Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981, in Houston, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and visual artist known for his eclectic and genre-defying musical style. Raised in Caracas, Venezuela, and later in Los Angeles, Banhart began his artistic journey through visual arts before transitioning into music. He briefly attended the San Francisco Art Institute on a scholarship but left in 2000 to pursue music full-time.

Banhart's musical career began in earnest after he was discovered by Michael Gira of Swans, who compiled and released Banhart’s early recordings under the title Oh Me Oh My (2002). This debut release, along with subsequent early albums like Rejoicing in the Hands (2004) and Cripple Crow (2005), helped define the early 2000s "freak folk" movement alongside artists like Joanna Newsom and CocoRosie. His lyrics, often poetic and surreal, draw from a wide range of influences, including psychedelic folk, South American rhythms, and experimental music.

Over the years, Banhart has released a diverse body of work, including Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007), What Will We Be (2009), Mala (2013), Ape in Pink Marble (2016), Ma (2019), and Flying Wig (2023), which saw him exploring electronic and synth-driven sounds in collaboration with Cate Le Bon. His 2021 album Refuge , co-created with Noah Georgeson, leaned into ambient and meditative textures influenced by new age music and Buddhist philosophy.

Beyond his solo work, Banhart has collaborated with a wide array of artists, including Antony and the Johnsons, Beck, Rodrigo Amarante, and Marisa Monte. He has also contributed to film soundtracks, including Joshy (2016) and Arkansas (2020), and participated in tribute projects such as Songs of Leonard Cohen (2009) and a 50th anniversary tribute to Allen Ginsberg’s Fall of America (2020).

In addition to his music, Banhart is recognized as a visual artist. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited internationally, including at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and MOCA in Los Angeles. He has published several art books, including I Left My Noodle on Ramen Street (2015) and Vanishing Wave (2019), and held his first solo art exhibition, The Grief I Have Caused You , at Los Angeles' Nicodim Gallery in 2020.

Banhart's work, both musical and visual, reflects a deep engagement with mysticism, nature, and personal introspection. With over two decades of creative output across multiple disciplines, he remains a distinctive and influential figure in contemporary alternative music and art.