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“I Miss Their Voices”: Olamide Gets Candid About Grief, Growth, and Defying Musical Labels on Flow with Korty
Nigerian music heavyweight Olamide peeled back the curtain on his life and career during an emotional appearance on “Flow with Korty,” giving fans a rare glimpse into his inner world one marked by loss, resilience, and fearless creativity.
Airing on Sunday, August 3, 2025, the interview saw the usually guarded artist open up in ways rarely seen before.
In one particularly moving moment, Olamide reflected on the deep ache of losing both parents a grief he’s carried silently while navigating the spotlight.
“I miss being able to hear my mom’s voice and my dad’s voice,” he confessed, his tone filled with quiet sorrow.
Paying tribute to his late father, the YBNL boss painted a picture of a selfless man whose burdens never showed even in the hardest times.
“He was stressing to make ends meet for us. But I never for once saw his struggle. He never made it show.”
Beyond personal reflections, Olamide also used the interview to confront the constraints critics often place on his artistry.
Dismissing the label of “just a rapper,” he made it clear that his creative vision spans far beyond genre boxes.
“You can’t box me and call me a rap artiste,” he said. “I love music. I want to do fuji or pop, or blues or R\&B — I don’t care.”
That commitment to artistic freedom has long defined Olamide’s career, helping him shape the sound of a generation while elevating acts like Asake under his YBNL imprint.
His ability to effortlessly fuse gritty street sounds with global appeal has made him one of the most influential forces in African music today.
What this conversation revealed was more than just a musical icon. It was a portrait of a man grounded in humility, deeply connected to his roots, and relentlessly pushing creative boundaries, even as he quietly carries the weight of personal loss.