Omah Lay is an award-winning songwriter, singer and record producer who is credited with several hit songs such as Bad Influence, You and Attention. In this article, we will discuss the biography of this Rivers State-born entertainer, right from his childhood up until now as an award-winning act signed to KeyQaad. Read on.
Omah Lay’s biography would be discussed below:
-
Early Life and Education
Omah Lay, whose real name is Stanley Omah Didia, is a native of the Ikwerre Local Government Area, in Rivers State. He was born in Port Harcourt on May 19, 1997. Omah Lay spent most of his childhood in Marine Base, Port Harcourt, where he obtained his elementary and secondary education. He attended Comprehensive High School for his secondary school education.
Omah Lay’s interest in music was ignited right from an early age because he was born into a family that had practiced music. Omah Lay’s grandfather served as a percussionist for Celestine Ukwu, the legendary Highlife singer. His dad, on the other hand, played the drums, and although he didn’t reach such heights as his dad, he still was well known within his locality.
As a teen, Omah Lay was part of a rap group. He went by the stage name, “Lil King” at that time. Then, he began writing songs and producing music, however, he was largely uncredited for the works he did. After secondary school, Omah Lay applied to study Hotel and Hospitality Management at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) but he dropped out to focus on music, only after a few semesters.
-
Age
Omah Lay was born on May 19, 1997, so by May 19, 2023, he will turn 26 years old.
-
Omah Lay’s Career History
Omah Lay began writing and producing music at quite a young age. However, most of the songs he produced went largely uncredited. In 2019, Omah Lay self-produced and released Do Not Disturb in April of that year. A month later, in May, he also independently produced and released Hello Brother.
In just two months after he released Do Not Disturb, KeqQaad approached Omah Lay with a record deal, which he accepted and signed on to the record label in June 2019. Immediately after signing for KeyQaad, Omah Lay took a seven-month break to work on his debut extended playlist project, Get Layd. During this seven-month break, Omah Lay stayed away from social media, focusing all his attention on the project.
He released Bad Influence, the first song of the EP, in January 2020. In Bad Influence, Omah Lay spoke about his lifestyle in Lagos since moving and getting signed to KeyQaad. The song was widely received across Nigeria, and by the end of 2020, Bad Influence was the most Nigerian song on Apple Music.
On Valentine’s Day 2020, Omah Lay released You. The song enjoyed massive airplay across Nigeria and other African countries. The Get Layd EP, which contained five songs, was finally released on May 22, 2020, through KeyQaad and Sire Records. The five songs of the EP include Lo Lo, Ye Ye Ye, Bad Influence, You and Damn. The EP peaked at number 1 on the Apple Music Nigeria chart, and all five songs of the EP reached the top 15 on the Apple Music Nigeria charts. You peaked at number 1 on the Nigerian Apple Music charts.
Following the success of his debut EP, in October 2020, Olamide enlisted the help of Omah Lay on Infinity, a track off Carpe Diem, the eleventh studio album. Infinity reached the top of the Apple Music chart for Nigeria. In November 2020, Omah Lay released What Have We Done, his second EP. The EP contained five songs, all of which reached the top 12 of the Apple Music Nigeria charts. Godly, one of the songs on the EP, peaked at number 1 on the Apple Music charts for Nigeria. Other songs on the EP include Cant Relate, Confession, My Bebe, and Damn remix.
2020 was one of the best years in Omah Lay’s career as he was nominated in four categories of The Headies Award, Eventually winning the Next Rated Award. He was also included in the BBC Radio 1Xtra annual “Hot for 2021” list. In addition, Omah Lay was listed among Montreux Jazz Festival’s “20 artists to watch in 2021”, as well as the BET Amplified International Artist of the month for November 2020, and much more international recognition.
The following year, 2021, Omah Lay worked with several Nigerian acts, such as being featured alongside Alpha P on Masterkraft’s official remix of Peaches, Justin Bieber’s single. He also released a single in July 2021, titled Understand.
In March 2022, Omah Lay collaborated with Justin Beiber to release Attention, which would go on to become Omah Lay’s first charting song. On July 15, 2022, Omah Lay, through KeyQaad and Sire Records, dropped his first album titled Boy Alone. The album contained 14 songs with guest appearances from Justin Beiber and Tay Iwar. The songs include I, Soso, Woman, Bend You, Recognize, I’m a Mess, Safe Heaven, Understand, Temptations, How to Luv, Purple Song, Attention, Never Forget and Tell Everybody.
Omah Lay has been featured by several artists from Nigeria and other African countries such as Ajebo Hustlers, Gyakie, DJ Neptune, Joeboy, and Bella Shmurda.
Remember we stated that Omah Lay also produces music. He’s worked on Kidoben Ace’s Caught Up; Klug Ali’s Opium; Sikaboi’s One Day; Moveek’s Flossin’ ; and Jhay Jhay’s Welcum Party. Omah Lay has also produced some of his songs such as Confession, Lo Lo, Bad Influence, Do Not Disturb and Hello Brother.
-
Awards and Recognition
Here are the awards Omah Lay has won so far:
- Next Rated Award – The Headies Awards (2020)
- Most Played Song Award for Godly – Net Honours (2021)
- Break Out Act of the Year Award- Afro X Digital Awards (2021)
-
Net Worth
According to various websites we consulted, we put Omah Lay’s estimated net worth at $500,000, however, this figure can’t be verified.