On the music scene presently, there’s a lot of buzz about young, prolific wordsmith and indigenous rapper, OLAMIDE who came into the industry about five years ago. SAMUEL ABULUDE writes on the wave making artiste.
O ti mu do go Yaro. Like monkey tail. Bami we Claro- I want to do sina today..
The above is the chorus in Olamide’s wave making song, Story for the gods. The controversial video of the song was shot by UNLIMITED L.A and is currently the rave of the moment in the Nigerian music industry. The song has generated 515, 638 hits on YouTube already and could be Olamide’s biggest work in 2014. That’s a huge achievement for an artiste who few people thought would be able to fill the void left by the late Dagrin (Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun) who died in a car crash in 2010. Olamide has indeed surpassed critics’ expectations.
The Beginning
If his rags to riches song, Anifowose, is indeed the story of his life, then it should be made into a movie. The rapper was born and bred in the slums of Bariga- the same hood of other great musicians like 9ice and ID-Cabasa. Anifowoshe, like Story for the gods, is a hit track from the his third album Baddest Guy Ever Liveth off his YBNL (Yahoo Boy No Laptop) music label.
Born on 15th of March 1989 to the not-so-middle-class Adedeji family from Ogun State, he was named Olamide, which literarily means ‘My wealth has come.’ But he struggled and hustled to measure up on the streets of Bariga. His parents somewhat felt his coming into the family would bring the wealth they had dreamt of all their lives.
Sometime in 2000, Olamide decided he would like to pursue a career in music. When asked in an interview why he chose music he said, “I found out I was gifted in it so I had to explore it. It’s my life, my hustle, my world.”
Olamide released a string of unsuccessful singles before Eni Duro- the breakout single from his debut album released in 2010 and this registered his presence in the Nigerian music scene.
At a time, Olamide was a 300 level mass communication part time student of Tai Solarin University, where he dropped his 16 track debut album, RapSoDi.
In 2010, fresh faced Olamide performed on arguably the biggest stage in the Nigerian music scene- The Hip Hop World Awards, now christened “The Headies.”
The rapper comes complete with a mission statement: “I am here to preach realness generally and make the youths believe in whatever they do and what little they have, because with God everything is possible.”
In an industry filled with mostly copycat artistes, and heavily influenced by American music and pop culture, Olamide is an artiste we can call 100 per cent Naija. Big thanks to Lord of Ajasa, 9ice and Dagrin. Olamide, an Etisalat brand ambassador has become the new face of Nigerian indigenous music. Fellow rapper, MI credits him to be one of the most hardworking artistes he knows. The young Nigerian is talented, dedicated and is set for bigger and better things.
RapSoDI features numerous guest artistes like ID Cabasa, Lord Of Ajasa, 9ice, Reminice, Wizkid, Terry Tha Rapman and former management mate, ADOL. ‘Music is all I know and all I do’, Olamide once said, though there are rumours he once hustled at the famous Computer Village located at the heart of Ikeja, Lagos. In another interview he further said, “I found out I was gifted in music so I had to explore it, it’s my life, my hustle, my world.”
Olamide raps in a unique blend of Yoruba and English, with lyrics that leave the listener both speechless and intrigued. Olamide’s dexterity is one of the many things that endear him to his fans. One minute he is delivering his rap in fluent English and the next he switches effortlessly into Yoruba. The determined Olamide would tell you he is still on his way up there and if given a chance, would fancy collaborations with international superstars like Jay-Z, Ludacris, Drake, and Lil’ Wayne.
His songs speak for him. Eni duro, Apa ti jabo, Omo toh shan (featuring Wizkid), Goons Mi, Eleda Mi, Anifowose and the trending story for the gods are all currently in heavy rotation in radio stations and music TV channels within and outside Nigeria.
Hit Songs/Videos
2014 has been the “Year of Blooms” for many Nigerian artistes. For Olamide, whose album, bad guy ever liveth clinched the Headies 2013 Album of the Year award and two others, 2014 is a consolidation year. With hit songs/videos like Awon goons mi, Eleda mi, Anifowose (released on Vevo in March 18, 2014),Story for the gods (released July 29, 2014) and Sitting On the Throne, the name and signature tune of the star has been reverberating. His collabo, Ghost mode’, composed by Phyno, is another hit, though it was released in 2013. His new album, STREET OT released last week, features Skelemba, a collabo with Don Jazzy. Others in the album are Up in the club, Oga nla (ft Pasuma and Lil Kesh), Prayer for the client, Zero joy, Hustle Loyalty Respect Ft Reminisce, Hood rap, Ya wa, Blood money and In my circle (ft Phyno). Olamide noted that marketers influenced the release of his latest album, saying he hadn’t planned to release an album this year.
Goons mi is a 3-minute delivery of amazing Yoruba rap by the talented wordsmith and directed by Unlimited L.A, with appearances from a host of popular faces in the Nigerian music industry, like Do2tun, Phyno, Phenom, Efa, Mo’Cheddah, Cynthia Morgan, Samklef, Alex, Reminisce, Pheelz, Viktoh, Lil Kesh, CDQ, Ketchup, YQ, DJ Enimoney and T-Black.
The low-lit video shows these faces, all dressed in black, acting as Badoo’s goons. Olamide, in this rap, noted that people thought he wouldn’t be as successful as Dagrin, but the rest is history.
Controversy
Already with 9, 706 subscriptions on Vevo (You-tube) channel, the smash hit and sublime Story for the gods is nothing short of an Olamide masterpiece. The risqué video has party and bathtub shots. Fans have slammed Olamide for the edgy video, which has generated 285 comments on YouTube as at the time this report was written. Here are a few:
Igboyoruba Igbo: I am a fan, but what exactly is the Story for the gods in this video? This video also promotes lesbianism; or am I mistaken? Olamide, I beg you do not lose focus. If you are a man from the street, then encourage the street people.
Titilola: Lol, when we saw Rihanna and shakira doing their thin(g), we said..” Mehn, dis is hot, sexy, beautiful…………, bt when Nigerians do it, u remind them about culture. If we want to talk of culture, why are we even on the net?? Cos YouTube doesn’t sound cultural to me! This world is a free world pls, and I’m sure this vid wasn’t sent directly to your TV to watch. Una go dey act lyk say una no dey do worst behind closed doors.
Diaz roman: Nigerians have a sense of modesty as far as I know, so when we see things like this it’s really not encouraging. It seems to portray the West, which ofcuz is not Nigerian… So don’t compare Rihanna to this dude. From seeing Rihanna you know she got no morals, but this guy is Yoruba and most Yoruba have good upbringing……
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