Obongjayar: 2025

This  FUV Live session is also available as a podcast, "FUV Live Sessions." We're elevating WFUV's long history of live sessions and interviews via a podcast that you can find on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.

Few voices are as immediately arresting as that of Obongjayar, the Nigerian-born, London-based singer with an extraordinary range, from a guttural, feral roar to the sweetest of sweet falsettos. He frequently collaborates with other artists of all genres, including Little Simz, Moses Boyd, Pa Salieu, Annahstasia and Fred Again.

Yet it's Obongjayar's own releases where the real versatility of his vocals — and his strong lyrics that frankly address politics — come to the foreground, as on the Ivors-winning "God's Own Children" (2020's Which Way is Forward EP), "Message in a Hammer" (2022's Some Nights I Dream of Doors) and "Jellyfish" (2025's Paradise Now).

His family is also a common lyrical theme. He was raised mostly by his grandmother and was finally able to leave Nigeria to live with his UK-based mother (who fled Nigeria) when he was 18. In a new FUV Live session, Obongjayar and I discussed his early years, his longing for his mother, as well as his determination to realize a dream he had as a child, of being a musician. "Why the longing? Why the search?" he asks of himself, a theme that carries into his music.

In Paradise Now, Obongjayar (whom his friends call "OB"), explores the definition of paradise and accepting the present, as it exists for himself, avoiding what he calls "over-complicating happiness." We also spoke of the Ibibio language, and how that's likely influenced him in his singing style.

In this FUV Live session, OB and his longtime bandmates Sam Jones (drums) and Ciarán Corr (guitar), play three songs: "Prayer," "Sweet Danger," and "Jellyfish," a good example of his range, from quietude to fury.

Earlier this year, Obongjayar (whom his friends call "OB") made his long-overdue live debut in the States, which included sets at both New York's Music Hall of Williamsburg and the Newport Folk Festival. He's a kinetic, athletic presence onstage — playful, intense, sensual and charismatic — all of which he also brought to the live performance videos for this session.

As of late November, there's now a deluxe edition of Paradise Now available, called Paradise Now & Forever, which includes five new tracks.

[Recorded: 7/23/25. Engineered  by Jim O'Hara with Erin Merriman and Holden Buckley. Produced by Meghan Suma. Videographers: Bella Lipayon, Mia Vilke, Therese Burgo and Adithi Vimalanathan.]

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