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Nigerian rapper and singer Olamide recently released an extended play (EP) called Ikigai, featuring YBNL artists Asake and Fireboy. Born Olamide Gbenga Adedeji, the songwriter and record executive surprised his fans by announcing the EP just hours after performing at famous Nigerian musician Davido and Chioma's wedding on June 26, 2024.
The seven-track EP is the Nigerian rapper's 10th solo project, becoming an addition to his legacy as the biggest artist in the Nigerian music arena since 1999.
The project came as a pleasant surprise to fans, as the rapper had tweeted in 2023 that his previous album, Unruly, might be his final.
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Owing to his talent and popularity, the rapper, with a whopping 11.6 million followers on Instagram, became the first Nigerian artist to be nominated for the 2023 Grammys.
Everything to know about Nigerian rapper Olamide
Born in Lagos State in 1989, Olamide has been determined to become a musician since 2000 but started his career in 2010 by signing with Coded Tunes. His first single, Eni Duro, was an instant hit, and he performed the same at the Hip-Hop World Awards in 2010.
The Nigerian rapper released his debut album Rapsodi in 2011, collaborating with Pheelz, 9ice, Wizkid, and other musicians. Following this, Olamide left Coded Tunes and established his own record label called YBNL Nation in 2012. In 2020, Billboard dubbed YBNL one of the gatekeepers of the Nigerian music arena.
The rapper's own album, YBNL (Yahoo Boy No Laptop), was his label's first release, and it won accolades at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards and the Headies. Additionally, the rapper's record label has helped launch the careers of Lil Kesh, Asake, and Adekunle Gold.
According to The Cable Lifestyle, the Infinity rapper founded YBNL as a way to avoid extravagant spending. Commenting on the same, the Nigerian rapper stated:
“It used to be just passion but it is high time I step up, reinvest, and make this a proper business. All that money had to go back into the grind, man. That is how the whole thing started.”
The rapper has been on a music-delivering spree since 2013, given that he released his third album, Baddest Guy Ever, that year. In 2014, he released Street OT, which won Album of the Year at the Headies, and in 2015, the rapper released 2 Kings, in collaboration with Phyno.
In 2015, he also released Eyan Mayweather, which became Album of the Year at the NEAs. Then, he released his sixth album, The Glory, in 2016 and Lagos Nawa in 2017. However, it was Carpe Diem, which was released in 2020, that became the Nigerian rapper's first American release. He released UY Scuti in 2022, followed by Trumpet in collaboration with CKay in 2023.
In addition to being a rapper and owning a record label, Olamide has also signed multiple endorsement deals and invested in varied endeavors, making him one of the richest musicians in the country. One of his most talked-about endorsements is that of sports betting company 24Bet, which set an example of the amalgamation of entertainment and betting domains in Nigeria.
In addition to partnering with Fireboy and Asake, Olamide's latest EP, Ikigai, also features a collaboration with Young John, Lil Kesh, and Pheelz on Synchro System. Additionally, the rapper also teased the fifth track of the EP, Hello Habibi, via his Instagram story.
