The Nigerian Afro-fusion star joins Clean Bandit and Chlöe on “Company”, a collaboration that brings together three distinct musical worlds while marking another step in his global evolution.
Omah Lay has never sounded like an artist content with staying in one place.
From making music in Port Harcourt’s Marine Base shanty town to becoming one of Nigeria’s most recognisable global music exports, the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and producer has built a career around emotional honesty, distinctive melodies and a willingness to push his sound into unfamiliar territory.
Now, he is joining forces with British Grammy-winning collective Clean Bandit and Grammy-nominated pop-R&B artist Chlöe on their new single, Company.
Released as Clean Bandit’s latest offering and the second release from the group’s independent label, CB X, the track brings together Clean Bandit’s electronic and dance-pop production, Chlöe’s R&B-inflected vocals and Omah Lay’s signature Afro-fusion delivery.
The result is a song centred on something deceptively simple: the desire to be with someone.
With its warm melodies and dancefloor-ready production, Company explores themes of desire, longing and human connection. Omah Lay’s presence adds another layer to the track, bringing the emotional directness that has become central to his music.
For the Nigerian star, however, the collaboration is the result of a relationship that has been developing for years.
“When I first met Jack and Grace in 2022, we wrote a song in Jack’s house. ‘Company’ came later,” Omah Lay says.
That early meeting with Clean Bandit members Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto eventually evolved into Company, with Chatto revealing that the group had been working with Nigerian artists and producers for several years and had written multiple songs with Omah Lay.
The collaboration arrives at an interesting point in Omah Lay’s career.
His story began in Port Harcourt, where he spent his teenage years making music in Marine Base. By 2019, he had established himself as a local rap producer. A year later, he stepped forward as a vocalist, releasing his Get Layd EP and quickly gaining international attention.
That momentum continued with his debut album, Boy Alone, released in 2022. The project featured Justin Bieber and helped establish Omah Lay as an artist capable of moving comfortably between Nigeria’s music scene and an increasingly international audience.
Since then, his collaborations have stretched across borders and genres, with artists including Davido, Kehlani, Myke Towers, Ozuna, Tems and Tyla joining his growing catalogue.
But his current chapter is less about simply expanding his audience and more about understanding himself.
His latest album, Clarity of Mind, explores that tension. Across the project, Omah Lay turns inward, confronting both the highs and lows of his journey while experimenting with alternative and electronic sounds alongside the Afro-fusion foundation that first introduced him to the world.
It is an evolution summed up in his own words: “I now know what my peace is. I want to start from scratch in front of everybody.”
Company therefore arrives as more than another international collaboration. It places Omah Lay alongside artists operating in a different musical tradition while demonstrating just how fluid his sound has become.
The accompanying music video, written and directed by Clean Bandit’s Grace Chatto and Jack Patterson, was filmed at a former state hospital in the Los Angeles area. The visual explores the tension between solitude and togetherness, with architectural dance sequences woven through the building’s interior and exterior.
For Omah Lay, the collaboration also represents a continuation of the cross-cultural musical exchange that has shaped his career.
From Port Harcourt to Los Angeles, and from Nigerian Afro-fusion to British electronic pop and American R&B, Company brings three musical identities into the same space.
And for an artist who has spent the past few years moving steadily beyond the boundaries of his beginnings, that sense of connection feels particularly fitting.
