Chief Muraina Oyelami was born in Iragbiji, Nigeria of Yoruba descent. A man of two worlds, Oyelami is known by many as a master painter while others know him as a great performing artist in music and theatre. He began as an artist in 1964 fresh from the famous Osogbo Art School initiated by Professor Ulli Beier and his wife Georgina Beier. He specialised in Theatre Design at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, where he later taught traditional music from 1975-1987.

Oyelami's themes are influenced by Yoruba culture, and the subject matter of his landscapes and portraits are often derived from daily life and individuals. Oyelami's early oil paintings involved abstract representations of life in the city, while by the 1980s his work had become more figurative, trending towards more generic themes.

Chief Oyelami founded the Obatala Center for Creative Arts in 1987 to promote traditional arts and culture and has exhibited his works and performed traditional and fusion music in many parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the USA. He lives and works in Iragbiji in southwestern Nigeria.