‘Asake felt cheated’ – Lawyer reveals why singer left Olamide’s YBNL

Yemisi Falaye, an entertainment lawyer, has revealed why singer Ahmed Ololade, popularly known as Asake, parted ways with rapper Olamide’s record label, YBNL Nation.

Recall that reports of Asake and Olamide parting ways surfaced last December when it was reported that the ‘Sungba’ singer had been allowed to leave the label under a termination agreement.

In February 2025, Asake all but confirmed his separation from Olamide when he launched his own record label, Giran Republic.

However, shedding light on the separation and the kind of contract Asake signed with YBNL Nation, Falaye revealed that the singer left because he felt cheated.

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Falaye traced the origin of the fallout to when Asake decided against her legal advice not to sign the contract Olamide gave him at the very beginning.

She explained that Asake, who had been in the music industry for years without a breakthrough, rushed to sign the contract despite her advice because he was excited that he was finally getting signed.

Falaye clarified that Olamide clearly told Asake to get a lawyer to review the contract before signing.

Although Asake took the contract to Falaye, he refused her advice not to sign but instead insulted her and accused her of trying to impede his breakthrough.

Falaye had warned Asake that he would be signing away his rights “in perpetuity” if he agreed to the terms of the contract.

She recounted, “I remember when Olamide was going to sign Asake. He was so overwhelmed that he said to Olamide, ‘I’m not going to get a lawyer to review this agreement. YBNL wants to sign me, do you know how long I’ve been waiting? He had been around for the longest time before Olamide decided to sign him. Olamide told him, ‘Take the contract, go and give it to somebody to review it.

“So he brought it to me, and I said, ‘If you sign this agreement, you are going to assign your rights in perpetuity’. I advised him not to sign it. And he looked at me and said, ‘Are you kidding me? You said what? Did they send you? You want to pour sand in my garri.’

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“He insulted me and called my bluff. Then he went back and told Olamide, ‘Look, I’m not going to…’ and right there, he signed it. And guess what? It didn’t particularly work for him. Because if it did, he would have renewed the agreement or at least been open to reviewing the terms. But he was so hurt, he felt cheated. Why should he feel cheated? He’s the one that didn’t understand the agreement.”