Adil Omar

Adil Omar is a Pakistani rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and filmmaker from Islamabad. He works as a solo artist while also providing songwriting and production services for other musicians.

Early life and education

Born in London on 17 May 1991, Omar grew up in Islamabad. His childhood involved significant personal challenges after he lost his father at age 10 due to alcoholism. He saved his mother's life when he was 11 years old. In 1998, his father was falsely imprisoned—an event that later became public through prison letters posted to Omar's social media.

He struggled with a stutter during his youth. He eventually learned to manage this condition through the practice of rapping. After attending multiple schools, he dropped out at age 17 to pursue music professionally.

Career

Omar was raised on classic rock such as Pink Floyd. He encountered hip-hop at age 5 through Tupac Shakur and later felt inspired by Dr. Dre at age 8. By the age of 9, he began writing lyrics after listening to the Wu-Tang Clan album The W. He started recording and producing music when he was 13.

In 2008, B-Real of Cypress Hill caught his attention and invited him to Los Angeles. This meeting helped launch his career. Between 2010 and 2012, he released the street album The Mushroom Cloud Effect. This project included tracks produced by Soul Assassins affiliates like DJ Lethal and Fredwreck. His song "Paki Rambo" gained notable attention alongside coverage from BBC and CNN.

Omar formed the songwriting and production duo SNKM in early 2015. He made his directorial debut with the music video for "Nighat & Paras." The duo performed at SXSW and collaborated with Diplo and Elliphant in 2016. During this period, he also released the solo EP Margalla King which featured Bun B. He toured with artists such as Skrillex and Major Lazer until early 2018.

His self-produced debut studio album, Transcendence, arrived on 8 July 2018. This 10-song visual album featured guests like Tim Armstrong and Shaman Durek. Omar included recreations of 1970s and 1980s Lollywood soundtracks by hosting live sessions with original creators Ustad Tafu and M. Arshad. He released an instrumental version of the album on 8 October 2018.

In 2019, he released the single "Mastery" on 7 February. This was followed by "Mission" on 28 April. On 30 November 2019, Omar headlined the first Pepsi hip-hop show in Pakistan for Pepsi Black. He released "The Great Unraveling" on 12 January 2020, which featured Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio. His track "Alien" followed on 22 March 2020.

Personal life

Omar lives with multiple forms of synesthesia. His most powerful form is sound-color synesthesia, which causes him to see colors when he hears tones. He describes his production as audio paintings because he cannot comprehend sound as a purely auditory experience. This condition makes driving distracting for him.

A near-death experience occurred in 2012 when he was almost electrocuted in the shower. He discusses this incident on his debut album, Transcendence.