HOW OLAMIDE’S INFLUENCE BROUGHT ASAKE TO LIMELIGHT

Asake’s career was struggling for almost 5 years before he met Olamide. Asake who grew up in Lagos Island had no plans of pursuing education as an artist. However a friend who was studying Dramatic arts at Oba femi Awolowo University Ile-ife introduced him to the arts and Asake started hanging around the school environment. There he met Blaqbonez, Fireboy, Superboy Cheque, Yhemolee who were all grinding with the entertainment space. Asake joined them and fell in love with the Dramatic Arts. Two years later, his friend Chinko Ekun got signed to YBNL. ‎Another two years, Superboy Cheque blew and got signed by Phyno. Fireboy got signed to YBNL nation record label too. ‎Yhemolee was selling out 7k capacity shows. They all had promising careers after school except Asake who was left with a pursuit of an academic degree in dramatic arts.

Asake who is a graduate of Dramatic Art from ………., became a dancer, and wrote songs for his friends in school but eventually stopped. ‎He later started working for Brother Shaggy as road manager and also holding cameras. Asake was still chasing music but everyone of his OAU friends was big and in the spotlight except him. Yet he stayed in touch with his OAU crew.

The Olamide Effect

Asake had been messaging Olamide since 2020, seeking mentorship, similar to how Olamide helped others like Fireboy DML and Chinko Ekun. ‎One day, Yhemolee got a chance to pitch an artist to Olamide and he mentioned Asake. ‎Olamide a.k.a Baddo took time to assess Asake and his sound. After which Olamide  recorded a verse on Asake’s song and asked him to drop it, and boom!!!…. “Omo Ope” became a house hold hit on everyone’s tongue and the rest is history. ‎Asake got signed to YBNL in 2022 transforming him from a struggling artist into a global phenomenon with sold-out shows.

He dropped an EP. ‎Then an album that same year which became the Most streamed album in Nigeria of 2022 (MMWTV). Fifteen (‎15) of Asake’s songs held at Number #1 back-to-back on Apple Music NG.
‎He became the First African artist to pass 6M+ monthly listeners on Audiomack. It looked like speed + grace + magic. Olamide’s endorsement and platform allowed Asake to develop his distinctive Amapiano-infused sound, leading to sold-out shows and global recognition

In the space of 20 months Asake was a Grammy Award nominee, won Headies Next Rated, and is the first African performing artist to sell out the nineteen thousand capacity Barclays Center in Broklyn New York. Asake is the first artist to ever reach 100 millions streamed songs on Audiomack streams. Currently he is the most streamed artist on Audiomack with 1.3billion+ streams. He is also the first African artiste to debut on the US Billboard 200 at #66 with a debut album. Asake has sold out the twenty thousand capacity O2 Arena, sold out O2 Brixton Academy and won 10 career awards and 28+ nominations.