Tay Iwar

Austin Iornongu Iwar was born on 9 June 1997 in Marina, and raised between Lagos and Abuja. His early influence in music, came from his elder brother Suté Iwar. Austin began creating music at age fourteen, using the digital music software FL Studio.^[2]

On April 22, 2016, Tay Iwar released a seven-track EP titled Renascentia, featuring Suté Iwar.^[7] The EP included the track "Equestrian Love," which was later featured on the soundtrack of the third season of Skinny Girl in Transit in 2017.^[8] Following the premiere of the series, the song gained popularity after being shared by artist M.I. On April 29, 2017,^[9] Iwar opened for Aṣa at the Encore "Live In Lagos" Concert held at the Eko Convention Center in Lagos.^[10]

In 2019, Iwar released his studio album GEMINI, which includes guest appearances from Cruel Santino, Preyé, Odunsi (The Engine), and Suté Iwar.^[11] The track "Utero" earned Iwar a nomination for Best Vocal Performance (Male) at the 14th edition of The Headies. On April 13, 2019, his songs "Diamond" and "Keeps" from GEMINI were featured on Soulection radio.^[12]

In 2020, Iwar collaborated with Wizkid on the track "True Love," alongside Projexx, which later earned him his first Grammy nomination.^[13] He also featured on Omah Lay's Boy Alone album in 2022. On March 29, 2022, Wizkid released the music video for "True Love," featuring both Tay Iwar and Projexx.^[14]

In 2022, Iwar was nominated for "Artist of the Year" (Rest of Africa) at the South Africa Music Awards for his EP Love and Isolation. He contributed to Wizkid's Made in Lagos: Deluxe Edition (2020) with songwriting credits for "True Love" and "Steady," and he worked on More Love, Less Ego (2022) with songwriting credits for "Deep" and "Frames."^[15] He also co-produced Burna Boy's "Alone," featured on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack album (2022), and contributed to Dave's track "System" with Wizkid, which peaked at number one on the Official Afrobeat Chart. In late 2023, Iwar received two Grammy nominations for his work on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.^[16]

On June 17, 2022, Iwar released the single "Bad4u," followed by a music video on June 19, 2022. In 2023, he released "Healing," the lead single from his EP Summer Breeze, with its music video premiering on March 3, 2023. On May 11, 2023, he released "Undercover Lover," the second single from Summer Breeze. On June 8, 2023, he released.^[17] featuring Juls, which was subsequently followed by the official release of Summer Breeze on June 9, 2023, through CoolSweat. The EP features collaborations with Juls, Twelve XII, IDK, Knucks, and Kojey Radical.^[18]

In 2024, Tay Iwar featured on Headie One's The Last One album on the track "Guns & Money". He also released the second installment of his GOLD EP with Le Mav on July 12, 2024.^[19]