What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “fast and furious”, besides the unending movie franchise we all love, of course? Well, I hope Omah Lay‘s meteoric career so far does, because it definitely embodies the phrase fast and furious in every sense possible.
Peep this timeline:
2019 – He releases his first single that goes viral in his hometown
2020 – He releases not one, but two, EPs streamed by enough people to fill Nigeria twice over—maybe thrice.
2021 – (A year that has only just started) – He walks away with the coveted Headies’ Next Rated Award and a brand new car, which he probably doesn’t need because he’s so successful already. So successful that many people clamoured for him to be taken out of that category, claiming he was heads and shoulders ahead of those nominated alongside him.
Now, let’s factor in features with legends like Wizkid and Olamide, industry big boys like Adekunle Gold, DJ Tunez, DJ Spinall and American superstar, 6LACK. Then, there’s endorsement deals here and there and cameos of billboards in the US. And oh, he’s only 23 years old. So yes, fast and furious.
In all of this, it’s important to note that all of this phenomenal success has come on a background of hard work and talent. Before going international, he exerted himself on the local music scene in his hometown of Port Harcourt where he had a brief stint as a—wait for it—rapper before abandoning that to focus on music production
After producing a couple of locally successful for other artistes and seeing them get all of the credit, he decided to hop on the mic himself. And what a wonderful decision it proved to be. “Hello Brother” and “Do Not Disturb” were birthed soon after. They were met with positive reception and recording contract from KeyQaad soon followed, forcing Omah Lay to move to Lagos to expand his fanbase and horizon. That’s the little known part. The rest is history that unfolded—and is still unfolding—right before our eyes.
With “Get Layd” and “What Have We Done”, he established himself as the cream of the crop of new Afro-fusion artistes. His colourful lyrics never fail to paint the most vivid pictures in listenerʼs minds and his infusion of local PH City slangs add a certain touch of uniqueness to his overall style. His sonorous voice has a different appeal than we’re used to, as evidenced by English footballer Jadon Sancho and his friends waxing lyrical about his performance on “Bad Influence”.
All indications point to the fact that Omah Lay is here to stay and he will leave an unforgettable marks in the sands of time, on the continent and beyond. Time will tell just how much of his immense potential he will maximize. Till then, we expectantly await what the 14th Headies’ Next Rated winner has in store for us even as we enjoy the wonderful tunes he has already blessed us with.