OBONGJAYAR
Apologies to anyone who has brought tickets, and to the promoters, but I’ve had to make the decision to postpone my upcoming EU dates (UK dates remain unaffected).
Travelling on these passports hasn’t always been the smoothest process, but a couple of weeks ago, for the first time, my application for a visa got denied for no apparent reason.
My team and I have been working with multiple lawyers and agents trying to understand and reverse the decision, all which have met with push back, layers of bureaucracy, and not much helpful information.
Only last Monday we were made aware of a rule change due to Brexit, and the things that I would have to do in order to get my visa approved, none of which was disclosed when my initial application was denied.
I need you to know that I’ve tried everything within my power, and i’m currently in the process of reapplying. The last few weeks have felt like a bad dream, and unfortunately this is a reality for a lot of people with passports like mine, travel isn’t always the easiest for us.
Again, I’m really sorry to everyone that will be affected by this. It has really pissed me off, but all I can do now is move forward and do everything that has been required of me in order to be eligible to reapply.
I hope you can understand, and hope to have good news for you soon!
OBONGJAYAR
Seit 2016 die erste Obongjayar-Demo auf SoundCloud auftauche war klar, dass Steven Umoh ein völlig einzigartiges Talent besitzt. Der in Nigeria geborene und in London lebende Musiker schreibt mitreißende und sprituelle Texte, während er stimmlich zwischen Rap, Song und Spoken Word hin und her pendelt. Mit Einflüssen von Afrobeats, Soul und Hip-Hop erschafft Umoh eine ganz eigene, fast schon kühne, Musikalität.
Trotz reichhaltiger Erfolge in den letzten Jahren fühlte sich OB nie bereit für die Veröffentlichung eines Albums – bis jetzt. Sein Debutalbum „Some Nights I Dream of Doors“ läutet ein neues Zeitalter für Obongjayar ein. Über zwölf Lieder hinweg, bewegt er sich geschickt durch verschiedenste Klangwelten, Subkulturen und eine Fülle persönlicher und politischer Themen.
Album-Opener „Try“ ist ein eindringlicher und euphorischer Ruf zu den Waffen, unterlegt von einem mitreißenden Beat und glitzernder muskalischer Inszenierung „We used to be invincible, we used to be so beautiful“, singt er und erklärt dabei “When you’re a child, there are so many possibilities. ‘You can be a pilot or an astronaut, it’s all so possible. By the time you turn twenty, you realise you’re probably not going to become a brain surgeon; reality starts to set in. That’s what the song and this record is about; where do those feelings go? At what point do we lose our innocence, our wide-eyed approach to the world?”
