Keshinro Ololade (born March 14, 1995), popularly known by his stage nameLil Kesh, is a Nigerian singer, rapper and songwriter. He rose to fame after his chart-topping song titled "Shoki" rose to critical acclaim from music critics. Lil Kesh was born and raised in Bariga, a suburb of Lagos State. His music career started in 2012 while rapping among his peers in Bariga until he released "Lyrically", a single that quickly became popular in Nigerian Universities. In 2015, he was nominated in the Best New Act to Watch category at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. Affiliated to YBNL Nation as a recording artist, Lil Kesh is currently signed under his record label YAGI Records, an acronym for "Young And Getting It".
Lil Kesh's professional music career started in 2012 but he became popular in 2014 after he recorded his first single titled "Lyrically" which was positively accepted majorly by students in Nigerian universities. Through YBNL Nation, Lil Kesh released "
Shoki", a song which got him nominated in the Best Street-Hop Artiste category at
The Headies 2014 while "Shoki Remix" which featured
guest appearances from Olamide and
Davido got nominated in the Hottest Single of the Year at the
2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. On 2 April 2014, he signed his first music contract with YBNL Nation.
2015–present: Y.A.G.I and YAGI Records
On 23 February 2015, Lil Kesh released a song titled "Gbese" which was produced by
Young Jonn with the music video featuring cameo appearances from
Skuki. On 11 June 2015, he was nominated in the Best New Act to Watch category at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and went on to be nominated at the 2015
Headies Award for Next Rated. On March 17, 2016, Lil Kesh released his debut
studio album titled
Y.A.G.I which was positively received. The album features
guest appearances from notable music acts including
Olamide,
Phyno,
Davido,
Adekunle Gold,
YCEE,
Wale,
Viktoh and
Patoranking.
On April 26, 2016, Lil Kesh announced via
Instagram that he has established his own label imprint called YAGI Records with Olamide later confirming the news through the same medium following the expiration of Lil Kesh's 2-year recording contract with YBNL Nation.
Artistry
Lil Kesh's versatility and style of music has been similarized to that of Olamide who raps and sings in his local dialect.However, he has been criticised for using too much
vulgar sentences and not finding the right balance in the lyrics of his songs. In an interview with
Naij he said,
| “ | they are singles not an album, I know the kind of market am directing my songs to, 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. | ” |
Discography
Selected singles
Studio albums[edit]
| Year | Album Title | Album Details |
|---|
| 2016 | Y.A.G.I |
|
Awards and nominations[edit]
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