Afrobeats sensation Ahmed Ololade, professionally known as Asake, officially confirmed his exit from YBNL, a record label owned by rapper Olamide. The news comes after Asake released his latest single, “Whine,” featuring Brazilian singer Ludmilla, where he replaced the YBNL logo with his own. As revealed by his former manager, Tunde Phoenix, he made revelations about him being homophobic and having problems with the same Ludmilla.
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This development confirms earlier reports from December 2024, where Intel disclosed that Asake had parted ways with YBNL. The singer had removed YBNL from his Instagram bio, unfollowed Olamide, and now launched his own record label “Giran Republic”
However, Asake’s exit from YBNL is not the only news surrounding the singer. He was also embroiled in a controversy surrounding his alleged romance with American Only fans model and social media influencer India Love. The drama began after Asake posted photos with India Love, sparking speculation about their relationship as she featured in his new music video. “Why love“.
Prior to that, Asake’s former tour promoter, Tunde Phoenix (also known as Baba T), blamed Asake and his manager Alexa for stealing $90k from Empire for the Fuji vibes video shoot, criticizing the singer’s marketing strategy and personal traits since he became famous. No video was shot, and the money was embezzled, giving the crew silent treatments after shows and also implying that the rollout of the alleged romance was poorly executed, and that Asake also owes him ten thousand dollars since he did the whole military branding thing with his personal money before he was sacked.
Baba T’s comments came after Asake reportedly removed him from his team, not only him but a majority of other Nigerians, retaining Alexa from Empire as his manager.
Apparently, it was said that Asake rejected a show worth over $175,000 in 2023 because they won’t send a private jet that would take him to 3 different locations.
Ayra Starr later accepted the gig for less, they had a record together for her album but It was also said that he made Arya Starr cry because of his abysmal ways during the course of the recording.
Going on, Tunde Phoenix also shared how Asake’s greed made him turn down lucrative December shows while still having label issues with YBNL, because he didn’t want to cut team members a percentage.
He also claims Asake is lazy. He claimed to be tired in December because he did a world tour, but Tunde says he only did 11 shows in 2024. details here
Asake launched his Cannabis brand, Giran energy 5k since he now reside in LA, USA as revealed by Tunde Phoenix.
His new release failed to hit number 1 on charts for the first time since he dropped the first project off his first album while he was with YBNL as this cost him Empire too as a record label as Empire is now more like a distribution company to him now. Making many fans weigh in on social media and dropping their opinions.
When Asake signed with YBNL, he claimed he didn’t have an entertainment lawyer to help him review his contract because of his trust in Olamide, his boss.
He believed Olamide had his best interests at heart, but looking at his recent actions, it seems that decision might have backfired.
