Why I sing in Yoruba – Asake

Ace Afrobeat music star, Ahmed Ololade, aka Asake, says he feels more ‘comfortable’ expressing himself in Yoruba in his songs.

The ‘Mr Money With The Vibes’ crooner said this during an Instagram interactive session with fans, adding that although he can sing in English, he prefers Yoruba.

Asake went live on Instagram to chat with his fans after recently releasing his new album, ‘Lungu Boy’, and a curious fan asked him why he always sings in Yoruba, his native language.

However, seemingly enraged Asake responded that he was more comfortable singing in his native language and that whoever did not appreciate his music in Yoruba should stop listening altogether.

He said: “I am more comfortable singing in Yoruba, it’s not that I can’t sing in English. If you f*ck with me, f*ck with me with my Yoruba. If not, then don’t.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all three of Asake’s albums, including “Mr Money WithThe Vibes”, “Work of Art”, and the latest “Lungu Boy”, feature predominantly Yoruba lyrics.

However, his hit song “Amapiano” was nominated for the “Best African Music Performance” category at the 2024 Grammy Award, despite being sung mainly in Yoruba.

‘Lungu Boy’ was released on 9 August. It features several superstars, including Wizkid, British rappers Central Cee and Stormzy, American superstar Travis Scott, and Brazilian singer Ludmila.

The album tallied 5.86 million streams on Spotify Nigeria on its opening day, making it a new record on Spotify Nigeria, breaking the previous record of 4.91 million streams held by Davido’s ‘Timeless’.

The second track of ‘Lungu Boy’, ‘MMS’ recorded 870,577 streams on its first day of release on Spotify Nigeria, setting a new record after surpassing the previous 626,000 streams set by Wizkid’s ‘IDK’ featuring Zlatan.

The album release is coming ahead of his upcoming ‘Lungu Boy’ tour, which will include stops at the acclaimed O2 Arena in the UK and Madison Square Garden in the United States.

(NAN)