Olamide - ''Fela Did Not Pay For International Collaboration Why Should I''

Indigenous rapper, Olamide has revealed he will never dole out cash for any international collaboration because his mentor, the legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti didn’t pay to get recognized abroad.

The YBNL boss said this in a new interview with HipTV. When asked if he would consider paying, like his contemporaries have done, he blurted, “Ogun kill international collaboration!”

“Because Fela no even do any international collaboration before dem recognise Fela for international market,” the ‘Bobo’ rapper said, adding that he remains in the spotlight because by God’s grace he works hard to represent the street. “We are not bothered because we rep the street, and the street is the majority.”

Recently, there have been major collaborative projects between Nigerian artistes and their international counterparts, the most famous being Wizkid X Drake’s collabo hit One Dance.

But while Wizkid’s international success was because of his excellent works like ‘Ojuelegba’ which Drake heard and remixed, Davido paid rapper Meek Mill a whopping $200,000 for ‘Fans Mi‘.

In an interview with Ebuka Uchendu on Rubbin Minds, rapper MI Abaga revealed how he feels about international projects, “I am very weird about the international thing. I am not interested at all. I am interested in building in Africa, in Nigeria. The biggest things we can do internationally is set up our business and our industry here,” he said.

Now, Olamide echoes a similar thought in his inspiring interview with HipTV.

“If I do my work well, My work go carry me reach where I suppose reach. If I no do my work well, e no go carry me go where I suppose reach. But me, Olamide Adedeji, wey mama born, I no go pay money for (international collaboration),” he added.