He’s worked with the cream of US neo-soul and is seen as a national treasure by his peers – so why is Omar underrated? From hits to label struggles, he revisits the highs and lows
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mar’s fans are united in believing that he’s a genius that should have been a superstar. “The undisputed architect of what we now know as neo-soul”, goes one YouTube comment, acknowledging that the British musician’s albums predate the genre’s US benchmarks such as D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar and Erykah Badu’s Baduizm. Another: “Really don’t know why Omar didn’t go on to be big worldwide.” And then: “D’Angelo was the closest they [America] had to someone of Omar’s calibre and even he pales in comparison from a wholly musical standpoint.”
“That’s dangerous talk!”, the musician laughs when I relay the last quote back to him. But 40 years into his career, he’s proud of his musical legacy. “When I started out at 14, I said I wanted to make music that, as soon as you hear the first four bars, you know it’s me,” he says. “I think I’ve achieved that.” His other goal? “To make pure bangers.”
Born Omar Lyefook, the 56-year-old is an MBE-decorated multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and sublime singer, who has scored a musical and acted in EastEnders. Stevie Wonder wanted to write a No 1 for him, and he’s worked with the neo-soul era’s US greats, including Badu, Common, Jill Scott and the late Angie Stone. While he may not have their profile, he’s put out music since the mid-80s and his importance is acknowledged not just by YouTube commenters but by successive generations of tastemakers and artists, from livestreaming sensation DJ AG – who recently did a pop-up gig with Omar outside a London McDonald’s – to Children of Zeus. As Konny Kon of that Manchester neo-soul duo puts it: “Omar is a national treasure who laid the foundations. His production should be recognised just as much as his vocals.”
