Olamide Gbenga Adedeji—widely known as Olamide or Baddo—has spent well over a decade shaping how Nigerian pop sounds, moves, and does business. As a rapper, singer, and executive, he took the cadence of Lagos street life (Yorùbá bars, call-and-response hooks, drum-heavy beats) and made it the country’s mainstream grammar; as founder of YBNL Nation, he became the A&R hand behind a generation of stars, from Adekunle Gold, Lil Kesh and Fireboy DML to Asake. The catalog runs from the hardnosed “Eni Duro” and “Durosoke” era, through stadium-chant smashes like “Wo!!” and “Science Student,” to the sleek Afropop of “Rock,” “Infinity,” and the 2023–25 run that paired him with CKay and Asake. If you want a single figure who connects indigenous rap to today’s Afrobeats/pop-piano crossover, you end up at Olamide—artist, scene builder, and perennial hitmaker.
Origins: Bariga roots, indigenous rap, and the “Eni Duro” breakthrough
Born and raised in Bariga, Lagos, Olamide came up on a diet of indigenous rap, fuji, and pop radio. He broke nationally at the start of the 2010s with a hustler’s tone and relentless output, dropping his debut album Rapsodi (2011) and following quickly with YBNL (2012). What set him apart wasn’t just language—it was the mix of raw street detail with sing-back hooks and drum programming that thrilled party sound systems. “Eni Duro” became the proving ground: a Yoruba-first calling card that put him shoulder-to-shoulder with contemporaries redefining Nigerian hip-hop. From there, the yearly streak of singles built him into a festival closer and a December-in-Lagos staple.
YBNL Nation: A&R machine and incubator of stars
In 2012 Olamide formalized his DIY ethos by launching YBNL Nation, a label that would become Lagos pop’s most reliable talent pipeline. The approach was simple and ruthless: spot voices with local chemistry, build records and visuals at speed, and keep the street-to-DSP pipeline flowing. Across the 2010s and early 2020s the roster and extended family birthed or supercharged the runs of Lil Kesh, Adekunle Gold, Fireboy DML, and later Asake (whose piano-powered explosion synced perfectly with Olamide’s ear for chants and drum weight). Beyond signing, Olamide’s feature and mentorship fingerprints are all over their breakout moments, giving YBNL a reputation as both a school and a springboard.
Hitmaking evolution: from street rap bangers to pop-scale anthems
The middle of the decade revealed Olamide’s shapeshifting superpower. Street-coded slammers like “Bobo,” “Wo!!,” and “Science Student” proved he could ignite dance floors with pure energy and meme-able choreography; at the same time, the melodic turn in records like “Motigbana,” “Rock,” and “Infinity” showed a softer, radio-ready edge without losing the Lagos core. The result is a catalog that lives in clubs and weddings, stadiums and streaming charts. If you hear a crowd scream “Woooo!!” before a drop, you’re hearing a chapter he helped write.
Albums that tell the story
There’s a full-length for every phase: Rapsodi (2011) and YBNL (2012) codified the indigenous-rap template; Baddest Guy Ever Liveth (2013) and Street OT (2014) hardened the street-pop era; Eyan Mayweather (2015) and The Glory (2016) kept the rap heart beating; Lagos Nawa (2017) doubled down on party architecture; Carpe Diem (2020) and UY Scuti (2021) ushered in a smoother Afropop palette; Unruly (2023) threaded it all together with collabs from the scene’s new leaders. In between, EPs and loosies (from “Pawon” to “Omo Wobe Anthem”) kept clubs stocked with ammo.
The pop-piano handshake: Olamide in the Afrobeats x Amapiano moment
Even as Amapiano reshaped continental dance floors, Olamide remained a central node. “Rock” arrived with a minimalist bounce and a hook that cut through radio; “Infinity” (with Omah Lay) and “Loading” (with Bad Boy Timz) showed his collaborative economy; and in 2023 he leaned fully into the crossover with CKay on “Trumpet” and Asake on “New Religion,” records built for Instagram reels and festival tents alike. The through-line is Olamide’s voice: conversational, swagger-light, and coded in Lagos slang that global audiences now treat like pop lyrics.
Stagecraft: OLIC legend to global festival closer
On stage, Olamide’s sets move like greatest-hits parties threaded by crisp rap passages. In Lagos, the OLIC (Olamide Live in Concert) franchise became an end-of-year ritual where street anthems met arena production; internationally, he’s a dependable festival name whose catalog lets him flip from hard rap sections into sing-along Afropop without whiplash. The band/DJ arrangements center chant cues and drum weight, which is why his shows travel from West African stadiums to diaspora arenas in London, Toronto, and Houston with the same electricity.
Unruly, Ikigai, and the 2024–25 streak
Unruly (2023) reintroduced Olamide as a curator-in-chief, pairing him with Rema, Fireboy DML, CKay, BNXN, and Asake while tightening the songwriting around sleek, bass-warm production. The singles “Trumpet” (with CKay) and “New Religion” (with Asake) set the table; 2024’s “Metaverse” kept his foot on the gas; and 2025 ushered in a fresh wave of drops under the YBNL/EMPIRE banner, from album and visualizer rollouts (“Lalakipo,” “Billionaires Club” with Wizkid & Darkoo) to steady live-session moments that remind everyone the bars never left.
How to recognize an Olamide record
Start with the drum chair: heavy, rubbery kicks and crisp shakers built for street speakers. Layer in chant-ready hooks that double as slang lessons. Add elastic pacing—he can go full-tilt rap (“Eni Duro”) or cruise on a minimalist pop bounce (“Rock”) without changing identity. Then note the feature choices: he spots heat early, pairs veterans with rookies, and lets the chemistry breathe. That’s the A&R brain at work inside the artist’s booth.
Legacy: architect, not just artist
Olamide’s legacy is twofold. He normalized indigenous rap as pop’s main highway—no translation required—and he built infrastructure so others could sprint on it. The YBNL story reads like a modern Lagos music textbook: find a voice, develop the visuals, drop relentlessly, keep the streets fed while building for DSPs, and never let business lag behind the art. A decade and change in, he remains the guy who can open a lane for new stars and still shut down a festival with records everyone knows word-for-word. That’s not just longevity; it’s authorship.
