by Tolu Omoyeni

Olamide is not winning internationally and we have made that clear; but at this point in his career, he has made the statement – he’s the local champion, the audacious, the undisputed. And all these he has sealed with his annual Olamide Live in Concert.

The third edition of what is slowly but surely becoming a year-end ritual held yesterday at the Eko Convention Centre and from what we witnessed, the hall’s capacity was not near enough for the turnout. There was an overflow of attendees who came not to watch the other performing artistes on the line-up but had to show up for their “street god” – Olamide.

The sooner we realise that it’s gone beyond the love for his music (which we have to admit has not been utterly impressive this year), the easier it is for us to understand what Olamide has become in this industry. See, Olamide is the smart guy around here. He has determinedly stuck to his style… needless to say, he hasn’t evolved musically. But who evolution epp? No doubt, he has grown but the young boy who delivered a 4.28mins-long non-stop indigenous punchlines in that hit track, Eni Duro has not changed one bit.

Olamide arrived on the scene claiming to be the voice of the streets and six successful albums later, he still remains the voice of the streets. As much as this may not make sense to an average music lover, this is how Olamide has re-established his relevance over the years and he’s nowhere near jilting the streets. Loyalty begets loyalty. His cult following is simply the result of this loyalty, the type most artistes of his class cannot boast of.

You probably already know this, but what’s more intriguing about Olamide’s style thus far is how his lyrics, however vulgar, are pardonable. How so? His fan base cuts across age limits, social status, and even religious beliefs (except we want to pretend). Parents can hardly caution their kids when they sing along to Olamide’s lyrics basically because we’re all in this together. Rich kids who would otherwise not listen to such “razz” music are left with hardly any options these days so let’s be razz together. Olamide is building bridges and he probably doesn’t even know this yet.

Winning on the home-front pays in the long run and it’s simply because we, local fans will always be here for you, when all else fails. The international recognition is beautiful but a typical American will choose his Drake album over a Wizkid or Davido album anytime. So while his peers are winning the foreign love, Olamide is here growing an increasingly expansive fan base. They don’t have a name (unlike Bellovers or Reekaddicts) but they are bound by strong ties with Olamide Baddo Adedeji at the centre.

We are very afraid of this local wonder and you should be too.

Tolu

Your pop culture/entertainment go-to. Music head. Wallflower. I do not like to write. On a mission to decipher covfefe.