DISCUSSING SVNTEEN: OBAI OPENS UP ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS BEHIND HIS NEW EP
At only 18 years old Obai is already making waves in the music industry, solidifying his place as the next big Gen Z star. Combining his Sudanese roots, R&B and pop flare, as well as a passion for storytelling, he creates captivating songs that stay true to his identity. The Arizona native has just released his anticipated EP, svnteen, following the success of his two last singles, “girls like you” and “dancefloor.”
We caught up with Obai at a press conference with 1824 to learn more about the EP as well as what his craft means to him.
“In general I want my music to act as a beacon of light. I want people to look at my stuff and be like ‘if he can do it I could probably do it as well.’ I feel like art in general is a powerful gift. I feel like certain people can express themselves in certain ways - me I can express myself through music.”
During the conference, Obai was very open and personable, feeling confident in his identity as an artist. His brand new album features ten tracks that complement one another. Most of the songs combine R&B, hip hop, and pop influences similar to artists like The Weekend and Joji. That being said, it's important to note that each one has its own personality that showcases Obai's range of emotions and life experiences.
It’s all about the details for Obai, even down to cover art. The artwork for this project is really eye-catching and representative of where the artist is in his musical journey right now. As you can see below, he is standing in the center while everyone around him is in motion; it embodies Obai stepping into his own, making this his moment to shine. The touches of graffiti and cement floors means that he is outside experiencing the world, and then coming back to the recording studio to relay his newfound insight back to us. Him looking directly into the camera creates a moment where he is intentionally trying to connect on a personal level with his audience.
Being Gen Z, Obai has entered the music industry at a turning point where how musicians put out music is shifting. The internet has provided more opportunities to be seen, and younger artists to build platforms on their own. You are now competing with not only other signed musicians, but also independent artists to garner the attention of audiences around the world. By putting in a lot of labor and heart in his recording sessions, Obai embraces the music-making process, and therefore, wants more people to be a part of it:
“I really genuinely love making music…Miami is like this BIG place. Every time I’ve been to Miami, I’ve never really experienced it. I’ve only really been in the studio. And the label will tell me to get out of the studio. They’ll try to get me out. I’d rather be making music. So I generally love making songs and I like trying to tell stories with music or trying to relate to people. I love genuinely making music. So I don't generally think that is a fear of mine - seeing more people make music. Which is cool, if anything.”
Obai had to navigate the business at a very young age, having started his career during his mid-teens. From dealing with label executives to signing contracts, there are a lot of steps that go into being an artist. It’s so easy to get lost on the way to success and make mistakes due to a limited amount of experience. Obai finds that he can stay grounded and make the best executive decisions by keeping his support team close to him:
“I've been going on these label trips and stuff like that for a couple years now so I’ve had my mom be on every trip. My mom has been with me and that has just been the norm after that. Even after I turned 18… So I keep my mom with me, I keep of course my friends with me. My best friend, he's my creative director. I met him in the sixth grade in art class. So he’s like my brother. He keeps me grounded for sure. And of course they are never shy to flame me. I’m still young so they be roasting me.”
As for the references behind his work, Obai noted that he draws a lot of inspiration for his material from artists such as Frank Ocean and PARTYNEXTDOOR. You can hear the parallelisms between the music on svnteen through its melodies, percussion, and lyricism. Nonetheless, he strives to make his sound unique and autonomous with his own story. For example, he often looks back to his identity and heritage:
“Sudan holds a super precious place in my heart. Seeing my parents go as hard as they did really inspired me to follow in their footsteps. I look up to them and I want to be as strong as them when I'm older. They shaped me, my brother, and my sister into better humans.”
The biggest takeaway from the conference was that the most important aspect of music, and life in general, for Obai is authenticity. He beautifully put into words his feelings in regards to that:
“I think authenticity is one of the biggest things, one of the most powerful things you can possibly come across to a person. Especially if you're making music. So if you come off authentic of the top, you already have a great personal connection to the person you are trying to make the music for. Not even that. If you're trying to make music for yourself it's more of a chance that other people will be more lenient to that… then in general, I think that it's super huge to be your biggest self.”
He continued by establishing in what ways authenticity plays as part of his own craft:
“With me, I've always loved to build a universe around every release. What that means to me is making a bunch of roll out clips and a bunch of storyline videos to have everything culminate together. So you can kinda tell what I’m trying to go for when I'm making the music that I'm making. So you can kind of come into my world…When I look at the people I look up to, I look at their releases and what they've done for every project or every song or every video and it looks like I'm entering a universe every time. You feel me? It feels like I'm entering their part of their story at that part of that time.”
To learn more about Obai's life, first, listen to svnteen (available on all streaming platforms), and then make sure to follow him his social media:
Big thanks to 1824 for having us at this press conference. You can find more information about them here:
