Obongjayar - Message in a Hammer (Live). An exclusive performance for Vevo DSCVR, the channel for the best in new music.
Despite the strife that Obongjayar faced during his childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, his love of music flowered in the dark. As he once told The Guardian, there was only a single radio in the neighborhood, and there he could point his ear towards not only Fela Kuti but 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. Music gave him hope, a window to a way out. At 17, when his family moved to England, his own window opened. So don’t be surprised at the moments when the raspy rhymer’s fusion of West African pop, hip-hop, electronic, and R&B gets more than a little spiritual - triumph is part of the dude's story. Check “Still Sun” from his 2020 ‘Which Way is Forward?’ project, for an eclectic example. In the same vein, there’s a steely ambition to much of Obongjayar's work. “I want it, it’s mine,” he hisses in “Point and Kill,” a reggae-infused Little Simz collaboration. Scroll down to his earliest Spotify release and you’ll find “Creeping,” a somber boom-bap track with Kendrick Lamar influences all the way down to the profound ponderings on love, loss and identity. In the past few years, the singer whose moniker roughly translates to “king junior," has been embraced by various UK music communities. King Krule brought him on tour. He’s hopped on tracks with Giggs and Pa Salieu. American rhymer and fellow genre rule-breaker Danny Brown grabbed him for “Belly of the Beast.” We’re also spreading the OB gospel via our DSCVR program. “Message In A Hammer,” from last year’s ‘Some Nights I Dream of Doors’ debut,’ is a kinetic whirlwind, and “Just Cool” shows he’s happy to wrap his arms around pop arrangements. Tap in, OB is good for your spirit.
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Vevo Executive Producer: Nick Calafato
Vevo Senior Producer: Yomi Ogunsola
Vevo Production Coordinator: Nancy Loud
Vevo Music & Talent: Alex Morley
Vevo Music & Talent: Elise Quartey
Vevo Senior Editor Helena Duque
Vevo Post-Production Coordinator: Scott Robson
Vevo Design Lead: Charlee Twigg
Director: Jim Wilmot
Assistant Director: Marnz Brown
Director of Photography: Keith Gubbins
Steadicam Op: Jon Kassell
1st AC / Focus Puller: Mike Linforth
2nd AC / Loader: Evangeline Perkins
Gaffer: Gio Mattei
Light Operator: Ben Houghton
Stills: Aron Klein
Sound Engineer: Alex Archer
Sound Assistant: Ellis Cohen
Runner: Elizabeth Playle
Runner: Harry Floyd
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