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.
‘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.
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 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.
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 trendingstory for the gods are all currently in heavy rotation in radio stations and music TV channels within and outside Nigeria.
