by Eromo Egbejule

The 26-year old is rewriting the rules of a game according to the Master’s manual

This November, Grammy award-winning rapper and dancer, Melissa ‘Missy Elliott’’ Elliott released WTF, a song that announced her return from a seven-year hiatus. As with many things global, Nigerians were excited, tweeting and shrieking to no end all day. The reason? In the accompanying video, the 44-year old can be seen busting both old and new dance moves alongside her crew, with all of them stopping at the 2:30 mark to briefly do the shoki.

It was a fleeting performance that only lasted all of three seconds but the deed had been done and Nigerian Twitter went into overdrive. “Lil Kesh is finally going global…” someone tweeted. That prediction was premature but on a day when the euphoria that greeted the news of R& B legend, R. Kelly enlisting the help of Wizkid on his latest album had barely died down, Missy’s stamp of approval was a statement of arrival for another homegrown act.

Shoki follows in the recent trend of African dances – like Skelewu and Azonto – to have ‘blown’, over the last few decades. Not even the virality of ‘Shakiti bobo’, another craze from the stable of the YBNL Nation, has been able to overshadow it. The immediate popularity of both dances are proof of the goodwill and street credibility that the label has garnered cumulatively since it was set up in 2012.

YBNL Nation

YBNL is the acronym for Yahoo Boy, No Laptop (YBNL), a mantra for burning the midnight oil and a quintessential symbol of the ‘hustle’ creed that characterizes Lagos. While Yahoo boys stay up all night scheming on how to dupe the next victim, the theory is that those on the record label’s roster stay up recording songs and doing heavy work. Or so it seems.

Since MoHits Records and its successor in Mavin Records, perhaps no other music label with a performer as chief executive has done as well as YBNL in taking the industry by storm. With at least one hit song every quarter, the group is permeating the consciousness of the average Nigerian.

eLDee’s Trybe 2.0 Records died a premature death, with Eva, Shayman, Sarz, Aramide and K9, leaving the label unceremoniously. EME, like Knighthouse before it, did great but the minute the cash cows (Mo’Cheddah and Wizkid) left, their heirs (Phenom and Shaydee/Skales) have not been able to weather the storm, regardless of their obvious talent. So far, YBNL Nation seems to be threading the same path as the Mavins and it is all down to the work of 26-year old Olamide Adedeji aka Baddo Sneh.

 

Sold Out

As at the time of writing this, the video for Lagos Boys, one of his most recent songs had passed the one million mark in less than three months.

In the last five years, he has released four solo studio albums, a joint one with Phyno, a mixtape and countless stellar verses on an assortment of songs in the Nigerian music space. Lil Kesh and Adekunle Gold who have no album out yet, are both making money for YBNL through a series of concert performances and ringback tunes for among other songs, Orente and Shoki respectively. And just this time last year, Kesh who is still in the infancy stage of his career, was on the Holy Grail of TV appearances for African artistes, Tim Westwood TV.

Last year, the maiden edition of Olamide Live in Concert (OLIC) held with the venue, Eko Hotel & Suites, completely sold out. Plans are already on for the second edition and with Eyan Mayweather, his fifth album out soon, there’s no stopping Mr. Adedeji.

“Impressive young man” gushed Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo after attending the 2014 concert and meeting him. “We are richly blessed with talented and energetic individuals who have a lot to offer the nation.”

“I just lose my sense of home training when that Indomie song comes on in the club”, confesses Adanne Okoronkwo, an undergraduate of the University of Lagos who frequents popular Lagos clubs most weekends. ”Especially Olamide’s verse. Everyone knows that you can hardly sit down when any YBNL song comes on in the club. It’s just impossible.”

At street junctions and roadside bars across Lagos from Idumota to Fadeyi and Oshodi to Bariga, area boys screaming the opening credits of Lil Kesh songs are a common sight. “It’s Young Jon the Wicked Producer” has become a psychological booster – almost in the same vein as credit alerts – for many of them.

Like Eedris Abdulkareem and Wizkid before him, Olamide is one of the few southern artistes to have a mainstream cult following in every region of the country. In terms of joint albums, rapper-producer albums are common, but Olamide and longtime collaborator Phyno are the first two solo rappers to do one together in Nigeria. It was inspired by the hugely popular duet Ghost Mode, where both emcees wove their verses a la Watch The Throne’s O.T.I.S.

Stupid Love became a nationwide hit, enjoying massive airplay on radio stations even in the North of the country where it is traditionally harder for a Southern pop artist to break into, while Introduction crossed the borders into Ghana.

Furthermore, the shibboleth, “Ola baby, its Holla baby” and the slangs ‘Sneh’, ‘smellos’ and ‘frosh’ have each taken on a life of their own, in precisely the same way that his gun-man pose went viral in the last couple of years. “Me and @wale step out the rolls wit the #gunmanpose like Olamide”, tweeted American rapper, Meek Mill last March, alongside an image of them doing the pose.

Also, the red party cup, like Don Jazzy’s pyjamas, has become a signature accessory in music videos and is now embedded in pop culture, largely because of Olamide. While he did not pioneer the usage, he has firmly established its presence.

Core rap hits, dance hits and loads of street credibility, just what manner of man is Olamide? How did a young man in his mid-twenties with no formal music or business training and no stint abroad do it? How did Olamide Adedeji gain the trust of the streets and use it as fodder for the rise of a growing music movement?

 

No rest for the Wicked

In a clime where Nigerian pop music is thriving and where there are more musicians than studios, new faces pop up all the time in the industry. To stay propped up in the limelight, one must not rest on his oars, advises media personality Tobechi Nneji. “You have to work hard and stay innovative all the damn time.”

The success of YBNL Nation is mostly down to Olamide’s hard work as outlined above, and his street appeal. “[It’s down to] body of work and output” argues ‘Yomi Kazeem, writer and radio personality at Top Radio. “He put out more songs than anyone else, recorded more than anyone else and had more hits than anyone else which means he’d rock a show better than anyone else because he’d have more material to play with.”

“Also, somehow, he’s figured out his appeal: the streets love him, the middle class love him, the elite love him. How he’s done that is not so clear though because only a few have.”

“He was basically the only Yoruba rapper [in the last five years]”, Uche Nwaozuzu, music critic and audiophile who tweets his controversial opinions as @mynameisuche, points out. “He owned that lane after them Ajasa & Ibile fell back. So Yoruba folk could relate to him; he worked hard too because nobody makes and releases music like him.”

Before his death in 2010, Da Grin was everyone’s favourite Yoruba rapper, amassing a cult following and hopping on tracks everywhere like an IAAF-licensed athlete. Cut short in his prime by an auto crash, he had just two albums to his credit. Olamide has since stepped in and seized the throne, ahead of Reminisce and Lord of Ajasa., staying away from major scandals meanwhile.

Nwaozuzu explains. “Ibile fell back. How many albums has he put out in the past two years? Two? How many singles were released AND worked? Video treatments, heavy social media promo,etc? Just tell me.”

“Nobody worked harder than Olamide”, he continues. “Nobody. The quality of the music in general has suffered but you don’t need an album full of hits. You just need a “Turn up” on the album or a “Shakiti Bobo” on another album to sell it. Olamide surpassed Da Grin a long time ago.”

There is also the factor of sound; the infectious percussion-heavy instrumentals on many YBNL tracks come from its in-house producer, Pheelz and recent accomplice, Young Jon the Wicked Producer of Hits Factory. Smart enough to realize the importance of a telepathic understanding with producers, Olamide has chosen them carefully.

First, he worked with ace producer Samklef and the late H-Code for a bit after leaving the legendary ID Cabasa, eventually recognizing the potential of the then largely untested Pheelz and signing him. And the youngster has repaid his boss’s faith with a string of hits; early in 2014, Pheelz went the extra mile surpassing the expectations of even his fans with a hiphop sample of the most unexpected song – Agnes Iro’s gospel classic from the ‘90s, Follow the Ladder.

The decision to sign young Pheelz as a replacement for his mentor has not been an isolated one. Like American rapper Jay Z, Olamide has a penchant for making ruthless decisions; firing even trusted business partners and acquaintances when required. After leaving mentor ID Cabasa, he also cut ties with then manager Toni Payne.

In 2013 when Tony Nwakalor, his erstwhile manager began to lose focus and concentrate more on the business of resuscitating the career of D’banj, his other client, Baddo fired him. This was despite the rapper frolicking heavily with Eja Nla and being regarded by one overzealous news reporter at the time, as being “best friends”.  “He is very serious with anything business”, stresses Nneji who has been involved in some deals with the YBNL crew.

D’banj himself felt the heat when Olamide put to bed rumours that he was signing for the former’s label (D’Kings Men), after the older musician had been repeatedly milking the street goodwill of his younger colleague, fuelling rumours that a new super alliance was in the making, after the split with Don Jazzy.

When telecom giants Globacom – reputed to be thrifty with their deals – were signing an XI of ambassadors on watered down contracts, they also reportedly wooed Olamide who sources claim turned Mike Adenuga’s men down, like Jazzy before him. A few months later, he signed a contract with rivals Etisalat reportedly worth N50 million. The chickens had come to roost.

 

Comparisons

Expectedly, there have been suggestions that he has fashioned his management style and work ethics after the Don Jazzy model. The head honcho of Mavins Records has long been acknowledged as a marketing genius, putting in work day and night on making music and money equally and raising heir apparents. First, there was D’banj, then there was Wande Coal, Dr. SID and the perennially underrated D’Prince, his younger brother; Korede Bello, D’ija, Tiwa Savage and the equally underrated Reekado Banks are the new generation.

Olamide has replicated that, signing Lil Kesh, Viktoh, Adekunle Gold, Pheelz, Chinko Edun, Xino Kuti and DJ Enimoney. Lil Kesh’s career has ballooned since the Davido-assisted remix of Shoki and Adekunle Gold is on his way to becoming ’that Yoruba R&B voice’ since Brymo. “The only other Yoruba rappers popping now are signed to Olamide”, Nwaozuzu states matter-of-factly.

Like Don Jazzy, Baddo has also chosen his work affiliations carefully, refusing to follow the trend and join the craze to feature Akon, Sarkodie and other readily available international artistes. Instead, he has pitched tent with Maybach Music’s Wale, who as social media can show, is the one infatuated with his Lagos-based compatriot, rather than the other way round. And then there’s the matter of both men having hoarse but lovable vocals.

It is easy to forget, with his own maturity as well as the sex symbol status and the evident insecurity of the other two, that Olamide is actually a contemporary of both Wizkid and Davido. So is the Bariga-born musician on Don Jazzy’s level yet? For all its runway success, no other artiste on the YBNL Nation roster has released an album on the imprint – yet.

“Comparisons between Olamide and Jazzy are very premature,” warns Nwaozuzu, “Don Jazzy’s run was second only to Kenny Ogungbe. Until multiple people under Olamide come out & have sustained runs, they are not on the same level. Think of it this way: Keke (Ogungbe) had 2Face, Rasqie, Paul IK Dairo, Tony Tetuila, Eedris etc while Jazzy had D’Banj, Wande Coal, D’ Prince. SID etc. Who does Olamide have?”

“And YBNL & Mavin are two premature labels; Mavin has 2 official releases from SID & Tiwa and none of them was spectacular. YBNL only has Olamide. The singles from the other artists on the labels are okay, but again they’re both premature in my opinion.”

Social media has also been a shortcut for Olamide who at 614k followers on Twitter 702k on Instagram has not caught up with Don Jazzy (1,244,601 on Twitter and 1m on Instagram). Kazeem points this out. “When Jazzy started social media was not huge as it was at the time Baddo started. It cut short the effort he needed to put in for his brand/music to grow and be accepted. That was key.”

 

Big fish in a small pond?

So why then hasn’t he become a continental force to reckon with? His medium of expression could be the problem, reckons Ayodeji Rotinwa, a pop culture enthusiast who contributes to among other platforms, Forbes Africa. “Olamide uses language in a way that gives the impression [that] understanding his music is a members-only club. I’m Yoruba but there are certain inflections in pronouncing actions or words that even I don’t understand. But I – and this is my honest opinion – don’t think it’s his responsibility to create music in a way or in a language everyone is comfortable with.”

Ms. Nneji has a hypothesis about the man who seems to always have a plan. “I reckon he’s bidding his time. He probably doesn’t want to end up like D’banj who prematurely ran abroad and returned completely washed-out.”

It remains to be seen if he will make the inroads into the foreign space soon or stay back to remain a big fish in the local pond that is the Nigerian music industry. In a pop climate where consistency is key and iTunes sales still rank below concert performance fees, Olamide and his blossoming empire could potentially be in our faces for a long time – unlike Missy Eliott’s shoki cameo.