Business
‘My father is a pastor, he doesn’t care about the vulgar lyrics in my songs’ – Rapper, Lil Kesh reveals
Keshinro Ololade, aka Lil Kesh, speaks about his career, relationship with Olamide and his new record label
Was it your childhood dream to become a music artiste?
I have pretty much been around music all my life, and the love for music has gotten me this far. My dad is a pastor and he owns a church. However, it’s not like I made a conscious decision to become an artiste; it grew on me untill I knew this was what I wanted to do.
What was your dad’s reaction to your decision to become an artiste?
My dad was cool with it. He lets you do whatever you want to do. He feels that whatever his life story is doesn’t have to affect the way his children live their lives. According to what he used to tell me, everybody must live his or her individual stories. He watched me grow from being part of the choir, learning to play drums, and attending music shows. Till now, he gives me all the necessary support and respects my decisions.
Considering that your dad is a pastor, isn’t he bothered by your vulgar lyrics?
Those vulgar songs are basically about me doing my job and he doesn’t interfere. Besides, not all my songs are vulgar. I have recorded songs like Ishe, Semilore and others. However, the ones that go viral are the ones with vulgar lyrics. I understand my markets, and I know the demography I’m directing my music to, which is the youth and adults. I’m a blunt entertainer, but I consider my fans, and always try to give them what they want. But this year, I decided that I’ll feed my fans with more meaningful songs that will inspire them.
What inspires you to write such vulgar songs?
Most of those songs were not written; we just go into the studio and ‘vibe.’ However, my environment inspires me and it’s not like I deliberately try to be vulgar.
Beyond the stage persona, who is Keshinro Ololade as a person?
I have a dual personality in the sense that I could go into the studio and come up with crazy songs that would entertain people. I could also be home alone relaxing, and listening to soft and mid-tempo songs. Listening to my songs, some people may think I’m a loud and local boy, but they’re usually surprised when they meet me and see that I’m calm and cool-headed. I’m not that outgoing, except if I have to attend events.
What’s your educational background?
I went to a number of primary schools, all in Lagos. I also attended secondary school in Lagos before proceeding to the University of Lagos to study Linguistics. However, I had to defer my admission because of my hectic schedule. Right now, I’ve enrolled at the National Open University, where I’m studying Mass Communication.
Some people believe you came out of nowhere to rise to the top in the music industry. Can you share some of your struggles?
I have always been a hustler. I started my career by attending several talent hunt competitions, and I won some of them which made me quite popular in school. At a point, I was always hanging around studios because I had no money to record songs.
How did you meet Olamide?
I recorded a song titled Lyrical in late 2013, and Olamide heard it sometime in 2014. Apparently, he loved it, and he said he wanted to meet me. When I met Olamide, he had a contract ready for me, and that was how my career kick-started. I was blessed enough to record a hit song within months, and my career has been growing ever since. I have always seen Olamide as a king, and I even respect him more now.
How would you describe Olamide as a boss?
Despite the fame and fortune around him, Olamide is just like the guy next door. He is easy-going and down-to-earth. He is friendly with everyone and he could eat from the same plate with you without airs and graces.
Was it really your label mate, Viktoh, who introduced you to Olamide?
Yes. Viktoh is a friend to Olamide’s younger brother, DJ Enimoney, and he had known Olamide for about five years before I came into the picture. We used to meet at some talent hunt competitions, and he was the one that played my song, Lyrical, to Olamide. He actually signed both of us on the same day.
It was reported that there’s bad blood between you and Viktoh?
That’s just the figment of some people’s imaginations. VIktoh will always be my brother. We all have our different times to shine.
Let’s talk about Shoki…
I think Shoki is my biggest song to date. It became popular barely weeks after it was released. Initially, I was in denial because I didn’t know the song was that big. At some point, people like American singer, Missy Elliot, uploaded a video of herself dancing to Shoki. To be honest, it put pressure on me, because it was almost bigger than Lil Kesh, the brand.
Your style of music is similar to Olamide’s. Wasn’t he afraid of you overshadowing him?
No, there’s no competition between us. Olamide built the YBNL family in a way that we all love one another. Even if he is meant to release a song, and one of his artistes also wants to release a song, he would defer his to allow his artiste’s song to be put out. Besides, I won’t say I decided to do music like Olamide; it came naturally to me. We’re both from Bariga, and we have the same musical influences. YBNL has a sound of its own; it is not an Olamide sound, or a Lil Kesh sound.
Do you feel you know enough about the music industry to float your own record label?
Olamide brought us up to know every single detail about the music business. There weren’t many protocols, and he made me know all the industry contacts needed for distribution, promotion, PR and basically all parts of the business. He didn’t treat me like an artiste, but as a brother. Anyway, my label, YAGI is directly under YBNL. Olamide still handles the business for me. I’m just responsible for myself financially, but anytime I want to drop a new single or video, Olamide knows about it. YBNL is still Lil Kesh’s management, and the idea of floating a new label was a joint decision.
When will you be signing your own artistes?
It might not be anytime soon, but we’re definitely going to do that. When I feel mentally and financially ready, I will cross that bridge. Right now, there’s still a lot of work to be done on Lil Kesh.
Do you still visit Bariga where you grew up?
No, I don’t.
Why is it so?
It’s called the hood for a reason, and I have to consider a lot of things before going. I’m like a king in Bariga, and a lot of people love me there. If I’m to go there, it has to be a grand entry with security in place because a lot of people would definitely troop out to the streets. Besides, my family does not stay there anymore. I have relocated them to a better neighborhood.
You have found fame and fortune at an early age. How have you been able to manage it?
I always say I may be 22 years old biologically, but in my head, I’m older than that. Age is not maturity. It is your experience that makes you, and I have seen a lot. From being in the ghetto to living a better life; these things have built me.
Let’s talk a bit about the Headies. Did you feel robbed that you didn’t get the Next Rated Award?
I have put that behind me as it isn’t relevant to my career. As far as I’m concerned, my award is living a good life. Awards don’t determine which artiste is the best. So far you are nominated for an award, you are a winner already.
You have also been nominated for this year’s Headies. Will you be motivating your fans to vote for you?
It’s not just about me and how I feel about these things, it’s about my fans. They supported my music this year, and that’s why the album got nominated. I’m going to post about the award on social media, and appeal to my fans for support.
Can you recall the most awesome part of your career?
Anytime I step on stage and thousands of people are screaming my name.
What’s the craziest experience you have had with a fan?
There was a time I was on Lagos Island, and some street boys stopped all the cars on the road, saying nobody should move until they had all taken pictures with me. It was crazy on that day as their action caused massive traffic build-up.
Has any female fan ever asked you to sign on her boobs?
Those things happen and I don’t even consider them as crazy anymore; it’s a normal thing.
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
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