Wizkid, others hail Olamide amidst alleged Asake fallout

“Love baddo! 4 L (for life) tin,” wrote pop star, Wizkid, on his Twitter page on December 26, 2024. As someone who is mostly known to be taciturn on social media except when he chooses to rant or throw “shades”, whatever Wizkid writes on social media, no matter how sparse, is often given a lot of attention and importance. This was especially so at a time when news was rife that Olamide and his star artiste, Asake, had fallen out. Many fans and pundits interpreted Wizkid’s post to be a message of solidarity and support for Olamide at this period, even though that might not be so.

Hours before Wizkid’s tweet, social media had been abuzz because Asake had gone on an Instagram “cleaning spree”, deleting all but one of his pictures, removing YBNL (his record label) from his profile, and “unfollowing” Olamide Adedeji, aka Baddo, his label boss.

Though either parties have not made any statement on the issue, the development has elicited diverse theories, explanations, arguments and admonitions. Olamide’s last tweet was a response to Wizkid’s profession of love. “Eleniyan! Love always brother,” he wrote. Meanwhile, as of Friday morning, “Olamide” and “Asake” respectively were trending topics on Twitter.

Some industry watchers claimed that Asake’s contract with YBNL had expired and he did not want to renew it. A report by PM News alleged, “Reports claim that Olamide proposed a new deal, but Asake chose to pursue independence, ultimately walking away from the label two weeks ago.”

It is public knowledge that the ‘Sungba’ singer signed a deal with YBNL in February 2022. Saturday Beats cannot independently verify the terms of the contract though there have been different terms and conditions bandied on social media. However, Asake had often spoken about how Olamide changed his life with the record deal. In an interview with Hip TV about two years ago, he stated that he “begged” Olamide for two years before the former offered him a deal. He added, “One day, I got to his house and he asked me, ‘How are you, Asake?’ I said I was fine. And he asked me, ‘Would you like to join YBNL?’

“You don’t understand, for somebody you look up to, somebody you respect, somebody you’ve been longing to see, to ask you that question. I told him that I was ready. He said, ‘Go and think about it. Go and look for a lawyer.’ I said, ‘Baba, sign me right now. I don’t want any lawyer. Because I love the [YBNL] family so much even from afar.”

Weighing in on the raging controversy, a social media personality, Oyemykke, was of the opinion that both parties needed each other. In a video posted online, he said, “Asake, you need Olamide. Olamide, YBNL needs Asake; not necessarily you. You might not necessarily need him but the record label needs Asake to continue to carry that banner. I already saw this coming from the London show at the O2. My advice would be, you people (YBNL) should relax the contract a bit. I don’t know how much you people collect from his percentage but don’t make this relationship about money; make it more like Asake is the one carrying a banner for us. Be collecting little from him, don’t let it be too much. He also wants to become a boss and it’s normal. The contract is over, he also wants to go into greater things. Asake, don’t let all these thieves and money mongers in this country lie to you, you need Olamide’s experience, blessing and foresight. You are both senior and junior brothers to each other, you will still talk it out. I wish you all the best of luck…”

Another social media personality, Daniel Regha, argued that Asake should not leave the label because his current fans were actually Olamide’s fans. He wrote on Twitter, “Asake doesn’t have the luxury of beefing with Olamide or parting ways right now. He’s still an upcomer (sic) in the game and his fan base is mostly YBNL supporters who are core fans of Olamide. This means that his relevance is partly tied to Olamide’s influence in the industry. He is no doubt a global sensation, but still has more to lose if there’s an issue with Olamide or YBNL at this early stage of his music career. No offense.”

Yet another social media personality, Naijashimadun, described the alleged fallout as a “family case” and admonished them to sort things out internally. He said, “Asake, your senior brother, Olamide, had an event some days ago. You were supposed to be the first person there arranging chairs even before guests arrive but we didn’t even see you at all, we can’t even see you anywhere in Nigeria right now. I also went to your Instagram page, it has become a desert. I even checked to be sure it was the right page. You have removed YBNL record label from the page and replaced it with ‘creative director’. Anything that is happening between you and your senior brother, you will both need to settle it. It’s a family case. Go and meet your brother and find ways to settle it.”

Adding another twist to the developing story, controversial artiste, Dammy Krane, stated that people should not blame Asake for his alleged action. He wrote on his Instagram page, “Don’t be too fast to blame Asake. Olamide has his slimy ways too. PS: Don’t expect nothing from people.” He accompanied this with a screenshot purportedly showing an alleged conversation between him and Olamide in which he spoke to the latter about a business deal.

However, it is pertinent to note that this is not the first time Asake is removing “YBNL” from his profile. He did the same thing in June 2024 and it also caused a lot of reactions online.