Read Nigerian Rapper Olamide’s Grass ToGrace Story

When grassroots-to-limelight Yoruba rapper, Dagrin,
died in a road crash in 2010, the lamentation that
greeted his passage had hardly died down when
some other up-and-coming singers started scheming
to fill the vacuum created.
As is done when star artistes pass on, they wanted to
take advantage of the gap, with some of them not
minding becoming new Dagrin…But as it normally
happens in such a circumstance. All of them failed to
realise their dreams.
The lesson they failed to learn is that, no artiste can
really replace another one. That is why no one has
been able to replace a Fela, Tupac or Sikiru Ayinde
Barrister in the real sense of it. People may try to be
opportunistic but it will be extremely difficult to
convince listeners or the audience that the dead man
has resurrected.
Instead of aping the fallen hero, perhaps the best
thing to do is to hone one's talent and work hard at
one's style, especially if it is close to that of the
deceased.If it is done well, the market will have no
other option than to look in one's direction. This
seems to be how rave-of-the-moment and weird
Yoruba rapper, Olamide has proved wiser than his
peers who were trying to ape Dagrin.
Also called Young Erikina, the artiste has
demonstrated much versatility in his songs, Eni Duro
and Bend down Low, to the extent that he has broken
into the league of the big players.While it has been
rumoured that a major telecoms player has struck a
N25m deal with him, D'Banj's new strategic romance
with Olamide made him (Olamide) the subject on the
lips of many followers of the sector.
Apart from featuring him in a song, there are reports
that the younger act has been signed onto D'Banj's
label, a move that, many believe, is going to be
mutually rewarding.Such a move would naturally
make some guys remember D'Banj's epic divorce
with Don Jazzy, and either sees the romance with the
younger act either as a survivalist ploy or a strategic
one.
But the fact is it is a good story for Olamide and a
sign that he is doing well and may just be one of the
artistes to dictate the space in the next few
years.Although there has not been any official
confirmation, D'banj's younger brother, Kay Switch,
welcomed Olamide to the family on Twitter on
Wednesday. Tweeting via his handle, @kayswitch,
Kay Switch stated, "Welcome to the family, Baddo."
Baddo is Olamide's nick name. The music star is
currently in Atlanta with D'banj for a music
performance.