At this point, the Asake’s gospel has reached every nook and cranny of the Afrobeats far-reaching domain. There is probably no enthusiast of African music that isn’t privy of Asake’s exploits in the past year or thereabout. And while most of his feats have been unprecedented and simply astonishing, especially considering the traditional roots his music is grounded in—it’s not much of a conundrum to rationalize his success.
Asake is the most dynamic Afro-pop artist we’ve had in years and it shows in his unique fusion of Yoruba folk music and Fuji with western Hip-Hop cadences and South African Amapiano. His sound is so distinct and because of the level of refined musicality he brings to it, it’s no wonder why his rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric. But this isn’t a piece written to dissect the depth of his sonic adventures or emphasize his status in contemporary Afrobeats. That’s already crystal clear. What we’re gonna do however is iterate some of the impressive feats he’s demolished on the way to greatness.
Mr. Money With The Vibe is a certified classic on the home scene already. It’s probably one out of 2 unarguable debut classic albums from the new generation of Afrobeats popstars. The other being Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps by Fireboy DML, Asake’s label mate at YBNL. His sophomore album, Work Of Art released a month ago is already making its mark and treading the same path of success that it predecessor did. However how have these albums faired overseas in comparison to the local markets?
Asake is one out of a select few 5 African artists that have charted on the Billboard 200 more than once. Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido and King Sunny Ade being the other four. Asake is also the only act that has debuted on the chart with his first 2 albums. Both Mr. Money With The Vibe and Work Of Art debuted at #66 on the Billboard 200. MMWTV also made history as the highest charting NG debut album on the Billboard 200.
Work Of Art peaked at #3 on the US Apple Music album chart and attained the feat of the 2nd highest peaking Nigerian album on the US chart. (The highest being Davido’s Timeless at #2.) It’s simply another astounding accomplishment when you realize that there was no US feature on the project to have bolstered its momentum that way. The only featured artist on the album is Olamide and yet the album reached said heights.
Asake also joined the company of the Big 3 of Afrobeats, as the only Nigerian acts to chart multiple albums on the UK official albums chart. He has also debuted songs on the UK singles chart without the co-sign of a UK artist. Terminator and Amapiano ft. Olamide have made their way to the official UK singles chart and that further epitomizes Asake’s disruptive on a global scale. Most of Afrobeats biggest stars have needed co signs in the past to break into such markets.
Both of Asake’s albums have peaked at #1 on the UK Apple Music album chart, making him the second artist after Burna Boy (3) to have more than one album accomplish said feat. Work Of Art and Mr. Money With The Vibe debuted at #20 and #22 on the official UK album chart, respectively, with the latter spending up to 9 weeks on the album chart.
Asides the UK and US scene, Asake has also taken the global scene by storm. Currently, Lonely At The Top is at #18 on the Global Shazam chart. Amapiano ft. Olamide also featured on the chart. On the Billboard World album chart, Work Of Art debuted at #4. Mr. Money With The Vibe peaked at #2 in the previous year.
Asake has been in the limelight for about a year and half and as the evidence shows, he has broken a lot of records and even set few ones of his. He is unarguably the biggest star from the streets, since Olamide himself and having the backing of the rap veteran, on a business and artistic level—it wouldn’t be illogical to say that he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
Next month, he has a show at the O2 arena and if he sells the venue out, he’ll become the first artist of his generation to do so and the 4th overall, joining the big 3 of Afrobeats. There is also the 19k Barclays Center in the US that’s slated for September. These are all feats that no one in his generation has attempted and if he does see them through, will take him a step closer to the all-time greats and cement his legacy further.
He is already building an hall-of-famer discography with 2 great albums that have been released in the space of 9 months. It will be interesting to see the sonic direction he takes from here on out and what other unprecedented thing he goes on to achieve. We shall be watching closely and also documenting.
