The closest the average boy from the streets of Isale Eko might ever get to a piano is the picture in his schoolbooks — yet there Asake stood, in ordinance of a 33-piece orchestra set at the grand Kings Theatre of Brooklyn, New York City. On November 8, he made history as the first African to headline the Red Bull Symphonic NYC, and the Afrobeats megastar executed the honors as smoothly as the top of his head.

 

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In conjunction with American composer Glen Alexander II, Asake — adorned in the most debonair of three-piece suits, courtesy of his stylist extraordinaire Ugo Mozie — reimagined some of his biggest hits. The log drums on “PBUY” were paired with tingling cellos, and the instrumental solo at the start of “Remember” came from about four different woodwind instruments.

The one-night only performance reached its heights after some of Asake’s biggest collaborators, Wizkid, Central Cee, Gunna, Fridayy, and Tiakola stepped in to amplify the moment, each adding their own charge to an already dreamlike night. Asake also teased a new song, broke into a Salsa routine, and closed the show with an explosive take on his now-iconic “Fuji Vibe” choreography.

For many fans who fell in love with Asake, “Mr. Money,” seeing him occupy such an echelon in global music would relate his success to only the ingenuity of his art and how high his refined swagger has placed him. But those who watched Ololade Asake know that what is being witnessed is a complete metamorphosis. He has continually reshaped himself at every turn, trusting his voice, literally and figuratively, as an instrument capable of bending expectations. 

All of this had gradually been building up, from his days on the stages of Obafemi Awolowo University, to his double-sell out of London’s legendary O2 Arena, witnessing him bring the sonic world of Lagos to a very elitist faction of New York’s music scheme feels like the realisation of the vision that Fela saw when he decided to experiment African rhythm with foreign sounds.

The best part of the entire journey is how intentional Asake has been with the definition of his craft. The Asake you see today might not be the Asake you see tomorrow; that’s how impressively chameleonic he is. He’s intensely artistic and armed to the teeth with ambitions that keep him restless, ensuring that the Asake you eventually know is never one you can pin down. From the flashy dreads, and even flashier gold grills during his breakout days, he grew out to more sophisticated jewelry as some sort of growth indicator by the time he put out his sophomore Work of Art. Then the skateboards, shorter twists, and a combination of urban and high-fashion on his global Lungu Boy. With a new project looming and a new look that matches an accomplished mob boss, it is pretty clear that Asake has always had the blueprint for all this from day one. 

Asake’s meteoric rise  is one of Afrobeat’s most iconic Chanson de geste, but how he has managed to maintain his tempo and almost seamlessly grow out from his bud is what is most impressive. In recent times, genuine artistic longevity has never been a tougher proposition and at  a point where many would lose to the plethora of distractions the industry creates, Mr Money has continued to make the best personal, sonical, and (probably) managerial decisions. I believe at this point, it isn’t a stretch to claim that Asake cannot fall. As calculated as he has moved over the last three years, it is almost ideally impossible to see him give up his grip on the game. 

As what resembles a new album and a new chapter in Asake’s story draws closer, it is exciting to see what new trick the superstar has in store for his listeners, the fans, and the global scene that he has well influenced, with his looks, his creativity, and the emotions that his sound evokes. Truly, he’s been making the hard things look strangely effortless, gliding through moments, but the proof will have to be in the pudding.