you lose the joy of performing.” During the earlier mentioned Fred performance, where he seamlessly led the arena into a massive singalong, OB wore a white t-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Just My Luck’ in a splash of red. This phrase seems to serve as a personal mantra for him, which is captured in ‘PARADISE NOW’ through a vibrant, funky tribute to the fear of missing out that comes with prioritizing his music over socializing. “Just my luck / I’m in the wrong place making a good time,” he sings, smoothly navigating the track’s lively beats.

      “It reminded me of my college days,” he reflects. “When you’re young, everything revolves around the need to fit in with certain groups. I lived quite far from my friends, and when they would invite me to events, the buses and trains had set schedules which made it impossible for me to get home easily. So, I stayed in and wrote because becoming a musician was my goal. The journey to truly knowing yourself can be a lonely one.” ‘PARADISE NOW’ symbolizes the culmination of this solitary journey. “It’s about appreciating where you are right now, man, rather than fantasizing about a different place you think you ought to be. I’ve learned to find contentment.” The album often navigates between contrasting themes, embodying this philosophy; more subdued tracks like ‘Holy Mountain’ and ‘Prayer’ coexist with the energetic vibes of ‘Jellyfish’ and ‘Talk Olympics’. Occasionally, the two realms merge within a single track—‘Life Ahead’ showcases OB shifting from a tender falsetto to a powerful snarl, injecting a Jekyll and Hyde dimension into his exploration of family dynamics. “Go ahead, wear that smile for your mother as if nothing is wrong,” the voice encourages.

      Consequently, ‘PARADISE NOW’ presents a diverse sequencing, bouncing between these two styles before either side becomes monotonous. This balance also reflects his upbringing, split between Nigeria and the UK; he permanently relocated to London as a teenager. “To me, London has always seemed more structured, whereas West Nigeria feels like a no man’s land,” he explains. “The systems in the UK are meant to assist people, even though they’re currently being dismantled. In Nigeria, navigating life entails a lot of complexities—every day feels like a maze; the way to reach a destination one day isn’t necessarily the same as the next. I believe both places have contributed positively to my life.”