From Rap’s origins and its initial evolution which saw the rise of group’s like the Wu-Tang Clan through the mid millennium that hosted Lil Wayne’s YMCMB collective, very few groups have been able to pull off what these revolutionaries did with Wu-Tang Forever and We Are Young Money; albums that are ageing like fine wine and till today hover in our minds and soundwaves, in the form of samples and throwback playlists.
While the Hip-Hop scene in the Nigerian music industry is one that is still standing on feeble legs, unable to deliver adequate verses let alone Hip-Hop Collectives, 2018 has arguably signaled a shift in the mainstreaming of Nigerian Hip-Hop. Few months ago, Olamide amassed a wealth of Talents from various sources including Social Media, brought them together as individual artistes, signed to his YBNL Record Label, showcased them to the Nation and eventually promised us a ‘familial’ Mixtape that will mirror the uniqueness the disbanded Collectives mentioned above brought on with their Projects and in summary, blow our minds.
Today, he fulfils that promise with a 13-Track Mixtape titled YBNL MaFia Family; a mixtape that houses the Ex, Old and New in the Record Label including Lil Kesh, DJ Enimoney, Picazzo, Fire Boy, Temmie Ovwasa and Olamide himself; a collective of Artistes who project the best of themselves in short but impactful genre defying tracks.
Among other relatable subjects scattered across a variety of genres, Love, Introspection, Reflection and even Confidence collide as fictional and non-fictional storytelling unfolds over sublime production delivered by in house Producers. From the fluidity of Jealous powered by Fireboy who features heavily in the Mixtape to the grittiness of Olamide’s hit single; Motigbana and Ika which portrays the doggedness of Yomi Blaze, the comedic but prayerful nature of Poverty Die and the cockiness of the duo of Olamide and Picazzo in Macaroni, among others, Olamide leaves no stone unturned in revealing a new type of versatility made possible through the uniqueness of standout performers like Fireboy, Picazzo and Temmie Ovwasa as they all live vicariously through the platform provided to them by the Former and despite this unparalleled versatility that surrounds the project, it doesn’t in any way harm Olamide’s consistency or the trajectory these artiste will individually follow.
It is very unlikely that anyone would have imagined that just few months after pulling together a team of music neophytes, not only would Olamide prove that these Kids can contend with the Big Dogs in the industry but also deliver gems that will in years to come have everyone talking about this one of a kind collective. Despite being doubted, though justifiable, Olamide has reinvented his Label and the Hip-Hop scene with the YBNL MaFia Mixtape and we hope that as time goes on, not only will we see an extension of this project in his Label and others, but more showcasing the individual talents who made this body of work possible.