Baddest Guy Ever Liveth

Initial release date, cover art release

Baddest Guy Ever Liveth was initially slated for release on October 14, 2013, but was postponed due to the respect that Baddo has for Samklef. He tweeted, "Don't compete with your homies. Make money with your homies. Due to the respect and love I have for my homie Samklef, I'm holding my album back. Let's support Samklef. Can't drop my album same day." On October 17, 2013, Olamide unveiled the Caesar-inspired cover art for Baddest Guy Ever Liveth.

Composition

Baddest Guy Ever Liveth was recorded primarily in the Yoruba language. Olamide explores the depth of the Yoruba language by rapping in different variations of it. On the song "Dope Money", he raps in Ijebu, a western Nigerian variation of Yoruba. Olamide incorporated elements, punch lines, and themes of Yoruba music onto the album. On the song "Eleda Mi O", he blends indigenous rap with Jùjú music. On "Esupofo", he is reminiscent of a commercial version of Da Grin. On the record "Position Yourself", Olamide raps over a Makossa instrumental. The beat on "Gbadun Arawa" bears close resemblance to D'banj's "Mobolowowon".

Singles, other releases and "gunman pose"

On May 1, 2013, Olamide released the album's lead single "Durosoke" along with "Baddest N*gga Ever Liveth", a freestyle done over Jay Z's "Dirt off Your Shoulder" instrumental. "Durosoke" was produced by Pheelz. It was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Rap Single at the 2013 edition of The Headies. The music video for "Durosoke" was directed by Clarence Peters and exclusively released by Star Music. On July 4, 2013, Olamide and YBNL Nation released the album's second single titled "Turn Up". The music video for the single was shot and directed in London by Moe Musa; it incorporates various clips of Olamide's performances on tour. The music video was uploaded onto Vevo on December 2, 2013, at a total length of 3 minutes and 59 seconds.

"Yemi My Lover" was released as the album's third single on October 6, 2013. A writer for 360nobs applauded Olamide for the song, saying: "Olamide sings on this track which isn’t so bad plus he is much softer on his delivery, none of the angry spats, – and of course drops his funny yoruba lines with a hint of Ibo. Clearly talking to a past girl friend and all those girls who won’t go through thick and thin with a dude but want a come back when things are looking commercially fantastic.". "Eleda Mi O" was released as the album's fourth single on January 3, 2014; its accompany music video was photographed and directed by Unlimited L.A.

On March 18, 2014, Olamide released music videos for "Anifowose" and "Sitting on the Throne". Shortly after releasing Baddest Guy Ever Liveth, fans and colleagues of Olamide showed him love by mimicking his "gunman pose" on the album cover.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Baddest Guy Ever Liveth was met with mixed to positive reviews. Tayo Ayomide of Nigerian Entertainment Today gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating: "BGEL is a less inspired version of YBNL constructed by a rapper that is creatively low at the moment. Even with its flaws, Baddest Guy Ever Liveth proves that hard work does pay off." Ogaga Sakpaide of TooXclusive also gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, stating: "Packed with many “fillers” just like her predecessor, BGEL’s Achilles’ heel is its length which reduces the wow factor of the entire body work." A writer for TheBoilerNation gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, adding: "In summary, baddest guy ever liveth album is a bit overrated when compared with his 2012 ‘YBNL’ album and is rather better a Mixtape than an album. It has even gone viral already on the internet." A writer for infoNubia said that Olamide "raps in English Yoruba, Pidgin and even delivers Ijebu rhymes which I thought was down right skillful. However some of this tracks sounded like freestyles that should probably stay on a mix tape album (this is because I thought if Olamide made a 16 track album, he would have easily delivered a flawless one)." A writer for TayoTV gave the album 6.5 out of 10 stars, adding: "the album's concept was very confusing, with an unstable rhythm. This album is like holding a machine gun and firing it anywhere and everywhere without any particular target, just wasting bullets. Album was disorganized, noisy in some parts, lacked cohesion and freshness. Very average project from an artiste of his caliber." A writer for Okayafrica stated: "At 21-tracks, Olamide’s latest full length might seem a stretch for those of us who now find comfort in nine song strong LPs and 140 character tweets. Yet length doesn’t take away from it being a thoroughly enjoyable confirmation that success hasn’t dampened Olamide’s fire."

Accolades

Baddest Guy Ever Liveth won the Best Album of the Year category at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. The album was nominated for Rap Album of the Year at the 2014 City People Entertainment Awards. The album won Best Rap Album and Album of the Year at The Headies 2014.

Track listing