Olamide Becomes First African Rapper To Hit 1 Billion Streams On Spotify

Nigerian rapper, Olamide Gbenga Adedeji who is popularly known as Olamide, has surpassed 1 billion career streams on Spotify.

Olamide is the first African rapper to achieve the feat, thanks to his incorporation of Afrobeats in his music and collaborations.

Last year, Olamide also made history as the first African rapper to be nominated for a Grammy.

His collaborative hit with Asake, ‘Amapiano’ was nominated in the inaugural Best African Music Performance category but lost to Tyla’s ‘Water.’

LEADERSHIP recalls that in November 2024, Nigerian Singer Crown Uzama popularly known as Shallipopi crowned Olamide, the king of Nigerian street music.

In an interview with Naija FM, Shallipopi expressed admiration for the music executive, stating that he’s the “father and king of Nigerian street music”.

“Baddo [Olamide] is the father and king of Nigerian street music. So I had to feature him on ‘Order’ because it is a street song and Olamide owns the street,” he said.

This sentiment is echoed by many, considering Olamide’s influential role in elevating street pop to mainstream recognition as a distinct music genre.

Olamide has featured with standout collaborations like “Wahala” with CKay, “Wise 2.0” with Rybeena, and “Vibes on Vibes” with Liya.