Talay Riley
Also known as Tension[1]
Born
Mark Olabanji A. Olayinka A. Orabiyi

(1990-07-10)10 July 1990
London, England
Died 5 June 2026(2026-06-05) (aged 35)
Silvertown, London, England
Genres
  • R&B
  • pop
Occupation
  • Singer-songwriter
Instrument Vocals
Years active 2006–2026[1]
Labels Jive UK (2009–2012)
Sony
RCA
Island (2015–2017)

Mark Olabanji A. Olayinka A. Orabiyi (10 July 1990 – 5 June 2026), known professionally as Tension and later as Talay Riley, was a Grammy Award-winning British singer-songwriter, who had a number of charting singles as a recording artist including his 2011 solo single "Make You Mine" and co-wrote hit singles for Chip, Wilkinson, Khalid and Kehlani among others. He was stabbed to death in June 2026 in Newham, London.[2]

Early life and career

Mark Olabanji A. Olayinka A. Orabiyi was born in London on 10 July 1990.[3][4] From the age of sixteen, he appeared under the stage name Tension as a guest singer on a number of UK rap songs, including a feature on Lightnin's 2006 street single "Hard Life", which was supported by music video television channel Channel U.[1] He subsequently appeared on another of Lightnin's singles from his Young & Gifted mixtape, "Brother Love", as well as three songs on Wretch 32's second mixtape Teachers' Training Day. At the age of 18, he signed his first major publishing deal with Global Publishing.

His first appearance as Talay Riley was in 2009, when he appeared on rapper Chipmunk's single "Look for Me" which peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. For the same album, he co-wrote the song "Oopsy Daisy" for Chipmunk and Ms. D, which reached number one in the UK. He later went on to sign with Major Label Jive/Sony Records. Talay toured with many UK/US artists including Skepta, Usher's Arena tour, and Trey Songz.[5]

In the 2010s and 2020s, he primarily shifted his focus to writing songs for pop and R&B artists, including Dua Lipa, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, Ella Mai, Ellie Goulding and Nick Jonas among others.[6] He and his brother Scribz Riley both won their first Grammy Awards for co-writing the 2020 H.E.R. song "Lights On". Other hits he co-wrote included Wilkinson and Becky Hill's 2013 drum and bass single "Afterglow", certified triple platinum in the United Kingdom and quintuple platinum in New Zealand, Khalid's 2017 single "Young Dumb & Broke", which charted at number 18 in the United States and number 17 in the United Kingdom, and Kehlani's 2025 single "Out the Window".[6] He won six awards from the Broadcast Music Incorporated Foundation during his career, spanning their London Awards, Pop Awards and R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.[6]

Death

Riley was stabbed to death on 5 June 2026 in Silvertown, London at the age of 35.[2][7][8]

Discography

Mixtapes

  • Going to California (2011)

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
 UK
R&B[9]
"Humanoid" 2010 — — Non-album singles
"Sergeant Smash" 2011 — —
"Good As Gold"
(featuring Scorcher)		 — — Going to California
"Make You Mine" 57 17
"Not Enough" 2016 — — Non-album singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
 UK
Dance		 UK
R&B
"Look for Me"
(Chip featuring Talay Riley)		 2009 7 — 3 I Am Chipmunk
"It's All Love"
(Scorcher featuring Talay Riley)		 2012 — — — Non-album single
"Resonance"
(LuvBug featuring Talay Riley)		 2014 13 4 — TBA
"Dirty Love"
(Wilkinson featuring Talay Riley)		 20 5 — Lazers Not Included (Extended Edition)
"Harder"
(Tiësto and Kshmr featuring Talay Riley)		 2017 — — — TBA
"Zero After Zero"[10]
(KRSNA and Kshmr featuring Talay Riley)		 2023 — — — KARAM

Writing discography

Year Artist Album Song
2007 Wretch 32 Teachers' Training Day "Set Him Up"
(featuring Sincere and Tension)
"Cycle"
(featuring Tension)
"Alleyway"
(featuring Tension)
2009 Chipmunk I Am Chipmunk "Beast"
"Look for Me"
(featuring Talay Riley)
"Lose My Life"
(featuring N-Dubz)
"Oopsy Daisy"
2010 Tinie Tempah Disc-Overy "Snap"
2011 Jessie J Who You Are "Who's Laughing Now"
JLS Jukebox "Take You Down"
"Unstoppable"
JPM Moonwalk "Never Give Up"
2012 Ellie Goulding Halcyon "In My City"
Aleks Josh Cruise "Blue"
"Cruise"
"Young Fun & Foolish"
Lawson Chapman Square "Everywhere You Go"
Chris Rene I'm Right Here "Tidal Wave"
Scorcher Non-album single "It's All Love"
(featuring Talay Riley)
"It's All Love (Remix)"
(featuring Kano, Wretch 32, Bashy and Talay Riley)
2013
Big Time Rush 24/Seven "Love Me Again"
Misha B Non-album single "Here's to Everything (Ooh La La)"
Iggy Azalea The New Classic "Bounce"
Rascals Non-album single "Fire Blaze"
Wiley The Ascent "Reload"
2014 Wilkinson Lazers Not Included "Afterglow"
"Dirty Love"
(featuring Talay Riley)
Luke James Luke James "Exit Wounds"
"Time X (Interlude)"
LuvBug Non-album single "Resonance"
(featuring Talay Riley)
2015 Allen Stone Radius "Freedom"
"Barbwire"
Nathan Sykes Unfinished Business "More Than You'll Ever Know"
"Twist"
Austin Mahone Dirty Work "Dirty Work"
Timeflies Just for Fun "Worse Things Than Love"
(featuring Natalie La Rose)
Prince Royce Double Vision "Seal It With A Kiss"
Jess Glynne I Cry When I Laugh "You Can Find Me"
Trey Songz Intermission I & II "Do It Now"
Abraham Mateo Are You Ready? "Are You Ready?"
"Mueve"
Usher TBA "Miracles"
Nick Jonas Nick Jonas 2.0 "Levels"
Pentatonix Pentatonix "Cracked"
Chris Brown Royalty "Zero"
"Fine by Me"
Empire TBC "Powerful"
(Alicia Keys and Jussie Smollett)
2016 Britney Spears Glory "Clumsy"
Brooke Candy Daddy Issues "Happy Days"
Ella Mai Time "She Don't"
(featuring Ty Dolla Sign)
Kelela Hallucinogen "All The Way Down"
Jason Derulo TBC "If It Ain't Love"
Dua Lipa Dua Lipa "Last Dance"
Julian Perretta Karma "I Cry"
Clams Casino 32 Levels "A Breath Away"
(featuring Kelela)
Nathan Sykes Unfinished Business "Give It Up"
(featuring G-Eazy)
"Twist"
2017 Chris Blue TBA "Money on You"
Kelela Take Me Apart "Truth or Dare"
Jorge Blanco TBA "Risky Business"
N/a "Summer Soul"
Ella Mai READY "Anymore"
Fitz and the Tantrums TBA "Fool"
Wilkinson Hypnotic "Flatline"
Chris Brown Heartbreak on a Full Moon "Rock Your Body"
Adrian Marcel GMFU "BLIND"
Khalid American Teen "Young Dumb & Broke"
Common Kings Lost In Paradise "I Want Your Body"
Isac Elliot Faith "She"
H.E.R H.E.R Vol 2 "Lights On"
2018 David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks 7 "Like I Do"
Pretty Much TBA "10,000 Hours"
Ethan Young TBA "Giants"
Craig David The Time Is Now "Talk to Me"
"Armour"
"Talk To Me Pt. 2"
(featuring Ella Mai)
Calum Scott Only Human "Only Human"

References

  1. ^ a b c "HERITAGE: The Late Tension, AKA Talay Riley, Blesses Lightnin's "Hard Life" With Soul-Stirring Vocals, 2006". TRENCH. 6 June 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Pankhurst Avenue Silvertown stabbing – Talay Riley named". Newham Recorder. Newsquest Media Group. 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  3. ^ "When did Talay Riley start making music". Genius. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  4. ^ "Mark Olabanji A O A Orabiyi". FreeBMD. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  5. ^ "Instagram". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "BMI Remembers Singer/Songwriter Talay Riley". BMI Foundation. 9 June 2026.
  7. ^ Ofori, Morgan (8 June 2026). "Stormzy and Oritsé Williams join tributes to musician stabbed to death in east London". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  8. ^ "Britney Spears songwriter Talay Riley killed at 35". spot on news GmbH. 8 June 2026 – via MSN.
  9. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  10. ^ Tagat, Anurag (30 December 2023). "KR$NA Talks Collaborating with KSHMR, Seedhe Maut and Looks Back at 2023". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 3 January 2026.