Lil Kesh
Lil Kesh | |
---|---|
Birth name | Keshinro Ololade |
Also known as | Lil kesh |
Born | Bariga, Lagos State, Nigeria | 17 March 1995
Origin | Osun State, Nigeria |
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2014-present |
Labels |
Keshinro Ololade (born 17 March 1995), known professionally as Lil Kesh, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to the limelight after releasing the hit single "Shoki".[1][2]
Early life and education
Ololade was born and raised in Bariga, an area in Lagos State. He attended Stockbridge College for his primary and secondary education, and then proceeded to the University of Lagos, where he studied Linguistics. Later, he moved on to the National Open University and studied Mass Communication online.[3]
Career
He began, his musical career in 2012 which was when he started rapping among his colleagues in Bariga. Shortly after, he released "Lyrically", a debut single which went viral within Nigerian universities. Lil Kesh signed a contract with Yahoo Boy No Laptop Nation popularly, known as YBNL Nation (YBNL) is an independent record label founded by Olamide Adedeji in 2012. Under this label, Kesh dropped a series of hit singles like Shoki, Efejoku, Gbese, e.t.c and released his debut studio album, "YAGI". Subsequently in 2014, Lil Kesh released a hit single "Shoki". Shoki topped several musical charts and brought him to the limelight. As a result of this musical production, he was nominated for several awards and won two. In 2015, he was nominated for Best New Act at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards as a recording artist affiliated with YBNL Nation. In 2016, after the expiration of his contract with YBNL, Lil Kesh established his own record label YAGI Records (an acronym for "Young And Getting It") and is managed by Massive Management team, a marketing and event management company. On 17 March 2016. Lil Kesh released, his debut studio album Young And Getting It (Y.A.G.I) through YBNL Nation which was produced by Young John, and Pheelz. Vocals were from Phyno, Ycee, Wale, Patoranking, Adekunle Gold, Davido, Viktoh, Olamide and Chinko Ekun. It incorporates hip hop and rap genre. It has four singles – Lyrically (2014), Efejoku (2015), Is it because I love You (2015), and Ibile (2016).
Artistry
The versatility and musical style of Lil Kesh is similar to that of Olamide, who raps and sings in his local dialect.[4][5] However, he was criticized for using too much profanity and for failing to find the right balance in his songs' lyrics.[6] In an interview with Naij, he said, "they are singles not an album, I know the kind of market am directing my songs to, I am from the streets, I know what the people from the street want to listen to...they should wait for my album that is expected to drop towards the end of the year. I have very positive songs".[7]
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Title | Album details |
---|---|---|
2016 | Y.A.G.I |
|
Selected singles
Year | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
2014 | "Lyrically" | Y.A.G.I |
"Shoki" | Non-album single | |
"Shoki (Remix)" (featuring Olamide & Davido) | ||
2015 | "Shoki (Female Version)" (featuring Cynthia Morgan, Chidinma, Eva Alordiah) | |
"Gbese" | ||
"Efejoku" | Y.A.G.I | |
"Is It Because I Love You?" (featuring Patoranking) | ||
2016 | "Ibile" | |
"Bend Down Select" | Non-album single | |
2018 | "Again O" | |
2018 | "Flenjor"(featuring Duncan Mighty) | |
2019 | "Undertaker"[8] | |
2020 | "All The Way"[9] | |
2020 | "Too Sweet"[10] |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award ceremony | Prize | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Best New Act to Watch | Nominated[11] |
Nigerian Teen Choice Awards | Celebrity Award – Song Of The Year (Shoki) | Won[12] | |
City People Entertainment Awards | Popular Song of the Year (Shoki) | Won[13] | |
Mtv Base Music Award | Popular Song of the Year (Shoki remix featuring Olamide & Davido) | Nominated | |
2016 | The Headies 2015 | Next Rated | Nominated[14] |
References
- ^ Abimboye, Micheal (24 December 2014). "Kiss Daniel, Lil Kesh others to rule 2015". Premium Times. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "MUST WATCH! AMBER ROSE Dances To Lil Kesh's 'SHOKI' At D'banj's Concert". Information Nigeria. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ Hanifah, Ali (23 November 2015). "Lil kesh - Biography of Lil Kesh". Passnownow. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ Lala, Emmanuel (17 March 2015). "Why YBNL's Lil Kesh Is Hinted as Olamide's Heir Presumptive". tooXclusive. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ Ajose, Kehinde (12 September 2015). "I am not doing Hip-Hop for those that understand English alone -Lil Kesh". Vanguard Newspaper. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ Alawode, Abisola (16 October 2015). "Matters Arising: Lil Kesh's Depreciating Lyrics". Leadership Newspaper. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ "Lil Kesh Explains Why He Embraces Vulgar Lyrics In His Music". Naij. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ "Audio: Lil Kesh Releases "Undertaker"". PM News. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "Audio: Lil Kesh Releases "All The Way"". PulseDigi. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ "Lil Kesh – Too Sweet ft Chike". legitbaze. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ Hassan, Sanusi (12 June 2015). "Full list of nominees for Nigerian Entertainment Awards 2015". Nigeria Entertainment Today. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "2015 Nigerian Teen Choice Awards". Nigerian Teen Choice Awards. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ Amodeni, Adunni (18 August 2015). "Mercy Aigbe, Don Jazzy, Olamide, Others Win Big At City People Awards 2015". Naija. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ Akan, Joey (30 September 2015). "Profiling the nominees of the Next Rated category". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 29 October 2015.