Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a Venezuelan American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Banhart released his debut album in 2002, continuing to record his material on the Young God and XL labels, as well as other work on compilations and collaborations.\n', '

Banhart was born May 30, 1981 in Houston, Texas, to a Venezuelan mother, María Eugenia Rísquez and an American father, Robert Gary Banhart. His given name is a synonym for Indra (Hindu), which was suggested by Prem Rawat, an Indian religious leader whom Banhart\'s parents followed. Banhart\'s middle name Obi was modeled after Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Star Wars character. Banhart\'s parents divorced two years after his birth and he moved with his mother to Caracas, Venezuela. His mother later remarried and Banhart\'s stepfather moved the family to Los Angeles, when Banhart was 14 years old.\n', '

Banhart cites Axl Rose, Kurt Cobain, Mick Jagger, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Ali Farka Toure as his inspirations to begin singing. When he found that he could not match their singing styles, he found success in singing in a "feminine style."\n', '

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