The year 2020 was a terrible one for the majority. For the obvious reasons of the pandemic and all sorts of civil unrest that happened across the globe. It was a year lost for most but even in the worst moments, winners will always emerge. One of such people was Olakira.
June 2020 saw him release “In My Maserati” a single which went on to become a smash hit that earned him millions of streams and pushed him to the consciousness of music fans on the continent and beyond. The music video to the song currently boasts of 31 million views on YouTube. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, he went on to repeat the feat with the remix to the smash single in September 2020, featuring none other than Davido. Millions of streams rolled in again, and the video to that remix has millions of views on YouTube, 25 of them. By December 2020, he was putting pen to paper on a worldwide publishing deal with Sony ATV. 2020 was quite literally the stuff of dreams for Olakira. From a distance, it might seem like a stroke of luck that was well capitalized on. That couldn’t be any further from the truth because a closer look will reveal a pattern of hard work, continuous self-development and consistency that set the stage for the huge success.
Upon discovering his music talent, young Olakira took things a step further but enrolling into a music school. There, he honed his musical skills of songwriting, singing and producing and rightly caught the attention of executives from U&I music record label. They gave him a record deal and Olakira started to climb steadily on the back of that support. “Hey Lover” and “Flirty Single” dropped in 2018 and though they didn’t take him mainstream, people certainly started taking notice. In 2019, he put out his debut project “Wakanda Jollof” to positive reception. So, 2020 was a culmination of a lot of detailed planning and execution rather than a fluke.
Going forward, Olakira is focused on the mission of global dominance. With the goal firmly locked in his sight, he has continued to improve himself and broaden the horizon of his sound. “4Play”, a 6-track EP, is the latest product of that. Led by the fan-favourite single “Sere”, and featuring the likes of Zuchu, Sho Madjozi and Moonchild Sanelly, the project is another worthy entry into his promising discography. It’s always good to see talented artistes not fall by the “one-hit wonder” wayside, and with Olakira’s skill and dedication remaining on a high, his childhood dreams of being a global superstar are closer to reality than fantasy.
