The calm-looking, almost unassuming graduate of Theatre Arts, Asake, has proven he is worth his training. Few music artistes across the world, not to mention Nigeria, have attained a similar feat as Asake has done. In less than five years, Asake the songwriter and singer, has practically become a global celebrity. His songs are chart toppers, breaking unparalleled and shocking records across the globe.
Ahmed Ololade, whose stage name is ‘Asake’ (his mother’s name according to him) deserves applause. He has managed to fuse his passion for dancing and singing together, delivered with the finesse of a stage artist. He sings in a mixture of English, French and Yoruba lyrics and slangs; with harmonious backup chorus team to complete his ensemble. His song styles are a combination of Afrobeats, Afropop, Afro-fusion, and native Fuji rhythms,l.
Asake: His Early Life
Ahmed Ololade a.k.a Asake was born and bred in Lagos in January 1995. He is a son of Mr. And Mrs. Ololade. His mother was a teacher; while his father was an entrepreneur.
The renowned artist got his stage name ‘Asake’ as far back as in his secondary school days as a dancer. Asake was a skilled dancer, who would spent substantial lengths of time to perfect his cultural dances (which was his speciality back then). He performed at school events, and gained great recognition from both his schoolmates and staff members. He was also a good drummer, and a member of his school’s music band.
Over the course of time, Asake developed singing, another one of his passions, into an art. He composed several songs of his own, along with covers of well-known songs. He would eagerly sing to the listening and appreciation of his close pals and schoolmates. It did not take long for him to tow the path of combining his dance skills with singing.
Asake’s Music Career
Asake began his music career in 2017. However, he debuted his career in the Nigerian music industry in 2020, when he released his first single titled ‘Lady’. The song went viral on social media, attracting the attention of top Nigerian celebrities. The song became so popular that freestyle versions of it were made by well-known Nigerian social media influencers. He was encouraged to repost them, from the likes of NastyBlaq, Broda Shaggi, Sydney Talker, and Tunde Ednut who did justice to the song.
Obviously the song got the attention of popular music artiste and YBNL Nation records boss, Olamide. Asake was contacted and signed up on the YBNL Nation records label in February 2022. Then he released his debut EP titled ‘Ololade Asake’, also that same month. Included in the EP were the hit sings ‘Omo Ọpẹ’ and ‘Sungba’, both of them massive successes on the international music scene. And in July 2022, Asake signed a distribution deal with YBNL records.
In September 2022, Asake released his first studio album ‘Mr. Money with the Vibe’. The album broke records by hitting number 66 on the Billboard 200 chart. It went down in history as the highest charting Nigerian debut album in the history of Billboard 200.
December 2022 arrived with the announcement that Asake was labeled ‘Artiste of the Year’ by the Audiomack platform. His debut studio album ‘Mr. Money with the Vibes‘ has grossed over 330 million streams. This took place alongside the songs of Kizz Daniel, Snazzy the Optimist and 1ucid. They were acclaimed to be the most streamed and top trending artists in February 2023 on that platform.
Yet again, his second album ‘Work of Art’ was released in June 2023, and it hit number 66 on the Billboard 200. The same album reached number 20 on the UK Albums Chart and number 59 on the Irish Recorded Music Associate. It was rated the most streamed Nigerian album of 2023 so far. The list of his achievements go on and on.
Asake’s Net Worth
Asake’s music prowess and endorsements have earned him an estimated 1.2 million US Dollars in assets as of December 2023 (according to some online sources). For the records, the singer has entered into endorsement deals with top brands which include Parimatch and Globacom.
Asake: His Music Awards
Asake is a recipient of many prestigious Nigerian and international music awards. They include the following:
- All Africa Music Awards: Break Out Artist of the Year (2022)
- Headies Award: Next Rated Category (2023)
- Soundcity MVP Awards: Male MVP (2023)
- Vodafone Ghana Music Awards: Best African Artist of the Year (2023)
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