Asake’s Year in Music: The Performer of the People

In the fast-paced world of Afrobeats, Asake (real name Ahmed Ololade) has managed the impossible: he slowed down, sharpened up, and stayed dangerous. 

As we close the ledger on 2025, it’s clear that'Mr Money" isn’t just chasing bags anymore; he is building a legacy that defies the traditional borders of the genre.

This year, Asake solidified his status as a global Afrobeats powerhouse through a series of unprecedented milestones.  

According to official Apple Music Nigeria year-end data for 2025, Asake's debut independent single, "Why Love," emerged as the #1 most-streamed song of the year, while his overall streaming catalog surpassed 2 billion career streams on both Spotify and Audiomack, making him the first African artist to reach that mark on the latter. Asake’s continued relevance was further evidenced by the rare feat of having all three of his studio albums remain in the top ten most-streamed projects of the year. Beyond digital numbers, his artistry earned significant critical acclaim, including a nomination at the 67th Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance for "MMS" with Wizkid.

Asake, the first Afrobeats artist to win the prestigious GQ Global Creative Award in the USA, received an impressive six nominations at the Trace Awards 2025. 

The year concluded with Asake standing as a singular force in the industry, ranking as a top-three most-streamed artist in Nigeria, and earning both a BPI Gold Certification for his debut album, Mr. Money With The Vibe, and a Silver certification for the hit single "Sungba" in the United Kingdom.

He also finished 2025 as one of the highest-paid Nigerian musicians.

From launching his own independent imprint, Giran Republic, to orchestrating a symphonic takeover of Brooklyn, the man has spent the last twelve months proving that the'street-pop" tag is far too small for his ambitions. 

In February 2025, Asake officially announced his departure from YBNL Nation, the label that served as his launchpad under the mentorship of Olamide.

Mr Money didn't just leave. He evolved, establishing Giran Republic with the release of 'WHY LOVE'. It was a move of pure confidence. During a red-carpet appearance at the 2025 GRAMMYs (where he was nominated for his work on Lungu Boy), he told Billboard’s Tetris Kelly,' I appreciate the fact that they nominated me. I won't lie, that's a lot to me. Even me, I didn't see that coming this soon. I’m relaxed about it. Maybe because I know there will be a day that win will come.'

That relaxed energy defined his 2025 output. He spent the first half of the year dropping a string of high-precision singles, including 'Gold' and the Sarz-produced 'Getting Paid,' which kept the dancefloors of Lagos and London in a chokehold. He wasn't just chasing the next viral TikTok sound; he was refining a philosophy of growth. Speaking to GQ earlier in his career arc, a sentiment he echoed throughout his 2025 press run, he noted: “Trying to get better is like having armour and scissors, and carving yourself. So it takes bone, it takes flesh.”

If there was a single "mic drop" moment this year, it was the Red Bull Symphonic performance at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn this past November. To the uninitiated, seeing a street-hop star backed by a full orchestra might seem like a gimmick. For Asake, it was a coronation. Under the direction of conductor Glenn Alexander II, Afrobeats met the high-art sophistication of classical arrangements.

The cultural significance was staggering. The guest list alone felt like a global summit: Wizkid joined him for a haunting rendition of "MMS," Central Cee pulled up for "Wave," Gunna brought the Atlanta heat to "Happiness," and Tiakola and Fridayy rounded out a setlist that bridged three continents. The YouTube upload of the performance has already become a digital shrine for fans; the "MMS" live clip alone surpassed 164,000 views within its first seven days on the Red Bull 1520 channel, with the full show trending globally.

Reflecting on his global reach in a 2025 interview with Essence, Asake was uncharacteristically vulnerable: “It feels so good. I won’t lie. I’m blessed. I feel like out of so many people in the whole world, God chose me to actually live this path.”

While the music was evolving, so was the man. In October 2025, Asake sent social media into a frenzy when a new passport-style photograph surfaced showing him completely bald, a sharp departure from the signature braids and locs that had defined his 'Mr Money era'. Almost immediately, the internet drew parallels to the late Tupac Shakur, a comparison Asake has subtly leaned into through his visuals.

The'bald era" isn't just a style choice; it’s a shedding of skin. No more explaining. No more oversharing.

When he appeared at GQ’s Man of the Year event in November 2025, he traded his colourful streetwear for an oversized black suit and a minimalist, clean-shaven look that screamed 'Executive Chairman' By removing the hair, he removed the distractions. As he told GQ, "I’ll never limit myself to one thing. I might wake up tomorrow and tell you I want to do an all-reggae album. Maybe that’s where God just directs me to."

As we look toward the horizon, Asake isn't slowing down. As fans eagerly await the highly-anticipated EP with Wizkid, Real Vo. 1, the hitmaker has already announced his fourth album, titled Money, his first full-length project under Giran Republic, which is expected to drop in the first half of 2026.

Real EP follows several successful 2024–2025 collaborations between the two, including "MMS" (on Asake's Lungu Boy) and "Bad Girl" (on Wizkid's Morayo). Announced in early December 2025 during an Apple Music Radio takeover, the EP was scheduled for release in late December 2025. 

Whether he’s skating through the streets of London or standing at the centre of a symphony in Brooklyn, Asake remains the “Performer of the People” He is the mystery that refuses to be solved, and in 2025, that mystery became the most powerful currency in music. Asake in 2025 wasn’t just an artist having a good year. He was a performer, a symbol, a moving culture.