Austin Iornongu Iwar
(born 9 June 1997), better known by his stage name Tay Iwar, is a Nigerian
neo soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer and
sound engineer. Iwar signed a licensing deal in 2018 with
Soulection, and a publishing deal in 2022 with
Warner Chappell Music. He founded the Bantu Collective with his brothers Suté Iwar, and Terna Iwar, and he is a pioneer of the
Alté music genre.
He came into the music scene with a critically acclaimed mixtape album ''Passport'', which earned him a nomination at the 3rd and 4th editions of
Nigerian Teens Choice Awards in the Choice Mixtape/EP category in 2014 and 2015. On 23 November 2021,
Wizkid ''
Made in Lagos'' deluxe studio album, was nominated at the
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
and earned him, a special recognition from
The Recording Academy.
Early life
Austin Iornongu Iwar was born on 9 June 1997 in
Marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
, and raised between
Lagos and
Abuja
Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...
. Austin, is the son of Austin Iwar (Father), and Vivian Iwar (Mother). His early influence in music, came from his elder brother Suté Iwar. Austin began creating music at age fourteen, using the music digital software
FL Studio
FL Studio (previously known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line.
FL Studio features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. The program is avail ...
.
In 2015, he spoke about his journey at
TED conference in
Rivers State.
Career
In 2014, Tay Iwar (formerly Tay) came into the music scene with his brother Suté Iwar. Same year, they created Bantu Collective, an entertainment company in Abuja, for recording, and music distribution,
with a photo studio, headed by Terna Iwar. Shortly after, Iwar released his mixtape ''Passport'', on 20 April 2014, through BANTU, and launched his music career on
SoundCloud, with a cover of
Jai Paul "Zion Wolf", as Tay. Which earned him a nomination at 4th
Nigerian Teens Choice Awards for Choice Song of the Year in 2015.
On 22 April 2016, he released a seven-track ep titled ''Renascentia'', featuring Sute Iwar. In 2017, "Equestrian Love" from the extended play Renascentia was on the soundtrack list of
Skinny Girl in Transit season 3. Shortly after the premiere of
Skinny Girl in Transit season 3 in February, "Equestrian Love" gained popularity and began trending on
Twitter, shortly after
M.I posted the song, of the moment. On 29 April 2017, he opens for
Aṣa, at Encore "Live In Lagos" Concert 2017 at Eko Convention Center in Lagos.
In 2018, Tay Iwar signed a single publshing deal with
Universal Music Group Nigeria
Universal Music Group Nigeria (UMGNG) is the West African division of the global record label Universal Music Group. Founded in 2017, it has its corporate headquarters located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The label has signed at least seve ...
, alongside
Mr Eazi,
Tekno,
WurlD,
Cina Soul
Christie Quincyna Quarcoopome also known in showbiz as Cina Soul is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and recording artist. A finalist at the 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Icons competition held in Accra, Ghana.
Early life
Christie Quincyna Quarcoopome ...
,
Stonebwoy, and
Vanessa Mdee. On 30 January 2018, he released "Video Star", a self-produced track, and his first single under
Universal Music Group Nigeria
Universal Music Group Nigeria (UMGNG) is the West African division of the global record label Universal Music Group. Founded in 2017, it has its corporate headquarters located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The label has signed at least seve ...
. On 3 February 2018, he released the visual to "Video Star", directed by
Director K, for
Universal Music Group Nigeria
Universal Music Group Nigeria (UMGNG) is the West African division of the global record label Universal Music Group. Founded in 2017, it has its corporate headquarters located in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. The label has signed at least seve ...
. "Video Star" was shortlisted among the 10 Best Nigerian Songs of the Month, by
OkayAfrica
OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has become ...
. On 17 August 2018, he was credited the record producer, and sound engineer of "504", a song by Jon Ogah, a fake housemate at the 2017 reality television show,
Big Brother Naija season 2.
On 26 August 2018, Tay Iwar unveiled his publishing and distribution deal with
Soulection, with the release of ''1997'', a collective of singles including "Space", "Sugardaddy", and "Miracle Girl", under
Soulection, as the lead singles off his debut album ''GEMINI'', released on 29 March 2019.
The album features guess appearance from
Cruel Santino, Preyé, Odunsi (The Engine), and Suté Iwar.
"Utero" from the album, earned him a nomination for
Best Vocal Performance (Male) at the 14th edition of
The Headies. On 13 April 2019, "Diamond", and "Keeps" from GEMINI, studio album was aired on
Soulection radio. In 2020, he featured on
Wizkid ''
Made in Lagos'' album, on "True Love", with
Projexx.
In 2021, following the release of the deluxe version on 27 August 2021, he co-wrote "Steady" from the deluxe version, which earned him his first nomination at the
64th Annual Grammy Awards, for
Best Global Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...
. Same year, he co-wrote "System"
for
Dave, from ''
We're All Alone in This Together'' studio album, and was featured on
Tiwa Savage ''
Water & Garri'' EP on "Special Kinda". On 1 December 2021, Tay, performed "True Love" with
Wizkid, for the first time at Made in Lagos Tour in
London at
The O2 Arena.
On 14 January 2022, he signed a worldwide publishing deal with
Warner Chappell Music,
through a joint venture with The Flight Club. On 29 March 2022, Wizkid released the music video for "True Love", featuring Tay Iwar, and Projexx. "True Love" was directed by
Nabil Elderkin, and starring Jamaican-Canadian model
Winnie Harlow, and
Wizkid.
Discography
Mixtapes
Studio albums
EPs
Other charted songs
Accolades
Tours
* Made in Lagos Tour (2022)
References
Living people
1997 births
Nigerian alté singers
English-language singers from Nigeria
Nigerian rhythm and blues singers
Singers from Lagos
People from Lagos
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