"Durosoke" (Yoruba: "Stay Up") is a song by

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists in Nigeria and Africa and has been crucial to the creative and commercial succe ...

. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album, ''

Baddest Guy Ever Liveth ''Baddest Guy Ever Liveth'' (abbreviated as ''BGEL'') is the third studio album by Nigerian musician Olamide. It was released on November 7, 2013, by YBNL Nation. Recorded between 2012 and 2013, the album features collaborations with Pheelz, Ice ...

'' (2013). The song was produced by

Pheelz Phillip Kayode Moses (born 5 June 1994), better known as Pheelz, is a Nigerian record producer, singer, songwriter, and graphic designer. Pheelz is credited to have produced all but one song on Olamide's '' Baddest Guy Ever Liveth'' album. In 2 ...

and written by Olamide. It is a mid tempo Yoruba song.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Durosoke" was shot and directed in Nigeria by

Clarence Peters Clarence Abiodun Peters (born 20 December 1983) is a Nigerian music video director, filmmaker and cinematographer. He is the founder and CEO of Capital Dream Pictures, a production company that specializes in performing arts, film and video. H ...

. It was exclusively released on ''Star Music'', a music platform established in February 2013 by Star Lager, one of Nigeria's largest brewing companies. In an interview, Olamide spoke on the release of "Durosoke", saying, "I don't remember the last time I was this excited about dropping something so fresh". The rapper's camp didn't reveal any details about the video and left fans speculating about its concept.

Durosoke's music video parody

Dean (also known as Olubaddo) performed a parody of "Durosoke" prior to the 2013 Cokobar Music Festival, headlined by Olamide alongside

Flavour N'abania Chinedu Okoli (born 23 November 1983), better known by his stage name Flavour N'abania or simply Flavour, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He began his musical career as a drummer for a local church. Flavour is popularly known across Africa ...

, and

Sean Tizzle Morihanfen Oluwaseun Oluwabamidele (born 15 December 1989), known by his stage name as Sean Tizzle, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is currently signed to Wind Vane Music. Early life and career Sean Tizzle was born into a Christian hom ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, the song was met with positive reviews. Onos O of ''

BellaNaija ''BellaNaija'' is a Nigerian lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion website headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. History BellaNaija was founded by Uche Eze in 2006. In its early form, BellaNaija featured scanned magazine articles, pictures, and in ...

'' commented on the single, saying: "On "Durosoke", he takes a hint from Davido as he drops some gibberish in the hook. And for those who don't understand Yoruba, everything sounds like gibberish anyway but Olamide always comes through with the swag." A writer for ''OyaMagazine'' gave the song 7 out of 10 stars, adding that "Durosoke, despite being sung largely in Yoruba Language is popular even among those who don't understand a word in the language. Olamide's originality stood out in this song, he shows us that he needs not struggle with lyrics as he does his thing in his mother's tongue. The beat isn't the fast-tempo one common in Nigerian dance tracks of today." A writer for ''Pulse'' said that "the video is a departure from the usual party/club scene type video which would have been the norm for such a hit track. Clarence instead chooses to tell a story of sorts, albeit a quirky one. Just like the track, we foresee this video remaining on the charts for several weeks to come."

Accolades

"Durosoke" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Rap Single at the 2013 edition of

The Headies The Headies (originally called the Hip Hop World Awards) are honors established in 2006 by ''Hip Hop World Magazine'' to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features performances by established a ...

. The music video for "Durosoke" won Best Afro Hip Hop Video and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2013 Nigeria Music Video Awards.

Track listing, covers, and remixes

"Durosoke" was remixed by Wakizy and Ayomide, two up and coming artists from Nigeria.

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 singles Olamide songs Songs in Yoruba YBNL Nation singles Song recordings produced by Pheelz Music videos directed by Clarence Peters Songs written by Olamide