Lil Kesh reveals the song that made Olamide sign him to YBNL

In a recent interview on The Esther Show, Nigerian rapper Lil Kesh reveals how he got signed to Olamide’s Yahoo Boy No Laptop record label.

According to him, his breakout single ‘Lyrically’ made Olamide Baddo to offer him a contract with YBNL.

” ‘Lyrically’ is one song that got me my record deal,” Lil Kesh said on the hit record that announced him to the Nigerian mainstream.

While his artistry is primarily conveyed throgh rap music, Lil Kesh shared that he doesm’t like identitfing as one even though he is one.

“I am a rapper, but I don’t like to identify as a rapper intentionally. I came into the game as a rapper.”

According to him, he understood that Nigerians love to party, hence rap music wouldn’t bring him the level of commercial success he craved.

“Most of the people who identified as rappers, most of them couldn’t stand the test of time,” Lil Kesh explained his desire to identify as a popstar and make pop records despite being a rapper.

He further shared how YBNL label boss Olamide is one of the few exceptions of rappers who enjoyed long successful careers because he consistently made commercial Afrobeats records.

It was this desire for commercial success that inspired him to deliver hit records like ‘Shoki,’ ‘Is It Because I Love You,’ and ‘Efejoku‘ which propelled him to mainstream sensation in 2015.

Under YBNL, Lil Kesh would go on to become one of Nigeria’s hottest hitmakers, whose music dominated the streets.

10 years after he made his mainstream debut, Lil Kesh continues to stay in tune with the pulse of culture with the release of a new EP titled ‘Forever Getting It’ in April 2025.

You can watch Lil Kesh’s full interview on The Esther Show below.