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.
Early life and career Mark Olabanji A. Olayinka A. Orabiyi was born in London on 10 July 1990. 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. 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.
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. 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". 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.
Death Riley was stabbed to death on 5 June 2026 in Silvertown, London at the age of 35. A man was arrested on suspicion of murder but was later released without charge.
Discography Mixtapes Going to California (2011)
Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumUKUKR&B"Humanoid"2010 — — rowspan="2" "Sergeant Smash"2011 — —"Good As Gold" — —Going to California"Make You Mine" 57 17"Not Enough" 2016 — —
As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumUKUKDanceUKR&B"Look for Me" 2009 7 — 3 I Am Chipmunk"It's All Love" 2012 — — — "Resonance"2014 13 4 — "Dirty Love" 20 5 — Lazers Not Included (Extended Edition)"Harder" 2017 — — — "Zero After Zero"2023———KARAM
Writing discography
YearArtistAlbumSong2007Wretch 32Teachers' Training Day"Set Him Up""Cycle""Alleyway"2009ChipmunkI Am Chipmunk"Beast""Look for Me""Lose My Life""Oopsy Daisy"2010Tinie TempahDisc-Overy"Snap"2011Jessie JWho You Are"Who's Laughing Now"JLSJukebox"Take You Down""Unstoppable"JPMMoonwalk"Never Give Up"2012Ellie GouldingHalcyon"In My City"Aleks JoshCruise"Blue""Cruise""Young Fun & Foolish"LawsonChapman Square"Everywhere You Go"Chris ReneI'm Right Here"Tidal Wave"Scorcherrowspan="2" "It's All Love""It's All Love (Remix)"2013Big Time Rush24/Seven"Love Me Again"Misha B"Here's to Everything (Ooh La La)"Iggy AzaleaThe New Classic"Bounce"Rascals "Fire Blaze"WileyThe Ascent"Reload"2014WilkinsonLazers Not Included"Afterglow""Dirty Love"Luke JamesLuke James"Exit Wounds""Time X (Interlude)"LuvBug "Resonance"2015Allen StoneRadius"Freedom""Barbwire"Nathan SykesUnfinished Business"More Than You'll Ever Know""Twist"Austin Mahone Dirty Work"Dirty Work"TimefliesJust for Fun"Worse Things Than Love"Prince RoyceDouble Vision"Seal It With A Kiss"Jess GlynneI Cry When I Laugh"You Can Find Me"Trey SongzIntermission I & II"Do It Now"Abraham MateoAre You Ready?"Are You Ready?""Mueve"Usher"Miracles"Nick JonasNick Jonas 2.0"Levels"PentatonixPentatonix"Cracked"Chris BrownRoyalty"Zero""Fine by Me"EmpireTBC"Powerful"2016Britney SpearsGlory"Clumsy"Brooke CandyDaddy Issues"Happy Days"Ella MaiTime"She Don't"KelelaHallucinogen"All The Way Down"Jason DeruloTBC"If It Ain't Love"Dua LipaDua Lipa"Last Dance"Julian PerrettaKarma"I Cry"Clams Casino32 Levels"A Breath Away"Nathan SykesUnfinished Business"Give It Up""Twist"2017 Chris Blue "Money on You" Kelela Take Me Apart "Truth or Dare" Jorge Blanco "Risky Business" "Summer Soul" Ella Mai READY "Anymore" Fitz and the Tantrums "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 "10,000 Hours" Ethan Young "Giants"Craig David The Time Is Now "Talk to Me" "Armour" "Talk To Me Pt. 2" Calum Scott Only Human "Only Human"
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