Album Review: Olamide is the ‘Baddest Guy Ever Liveth’ (even though he’s tired)

Album – Baddest Guy Ever Liveth
Artiste – Olamide
Guest Appearances – Pheelz, Buckwyla,
Ketchup, Ice Prince, Pepenazi, Endia,
Viktoh, B.banks, Phyno, Pele Pele, and
Bez.
Producer – Pheelz
Record Label – YBNL Nation
Rapper Olamide has entered the history
books as one of two Nigerian rappers to
release two full albums in one year (the
other being Eedris Abdulkareem). His
second album YBNL was released in
November 2012. His follow up Baddest Guy
Ever Liveth comes one year after his highly
successful sophomore. As an indigenous
rapper Olamide has managed to make
himself the hottest rapper in a country with
so many ethnic groups.
With the singles ‘ Durosoke’ and ‘ Turn Up’
burning hot on radio stations, the setting
has been created for the rapper to make
lightning strike in the same place twice.
Unfortunately bolts of lightning are few and
far in between on BGEL. Olamide is human
after all and sounds exhausted on major
parts of the album. On his previous effort,
the former ID Cabasa protégé was barking,
snapping and snarling on every track. On
this project his bark has been mostly
replaced by a drowsy flow.
The album starts on a promising note.
Buckwyla, Pheelz and Olamide produce
the chest thumping, hood repping track
titled ‘ Rep Adugbo’ . ‘Anifowose’ which
contains a great sample from K1 D
Ultimate sees Olamide talk about his less
than humble background.
They thought I will never make it to the
top but that’s not fair/tori mummy wa o
olowo, daddy wa o olowo/’cos he is from
the house of pain, everyday na sorrow
sing-raps Olamide on the most personal
track on the album.
‘Skammer’ featuring Pele Pele lifts the pace
of the project with its springy feel. Olamide
tries his hands on singing and comes out
with an admirable result on ‘Eleda Mi O’ .
But all the momentum fizzles out thanks to
later tracks that miss rather than hit-
‘ Badoo Love’ , ‘Position Yourself’ and
‘ Gbadun Arawa’ are tracks that indicate
that Olamide is just running through the
paces and not delivering anything fresh and
stimulating. It’s really obvious that he is
spent when you hear his average verse and
lazy hook on ‘Motivation’ featuring Ice
Prince, Endia and Pepenazi. A year ago
Olamide would have chewed this song but
this time around he only nibbles. He also
misses another great chance on ‘Church’
featuring Viktoh which sees him using a
loose flow that doesn’t grip the mind and
ears of the listener.
Olamide shows glimpses of his past form
on ‘ Sitting On the Throne’. ‘I’m sitting on
the throne- I’m a young man in a grown
body/I’m sitting on the throne I ain’t got
beef with nobody’ raps the baddest guy
on the hook as he asserts himself on the
Nigerian rap throne. ‘Sitting On the Throne’
reminds you of why Olamide is number one
in the country. Olamide continues his
imperial reign on ‘King Shii’. Even though
his bark has gone down a notch, the
rapper still manages to come correct on
this song that helps him stamp his regime
in Nigeria’s rap scene.
On a dark trap beat inspired by the
Maybach Music sound Olamide rises up on
‘Rayban Abacha’ as he takes shots at his
detractors and haters. The final track on the
album is ‘ Higher’ featuring Bez. The track
aims to close the LP on a high and spiritual
note. The song isn’t goose pimple inducing
and doesn’t take you out of this world. The
problem with this song underlines the basic
fault of BGEL. Most of the songs on the
project are okay but not great which is a
letdown judging from Olamide’s last
project and current standing in the music
game.
BGEL is a less inspired version of YBNL
constructed by a rapper that is creatively
low at the moment. The album is also too
long with 18 tracks. Thematically there are a
lot of rehashed topics on the project that is
why it is not surprising that the best tracks
are the ones where Olamide talks about
being on the throne. Everything else has
been heard before in finer detail.
Still we must applaud Olamide for the
brave effort. Even with its flaws, Baddest
Guy Ever Liveth proves that hard work
does pay off. With this third album Olamide
is undoubtedly the baddest rapper in
Nigeria even though he is tired.

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