Olamide and one of his proteges, Lyta, have parted ways. And it’s not on very good terms. On February 15, 2018, Olamide officially announced Lyta as one of the new acts on his YBNL label. Lyta was officially unveiled as a YBNL act alongside Limerick.
Lyta and Limerick were introduced to YBNL and the Nigerian music scene with their first official singles, ‘Time’ and ‘Pesin’ which featured Olamide.
In a statement credited to Olamide and which was published by The Guardian, here are five talking points as Olamide and Lyta part ways.
1. No contract
Despite his official introduction of Lyta and Limerick as new music acts on the imprints of YBNL in 2018, Olamide says the young singer has no contract signed. Olamide, according to the statement, says Fireboy is the only music act signed with a valid and legal contract on YBNL. On why the other music acts have been paraded as the record label mates, the rapper says he’s just helping the music acts to have a smooth ride in the highly competitive music industry.
2. Greener Pasture
Another point in the separation between Olamide and Lyta is the reason Lyta left. There are insinuations that Lyta started making moves to quit the record label for a greener pasture. Again, Olamide said Lyta told him he has someone who wants to sign him and requested to leave the label. The YBNL rapper said, he, however, gave Lyta his blessings. Olamide further said though he knows Lyta was lying, he still wished him well regardless but only for Lyta to allegedly go about peddling untrue things about him.
3. Official Plan
Olamide explains that there is an official plan for every music act on YBNL but Lyta was unready to follow through having enjoyed fame in 2018. The rapper says every label with 2 or more artistes has a calendar that is followed in order to push the various artists for equality sake but Lyta seems uncomfortable with the plan. In 2018, Lyta released two singles “Time” and “Self Made” with videos. The singer performed at several shows alongside Olamide. Olamide further claims that Lyta was unhappy the attention is moving to other music acts on the label as designed by the label’s promotion calendar.
4. Fireboy DML’s angle
Another point raised by Olamide on why he parted ways with Lyta was Fireboy‘s massive success after the release of his debut single, ‘Jealousy’. The record label executive says Fireboy’s current success might have not gone down well with Lyta. While Olamide has moved on, he hinted that Lyta is a talented singer but his idea of how his songs should be released and promoted does not align with the YBNL calendar. Olamide insists the singer wants to remain in the spotlight at the detriment of other music acts.
5. No Negative vibe
Olamide acknowledged that he unfollowed Lyta on Instagram to avoid negative vibes around him. In his words, “If you know me too well, you will know I don’t want negative energy or bad vibes around me. Bad energy or pity face affects me badly and I can’t help but scrutinize my page to avoid any issue.” Lyta has continued to support Olamide’s craft by reposting the promotional materials for his new single, ‘Oil and Gas’.
Lyta’s departure from Olamide’s YBNL follows the long list of Nigerian music acts quitting their record label in a controversial way. Though both parties have confirmed that there was no contractual agreement binding Lyta as an artist with YBNL, his departure from the label does not appear interesting to both parties involved.
