Obie’s self-titled EP is about possibility. The street savvy R&B singer wri… Read Full Bio ↴Obie’s self-titled EP is about possibility. The street savvy R&B singer writes about injustice, respect, love, beating the odds and building your own future. A native of Jamaica, now based in Toronto, the 23-year-old has a perspective that gives his hip-hop-tinged soul an edge, a realness, with light at the end of the tunnel.
On the four original songs, he addresses the wrong turns of “Street Life,” violent tendencies in “War,” love for his late grandmother in “Broken Link” and equality in “Born To Be Free.” Hitting on topics with which many can identify or understand, the penetrating song “Street Life,” produced by CoLa, became an immediate hit on Toronto's urban radio station Flow 93.5 FM. The track made it to #1 within weeks, and held its place at the top for four consecutive weeks!
“‘Street Life’ is my own experience with some people I hang around with, the things I see happening here in Canada,” explains Obie. “In Jamaica, it’s a different way of life down there and to come up here and see that people are suffering from the same things that we are suffering from there, and they have all these opportunities, but they’re still on the street trying, it’s understandable because some people aren’t coming from the best homes. They don’t have role models to look up to. I touch on all of that in the song.”
Born Mohanza Kelly in Jamaica, he was nicknamed “Obie” by his grandfather who won a Derby bet with a racehorse named Obie Wan Kenobi and declared his young grandson a good luck charm. His upbringing wasn’t privileged, but he didn’t know any better. “I just took it how it came,” he says.
Obie grew up in the church and has strong Christian beliefs, wanting to make a difference. He started singing in the church, eventually leading his youth choir, but he was also drawn to dancehall, soul and reggae music. “The message in reggae songs is something that I can relate to my own life,” says Obie. “Back in Jamaica, we were barely making ends meet and that’s what reggae music is — you sing about the struggles that people go through.”
In 2001, at age 16, Obie’s mother, who was already living in Toronto, brought him and his sister to Canada. He had graduated from high school in Jamaica and planned to go to university here, but discovered that the system didn’t acknowledge Jamaican education as equal. Obie had to return to grade 10 and was understandably discouraged. “I started falling off,” he admits. “So I surrounded myself with music to get my life back on track.”
Obie soon found out about Central Tech high school, which had a remarkable music program, including two in-house recording studios on which to learn. He transferred mid semester from another school in Rexdale and immersed himself in recording engineering. “I’d hang around the studio and learn stuff in the environment,” he says. “Being in Canada, I saw the different possibilities for things that I could do with myself and I started reflecting.” Obie cut some tracks at Central Tech, including “Keep The Dream Alive” to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. After graduating from Central Tech he worked at The Remix Project, a government-funded studio which allows up-and-comers to sign up, come in for an interview process, and get approval to record there for free. There, he cut such tracks as “Street Life,” “War” and “One In A Million.” Now he is an audio engineer at Toronto studio The Loft, where he finished up his debut EP, taking “War” and “Street Life” and combining them with “Broken Link” and “Born To Be Free.”
“War” is a killer dancehall-flavoured reggae-based track featuring rapper Krymes. “I can only write about the environment I see. Every summer is like a season for violence,” Obie says of the lyrical inspiration. “As soon as the weather gets a little warm, people start getting crazy. So the way I approached the track is ‘Why is this happening, people walking on the street beefing on each other for no reason?’”
“Broken Link,” he wrote for his grandma who passed away in 1998 in Jamaica. “I still have trouble with it because I grew up with her,” he says. “She was my mentor, my mother, everything in one. She would really look out for me and when she passed I wasn’t even there. I was coming from school and it was tragic the way I found out and it stuck with me. It’s saying if I get the chance to meet her again, how much I would tell her I love her.”
For “Born To Be Free,” Obie sampled Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have A Dream" speech and used snippets throughout the song. “He’s saying everybody’s one, we should be able to fight together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that one day we’ll be free — that’s the parts of his speech I used,” says Obie.
And Obie too, even at 23, would like to make a difference. “As a person and as a musician, I’m a big advocate of humanitarian acts. I think my purpose is to help the less fortunate in any way I can and use music as a tool to really get to them, as a medium to communicate with them,” says Obie. “So I see myself in the future owning some enterprises, but at the same time I’m going to go back to my home country or to Africa or wherever help is needed and try and set up a studio. I’m trying to use music as a tool to promote positive change.”
On the four original songs, he addresses the wrong turns of “Street Life,” violent tendencies in “War,” love for his late grandmother in “Broken Link” and equality in “Born To Be Free.” Hitting on topics with which many can identify or understand, the penetrating song “Street Life,” produced by CoLa, became an immediate hit on Toronto's urban radio station Flow 93.5 FM. The track made it to #1 within weeks, and held its place at the top for four consecutive weeks!
“‘Street Life’ is my own experience with some people I hang around with, the things I see happening here in Canada,” explains Obie. “In Jamaica, it’s a different way of life down there and to come up here and see that people are suffering from the same things that we are suffering from there, and they have all these opportunities, but they’re still on the street trying, it’s understandable because some people aren’t coming from the best homes. They don’t have role models to look up to. I touch on all of that in the song.”
Born Mohanza Kelly in Jamaica, he was nicknamed “Obie” by his grandfather who won a Derby bet with a racehorse named Obie Wan Kenobi and declared his young grandson a good luck charm. His upbringing wasn’t privileged, but he didn’t know any better. “I just took it how it came,” he says.
Obie grew up in the church and has strong Christian beliefs, wanting to make a difference. He started singing in the church, eventually leading his youth choir, but he was also drawn to dancehall, soul and reggae music. “The message in reggae songs is something that I can relate to my own life,” says Obie. “Back in Jamaica, we were barely making ends meet and that’s what reggae music is — you sing about the struggles that people go through.”
In 2001, at age 16, Obie’s mother, who was already living in Toronto, brought him and his sister to Canada. He had graduated from high school in Jamaica and planned to go to university here, but discovered that the system didn’t acknowledge Jamaican education as equal. Obie had to return to grade 10 and was understandably discouraged. “I started falling off,” he admits. “So I surrounded myself with music to get my life back on track.”
Obie soon found out about Central Tech high school, which had a remarkable music program, including two in-house recording studios on which to learn. He transferred mid semester from another school in Rexdale and immersed himself in recording engineering. “I’d hang around the studio and learn stuff in the environment,” he says. “Being in Canada, I saw the different possibilities for things that I could do with myself and I started reflecting.” Obie cut some tracks at Central Tech, including “Keep The Dream Alive” to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. After graduating from Central Tech he worked at The Remix Project, a government-funded studio which allows up-and-comers to sign up, come in for an interview process, and get approval to record there for free. There, he cut such tracks as “Street Life,” “War” and “One In A Million.” Now he is an audio engineer at Toronto studio The Loft, where he finished up his debut EP, taking “War” and “Street Life” and combining them with “Broken Link” and “Born To Be Free.”
“War” is a killer dancehall-flavoured reggae-based track featuring rapper Krymes. “I can only write about the environment I see. Every summer is like a season for violence,” Obie says of the lyrical inspiration. “As soon as the weather gets a little warm, people start getting crazy. So the way I approached the track is ‘Why is this happening, people walking on the street beefing on each other for no reason?’”
“Broken Link,” he wrote for his grandma who passed away in 1998 in Jamaica. “I still have trouble with it because I grew up with her,” he says. “She was my mentor, my mother, everything in one. She would really look out for me and when she passed I wasn’t even there. I was coming from school and it was tragic the way I found out and it stuck with me. It’s saying if I get the chance to meet her again, how much I would tell her I love her.”
For “Born To Be Free,” Obie sampled Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have A Dream" speech and used snippets throughout the song. “He’s saying everybody’s one, we should be able to fight together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that one day we’ll be free — that’s the parts of his speech I used,” says Obie.
And Obie too, even at 23, would like to make a difference. “As a person and as a musician, I’m a big advocate of humanitarian acts. I think my purpose is to help the less fortunate in any way I can and use music as a tool to really get to them, as a medium to communicate with them,” says Obie. “So I see myself in the future owning some enterprises, but at the same time I’m going to go back to my home country or to Africa or wherever help is needed and try and set up a studio. I’m trying to use music as a tool to promote positive change.”
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Obie Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Obie:
A Toda Hora Si corres mucho te resbalas dijo el viejo Pero mi inmadurez…
Adrenaline rush Come on Get the fuck Get up, get up Get the fuck up,…
Antes Jamás imaginé que llegara este día Donde apostaría yo toda m…
Así Me Siento Hoy Son las cinco menos diez Why todavía nada Aún ni he pagado…
Confesiones El llega con su pinta de galán Un reloj de esos…
dont come down Don't come down, things will always work out Don't come down…
Intro I gotta leave this shit alone…
Me cansé Siéntate conmigo Ya llego la noche y siento frío Quiero habl…
Otro Dia why me quede dormido why cuando casi soñaba me desperto dese…
Paco Delirando en las aceras llenas de ironía De repente llega Pa…
Setup Bitch I see you 'Cause you know I know you Yeah, I…
Todo el Año Y llega Enero con Febrero Y me la paso recordando los…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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just a normal human
I am not having the best day today but this video made me feel better. Thanks for another amazing video buddy!
Ayden Jackson
@Titus Tyson instablaster =)
toriya elbattah
@Ayden Jackson ppp
toriya elbattah
@Ayden Jackson56p4
A persun that has a ridiculously long profile name
I’m almost certain O.B’s curiosity will kill him XD
Kim Dekiado Jimenez
I love camping too 💖💜
Alexa playZ food
My favorite part is when beautiful OB zoomed in the mood
Ioulietta Alambriti
That was my favourite too
Michael Davis
Moon
Rapper Phill
What is a mood