Carpe Diem (Olamide album)

Carpe Diem is the eleventh studio album of Nigerian rapper Olamide and his first body of work under American label and distribution company, Empire Distribution.[3][4] According to The Olamide Music Chart on X formerly (Twitter), Carpe Diem crossed the 500 million stream mark across all dsps on June 1, 2021.

Carpe Diem
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 8, 2020 (2020-10-08)
Recorded2020
Language
Label
Producer
Olamide chronology
Lagos Nawa
(2017)
Carpe Diem
(2020)
UY Scuti
(2021)
Singles from Carpe Diem
  1. "Eru"
    Released: September 8, 2020[1]
  2. "GreenLight"
    Released: October 2, 2020[2]

Background edit

In July 2020, Olamide announced he had finished recording his album.[5] He released the tracklist for the album on the 1st of October 2020[6] featuring Fireboy DML, Bad Boy Timz, Omah Lay, Phyno, Peruzzi and Bella Shmurda.[7] Album production credits to Young John, Pheelz, ID Cabasa, P.Priime, VStix.[8]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Gilox8/10
Naijaloaded8/10
Pulse.ng8.5/10
Tooxclusive5/5

Carpe Diem received critical acclaim from music critics with most critics acknowledging Olamide's brilliance on the project. Motolani Alake of Pulse NG stated that Carpe Diem is only bettered by Baddest Guy Ever Liveth in Olamide’s discography, he praised Olamide by saying "It also has zero fillers and it has a topical sonic and topical cohesion merged with a topical progression that no other Olamide album has. It’s his calmest and most methodical bit of music and it marries contemporary conformity with a unique identity".[9] A writer for NATIVE in a more enthusiastic way said that Carpe Diem is a solid project and a stark reminder that the afropop/rap landscape is always changing and with the boisterous 12-tracks on this project, he stated that Olamide continues to show why he will always have the clubs and streets on in a chokehold while giving listeners a newer more-refined side of him. Although the project has its fair share of filler tracks neatly packaged in the form of love songs, Olamide’s unbridled confidence in his abilities and that of the upcoming artists he takes under his wings marks the project’s sweet spot.[10] Naijaloaded awarded the album 8 stars out of 10[11] while Olalekan Okeremilekun of Tooxclusive gave a 5/5 rating stating that the album shows growth and innovation, but it has a lot of contenders and only time will tell its place in a year when a lot of artistes have made efforts to transcend their previous efforts. However, for now, it's worth listening to.[12] A writer for Gilox have the opinion that Carpe Diem is perhaps the most brilliant display of a musical mastermind that Olamide Baddo is with an 8/10 rating.[13]

Track listing edit

Carpe Diem track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Another Level"Olamide AdedejiP. Priime2:55
2."GreenLight"AdedejiP. Priime3:15
3."Infinity" (featuring Omah Lay)
  • Adedeji
  • Stanley Omah Didia
P. Priime2:52
4."Eru"AdedejiP. Priime3:03
5."Triumphant" (featuring Bella Shmurda)
  • Adedeji
  • Akinbiyi Abiola Ahmed
Pheelz2:54
6."At Your Service"AdedejiID Cabasa3:12
7."Do Better"AdedejiYoung Jonn3:13
8."Chimichaga"AdedejiP. Priime2:59
9."Shilalo" (featuring Phyno)
  • Adedeji
  • Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike
P. Priime2:59
10."Loading" (featuring Bad Boy Timz)
  • Olamide Adedeji
  • Olorunyomi Oloruntimilehin
P. Priime3:15
11."Unconditionally" (featuring Peruzzi)
  • Adedeji
  • Tobechukwu Victor Okoh
V.STIX4:25
12."Plenty" (featuring Fireboy DML)
  • Adedeji
  • Adedamola Adefolahan
Pheelz2:50

Charts edit

Chart performance for Carpe Diem
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Nigeria Albums (TurnTable)[14] 37

500 Million Streams edit

According to the Olamide Music Chart on X formerly (Twitter), Carpe Diem surpassed 500 Million streams across all the recognized music streaming platforms on June 1(8 months after its release).[15] This made Olamide the first rapper in Africa to achieve this milestone in a very short time[16][17]

Awards and nominations edit

Award Year Category Result Ref.
All Africa Music Awards 2021 Album of the Year Nominated [18]
Award Year Category Result Ref.
The Headies 2022 Album of the Year Nominated [19]
Award Year Category Result Ref.
The Headies 2022 Rap Album of the Year Nominated [20]

References edit

  1. ^ MOTOLANI ALAKE (8 September 2020). "Music: Olamide – Eru". Pulse ng. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Olamide – GreenLight". 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  3. ^ TheBoss. "DOWNLOAD: Olamide Carpe Diem Album | Zip & Mp3". JustNaija. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  4. ^ "Stream: Olamide Releases New Album "Carpe Diem"". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  5. ^ "Olamide to release new album?". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  6. ^ Abusi (2020-10-01). "Olamide Shares Tracklist & Release Date For Carpe Diem Album". Novice2STAR. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  7. ^ "Olamide features Fireboy, Omah Lay and more on new 10th solo album, 'Carpe Diem'". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  8. ^ "Olamide features Fireboy, Omah Lay and more on new 10th solo album, 'Carpe Diem'". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  9. ^ "Olamide goes 'Carpe Diem' and produces honest and vulnerable moments on cohesive pop music [Album Review]". Pulse Nigeria. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  10. ^ "A 1-Listen Review of Olamide's 'Carpe Diem'". The Native. 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  11. ^ Podcast, N. L.; Giveaway, N. L. (2020-10-29). "NL ALBUM REVIEW!! Olamide's "Carpe Diem" Album Might Be The Biggest Album In 2020, Even Bigger Than Burna Boy's "Twice As Tall" » Naijaloaded". Naijaloaded. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  12. ^ "Olamide Enlist Afrobeat New Kings On "Carpe Diem" Album To Seize The Times | STREAM « tooXclusive". tooXclusive. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  13. ^ H, Blue (2020-12-10). "OLAMIDE: Carpe Diem Album Review". Gilox. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
  14. ^ "Nigeria Top 50 Albums". www.turntablecharts.com. TurnTable. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  15. ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/olamidechart/status/1399604344106983427. Retrieved 2021-12-19. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ Wilfred (2021-06-01). "Olamide 'Carpe Diem' Album overshoot 500 Million Digital Streams". GIDIENT. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  17. ^ "Olamide's 'Carpe Diem' Album Reaches New Milestone". 9ja Breed. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  18. ^ "All Africa Music Awards 2021". BBC News Pidgin.
  19. ^ "All The Headies". BBC News Pidgin.
  20. ^ "All The Headies". BBC News Pidgin.