LOCAL AWARDS DOES NOT DEFINE ME -- OLAMIDE

Nigerian rap sensation, Olamide recently granted an interview and when the question about awards arose, here’s what he said: “If they give me award or not, it does not define me. God bless whoever wins any award. God bless the organisers for the initiative. Thanks for creating an avenue to commend us for our work

Despite this singular quote being out of context, we can assume that when Olamide said awards do not define him, he was clearly referring to the local ones. Recognition on international platforms is all the definition that artistes in Africa need and work for. We’ve seen this with Wizkid who has won a number of international awards back to back in 2016 and can now safely be referred to as an artiste who has gained respect on the international front. But we’re not here for another Wizkid-appreciation post.

This is about Olamide who sadly, has not won any international awards in the 5-year span of his career. We say five years because his first hit track “Eni Duro” was released in 2011, so we choose not to acknowledge the years of hardwork that led up to that monster hit (and this is highly controversial). Five years may seem like a short time to demand an artiste to move mountains and cross oceans to earn an international award but this should be more about the quality of work done in such short period than anything else.

Five years, yes. Let’s never forget that there’s also been five successful albums and in fact, a sixth one in the offing. The hit tracks are countless, the concerts are back to back (in his parlance), OLIC is one of the most-anticipated music events in London and Lagos, so why is Olamide being snubbed by international awards organisers?! Snubbed not as regards nominations but in clinching the actual prize