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

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n hip hop

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

Olamide. 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 hip hop recording artist Olamide. It was released on November 7, 2013, by YBNL Nation. Olamide recorded the album between 2012 and 2013; he enlisted Phe ...

'' (2013). The song was produced by

Pheelz Phillip Kayode Moses (born 5 June 1994), better known as Pheelz, is a Nigerian record producer, singer and songwriter who has worked with several artists and musicians, such as Olamide and Tiwa Savage. Born and raised in Lagos, Pheelz is credi ...

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

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Durosoke" was shot and directed in Nigeria by

Clarence Peters Clarence Abiodun Peters (born 27 July 1978) is a Nigerian music video director, filmmaker and cinematographer. He is the founder and CEO of Capital Dream Pictures, a production company that specialises in the realms of the performing arts, fi ...

. 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. He began his musical career as a drummer for a local church. Flavour is popularly known across Africa and the world ...

, 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 was formally signed to Sound Sultan's Naija Ninjas. Early life and Career Sean Tizzle was born into a C ...

Critical reception

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

BellaNaija ''BellaNaija'' is a lifestyle, entertainment and fashion website in Africa. headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. History BellaNaija was founded by Uche Eze in 2006 as a media startup which later metamorphosed into BellaNaija.com while studying for ...

'' 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) is a music awards show established in 2006 by the '' Hip Hop World Magazine'' of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features p ...

. 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 Yoruba-language songs YBNL Nation singles Song recordings produced by Pheelz