Two decades after rising from the streets of Bariga to shape the very DNA of Afrobeats, Olamide is finally going on a global tour. He opened his North American tour in Toronto with a sold-out show that felt less like a concert and more like a historic homecoming.
The concert, held at Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub, drew over 5,000 fans, with tickets selling out weeks in advance. This is a signal of the massive demand surrounding the YBNL founder’s first major North American tour in several years. Concertgoers flooded social media with videos and reactions within minutes of the show beginning, pushing “Olamide in Toronto” into trending topics across Nigeria, Canada, and the U.S.
A Night of Energy and Pure Street Pop History
Stepping onto the stage to thunderous applause, Olamide opened with one of the songs that made him dominate mainstream Afrobeats, “Melo Melo.” The crowd sang every word back to him. This sets the tone for a performance that traveled across two decades of music, a rare achievement for any African artist.
The rapper went on to perform fan favorites including:
- “Lagos Boys”
- “The Money” featuring Davido
- “Bobo”
- “Wo!!”
- “Motigbana”
Each song came with tailored lighting, pyrotechnics, and stunning visual displays, including digital projections that celebrated the evolution of his career from Bariga to global stages.
Toronto-based dancers and a live band created a hybrid Lagos-meets-Canada experience, blending street pop energy with polished concert production. One notable moment was a surprise cameo by popular Nigerian dancer Poco Lee, who joined Olamide on stage to perform viral choreography that sent the audience into a frenzy. While Badoo dominates Toronto, Portable is on the run again back home with the police force declaring him wanted. iNaijanow covered the full story.
Celebrating 20 Years of a Transformative Career
The show doubled as an informal celebration of Olamide’s approaching 20th year in the music industry. His career has been defined by consistency, reinvention, and his role as a cultural architect for Afrobeats and street pop.
Few artists have shaped the sound of a generation like Olamide. Through YBNL, he has launched or elevated the careers of multiple household names including Lil Kesh, Fireboy DML, Adekunle Gold, Asake, Chinko Ekun, and Zinoleesky. Many fans at the Toronto event wore branded YBNL merchandise representing “the dynasty,” as they called it on X.
North American Tour Now Rolling Into New York and Los Angeles
From Toronto, Olamide is set to perform in New York, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, with some venues reportedly nearing capacity already. Promoters say they had anticipated strong numbers, but the scale of fan demand, even from second-generation African communities in Canada has surpassed projections.
Industry analysts note that Olamide’s tour comes at a time when Afrobeats is experiencing unprecedented acceptance in Western markets. Performances by Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Rema in recent years have opened doors for more African acts to attempt large-scale tours, but Olamide’s arrival is particularly notable.
While he has long been regarded as a legend in Africa, he has historically spent more time developing YBNL acts than touring abroad, making this 2025 tour particularly significant.
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