Born and raised in Nigeria, Ashidapo is emerging as a rising talent in the modern Afrobeats scene. From the very start of his musical journey, he has captured attention with his distinctive voice, strong sense of melody, and ability to blend traditional African rhythms with modern influences ranging from R&B to dancehall. Over the years, Ashidapo has built his artistic identity with rigour and passion, working with fellow talents from the Nigerian scene and refining his own unique style. Cosigned by the very best of this business going from Olamide to Davido, and Tiwa Savage, his career reached a turning point in 2025. Supported by viral challenges and massive social media sharing, these tracks gave him brand new exposure and reaffirmed his status as a rising star to watch very closely. We sat down with him to discuss musical journey, versatility, and rising status.
How are you and how is your year 2025 going?
I’m doing fine. We thank God. I think 2025 has been my best year yet career-wise. It’s been growth, evident growth all through this year. I can’t complain, I’m super grateful. I just want to keep working hard, putting in my best in my art, releasing more music, more videos, and more content. More of Ashidapo everywhere basically.
What ingredients did you put in, to make it a good year for you?
I put God first. Then I would say that I stopped overthinking things so much. Now, when I just feel something in my heart that sounds like a good move, I just do it. That’s definitely one thing that I know I’ve changed this year because most of the videos I posted that went viral this year would never have seen the light of day before. I probably would have overthought the whole process and I wouldn’t have posted those videos. That’s one thing I know I changed this year. I stopped overthinking things so much. I just did it when I felt like I should do it. I followed my instincts basically.
Do you think artists should overthink less?
It depends. As creatives, we always overthink. It is inherent to our profession. You can never be creative if you don’t overthink. There’s going to be a little bit of self-doubt at some point. “Oh, did I do it well? Should I retake it? Should I do this again? Etc.” But speaking personally, I believed in myself so much. This is what I would advise other artists. It could help you get to the next level and free you from your own shackles.
You got caught up in music at a young age in your church choir. What did you get from this experience?
I started singing at church when I was 11. I was a curious kid. The simple fact that you can take a tool called a microphone, just say one thing into it, or sing one thing into it and it’s blasting out in big speakers amazed me. I found that enticing and amazing. So, I asked my mom to join the church choir. It was a pretty small church. And since my sister was already in the choir, it was easier for me. I was the only male there. I learned how to play drums there too. I guess all those things shaped me from a very young age. It made me realize that no matter how sad I am, if I’m able to sing, I am grateful. Music is my happy place. So, the church helped me find my love for music.
How would you describe your musical genre?
I’m the type of artist who doesn’t like to be boxed. If you’d asked me this question last year or the year before that, I would have given you a different answer. Right now, I’d say that I am doing Tropical pop infused with Fuji fusion Afrobeats. Tropical pop in the sense that it’s colorful music that just makes you want to dance. Fuji fusion is the way I make my vocals sound. I bring the whole Yoruba boy vibe into it. The whole Fuji type of vibe.
Many artists cosigned you and your art. Which artists did you grow up listening to and inspire you?
It’s a lot. I grew up listening to a lot of Akon, Justin Bieber, Iyanya, Wizkid, Davido, and Burna Boy. I just listen to all genres of music basically. And I love Wande Coal so much. He has played a very important role in my taking music seriously. He inspired me a lot. Thank God right now I’m getting cosigns from the people I literally grew up listening to and that is a blessing. It encourages me to continue like this.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
It’s all a mindset thing for me. I like to be with my loved ones and spend quality time with them. It doesn’t have to be anything serious. If we go to the club, it’s fine. If we could just be in my living room playing games or having random discussions, it’s also fine. I just love to be with the people that I love. I grab a lot of my inspiration from that and the simplest things in life. When I feel sad, I’ll make sad music. When I feel happy, I’ll make happy music. No matter the emotions, it doesn’t stop me from making music. I even have a special habit when I’m trying to write music, and I don’t get the lyrics or the melodies right. What I do is I turn on the treadmill in my room, start walking on the treadmill and I’m writing music at the same time. Walking just helps me get my mind in place. So, it’s just walking, burning calories, listening to the beat, and recording all at the same time. That’s my thing. I don’t have to drink or smoke up to get inspiration.
Highlighting your terrific year 2025, you co-wrote the title ‘Holy Water’ in OBO’s album “5ive”. How did this link-up come about?
Actually, it’s a long story but a very interesting one! Back in 2023, Iyanya reached out to me saying that he wanted me on his album. So, I linked up with him at the studio. We were in Nigeria at that time. A man from Davido’s team was also there in the studio. He saw me do my thing and found interest in my profile, per say. So we started talking, he gave me advice and I gave him some of my unreleased tracks. That’s when the funny part of that story happened. So, days after that, he played music while driving with Davido. Davido was in the back seat, asleep. When my tracks started playing in the car, Davido woke up, back-to-back, asking “Hey who’s singing? Video call him right now!” It was a Sunday. I just got out of church. I saw my phone ring. On FaceTime, it was the guy from Davido’s team, with Davido himself right next to him. That’s where it all begins. I went to meet them in Kenya, and I met David. He was so cool. The first thing he said to me in front of everybody was “Oh, this is my next investment, I’m going to sign him.” We spend a lot of time together. That’s how we met. The day Musa Keys sent the beat for Holy Water, we were in the studio with Davido, and Victony was there too. That’s how I ended up co-writing the song. It was such a great experience.
At this stage of your career, how do you balance writing for other artists and continuing to work on your music?
The truth is I don’t write for other artists in the first place. It’s not something that I enjoy doing. I just do my thing. But I love David so much, like I’ve always had love for him even before I met him. So, I just felt like “oh why not?”. But it’s not something that I do. I don’t organize writing camps or try to write for artists. I’m working for myself. So, I’m not balancing anything. I’ve not written for anybody except David.
You had your first success in 2024 with the song ‘Brother’ with Asake. Most recently, you released the song ‘Girl on Fya’ with Olamide. You’ve managed to get these big artists on a feature and create good music, how do you feel about this?
I just feel grateful to God, man. Asake has always been my brother from way back. Like way before any of us even got famous or got any song or anything. We used to be twins, so mad close. For the ‘Brother’ sound, he had already made it. He had direction and everything. He hit me up, took me to his car, and played the track for me. He said that he wanted me to do a verse on this song. We went to his place and started recording my verse that same night. I love Asake and he will always be my brother. I have real love for him. As for ‘Girl on Fya’, I wasn’t holding anything back. I was following my instinct. I already did the freestyle. Right after that, I made a TikTok video and simply posted it. I just followed my mind, and it went viral on TikTok. To this day, I still believe that the connection between Baddo and me is a divine alignment because I was saying that it would be nice to have Baddo on this song. I tried to contact him on Instagram, unsuccessfully. So, I tried to get in touch with him directly on TikTok, where the trend is visible, and to my total surprise, I had already received a message request from Baddo’s TikTok account saying “I want to do a verse on this song.” I was like “Bro I was literally about to come and beg you for a verse on ‘Girl on Fya’”. Boom. That was it. He reached out to me first even though I had the intention to go and reach out to him. I saw his message pending in my DM. That’s God working right here. I sent him the beat, and in less than 24 hours he did his thing.
Your song ‘Gobe’ has been a real success now on TikTok and socials. Some people may say it’s going to be one of the anthems for Detty December. Did you anticipate this wave of viral videos when making this track?
Funny story because for “Gobe” I did not want to overthink the whole writing process. I just went with it. When I see how people react today to Gobe on social media I’m like “oh never will I ever overthink in my life!”. I recorded and finished the major section in less than 20 minutes, but I felt the potential of the song while I was recording it because I was dancing like a madman. I was dancing and recording at the same time. It was such a good moment. I told myself that if the song made me feel this way, it would certainly do the same to the audience. People are going to connect to it in the same manner too. That’s why you see guys screaming and dancing in the viral videos of this song. It puts them in that dance mood. I remember when I finished the song, I sent it to Baddo on WhatsApp, and he answered “GBEDU”. Straight up. That was all I needed to hear. I teased it on TikTok right after that. I feel like the success of the song is just getting started and the madness will be bigger in the next two weeks. I’m joining people on TikTok with the whole dance trend. We’re pushing it with the dance right now that those kitchen guys in Germany created.
What can we expect from Ashidapo now, as the year comes to an end?
My body of work is coming. It’s called ‘Retro’. It’s dropping next month. ‘Girl on fya’ and ‘Gobe’ are both singles of the retro EP. On another note, my UK tour starts next week. I’ve announced seven cities. I’m going to be in Canada as well. Basically, just dropping new music, touring, and coming back home in December.
Written By Piway Loko.
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