Asake shares how he feels about his success on the Billboard charts with his first album 'Mr.Money With the Vibe,' how his second album 'Work of Art' is different, his crazy live shows, how the Afrobeats genre has grown across the globe, his mindset with collaborations, his dream collab, and more!
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00:00 The only thing I could remember is I tried to do,
00:03 you know the dance they do in Nigeria
00:05 where everybody do like this.
00:06 The whole thing just.
00:07 (laughing)
00:10 Hi, what's up everybody?
00:11 It's your boy, Ashake,
00:12 aka Mr. Money with a vibe right now.
00:15 And you are watching Billboard News.
00:17 - Dino!
00:18 - It's Tetris with Billboard News.
00:26 Today we got Mr. Afrobeat himself, Ashake.
00:29 (upbeat music)
00:31 Thanks for coming and hanging out with us.
00:43 Let's talk about the genre itself, okay?
00:45 So Afrobeat is obviously having
00:47 this huge explosion globally.
00:49 So how's it feel from the artist standpoint
00:51 seeing your genre blow up like that?
00:53 - I think it's a good thing, you know?
00:55 It's like you having a baby
00:58 and your baby's growing, you know?
01:00 You feel good when you have something around you
01:02 and the thing is going.
01:03 And I feel like in a couple of years
01:06 or in years to come, it will be bigger.
01:09 - Well, speaking of it getting bigger,
01:10 I mean, next year will be the first year
01:12 the Grammy's ever have a category.
01:14 - Yeah.
01:15 - Best African musical performance.
01:16 So that's huge.
01:17 Do you think that's gonna affect the genre?
01:19 Like, are you even thinking like,
01:20 I wanna be Grammy nominated now?
01:22 - No, it's how?
01:23 It's never going to affect anything.
01:25 Like, everybody wants to be big.
01:27 So if the whole genre is bigger,
01:30 that means it's the happiness of the whole country,
01:32 you know?
01:33 It's the happiness of everybody.
01:34 - I see you a lot on TikTok, man.
01:36 You have some fun at your shows.
01:38 Like, the one where you were like diving off stage.
01:41 Like, I feel like everything's going crazy at shows right now.
01:43 People throwing stuff at people, all the mess.
01:45 So how do you approach live performances?
01:47 What makes you go so hard when you're up on stage?
01:49 - I put, first of all, I put myself in like their shoes.
01:52 Like, okay, what if I'm somebody
01:56 that likes an artist and they tell me
01:58 my favorite artist wants to come perform here
02:00 and I paid to come in and watch you?
02:03 Like, I put myself in what they will be thinking about.
02:06 Like, their expectation.
02:07 So when I go on stage, I want you to, first of all,
02:11 like me and see I'm putting everything I have to for you.
02:14 So you won't feel like, I just paid to come and watch you
02:16 and this man is just moving.
02:18 You get?
02:19 So like, when I'm going to any show like that,
02:21 I know that I'm going there to give them all my energy
02:24 and make them like me more.
02:26 Give people experience.
02:28 That's what me and like.
02:28 So sometimes when I'm performing on stage,
02:31 the stage is not enough for me because they can't see me.
02:34 You get?
02:35 So I would like to still go close to them, man.
02:37 - Well, you gave people a little extra experience.
02:39 Like one show I saw, you did that jump kick
02:41 and your pants ripped.
02:42 (audience cheering)
02:46 Dude, that was wild.
02:47 I was cracking up.
02:48 So tell me what went through your head.
02:49 Like, did you just go change, throw another pair of pants on
02:52 and come out back in the middle of the song?
02:53 - Yeah, I want like that day, I didn't even know.
02:56 I can't even explain what happened.
02:57 Like I can't explain what happened to you.
02:59 The only thing I could remember is I tried to do,
03:03 you know the dance they do in Nigeria
03:04 where they go, they do like this.
03:05 - Oh, that's like a Nigerian move.
03:07 Okay, cool.
03:08 - So I tried to move my neck like that.
03:10 Then the whole thing just.
03:11 (laughing)
03:14 The only thing in my head is,
03:16 are you going to stop this show now?
03:18 Like, are you going to make it obvious?
03:19 Or I just have to like improvise and keep jumping.
03:21 - You just dance, yeah.
03:22 - It's like changing trousers, but at the end of the day,
03:25 videos, cameras still put me out there.
03:28 - Yeah, the cameras are always going to be there now.
03:31 You had the highest charting debut Nigerian album ever.
03:35 So tell me, have you been back home to Nigeria?
03:37 How does it feel to kind of carry that honor
03:39 from where you're from?
03:40 - Me seeing myself here, you know,
03:42 shows me that I can be somewhere bigger than this.
03:45 You know, so like at home, I'm so sure everybody
03:49 will be so proud of me, you know, seeing me here.
03:51 Because at the end of the day, they want to see me happy.
03:53 You know, they want to see me succeed.
03:55 So I think for the people at home, everybody's happy
03:58 seeing me trying to push the culture
04:00 and you know, trying to be the best in what I'm doing.
04:03 - And what was your journey like from that album
04:05 to your new album, Work of Art, number one in 42 countries.
04:08 So tell me how you grew and evolved
04:11 from album one to album two.
04:13 - The first one is a bit, you know, easy, you know,
04:17 'cause it's the first one.
04:19 But the second one, you know, I need to like put in
04:22 more work, you know, like how to outgrown myself, you know.
04:26 Do something I've not done before,
04:28 trying to create more new things.
04:30 To me, I won't lie to you, both albums are good for me.
04:34 Like, you know, they both have their time.
04:37 I was going through something when I did the first one.
04:39 At the end of the day, it came out good.
04:41 The second one too, you know, came out good, so.
04:43 - And let's talk about your collaborations as well.
04:45 You work with David O, Russ, DaBaby.
04:48 So how do you approach collaborations when creating music?
04:51 - The thing is, for me, I need to like the person
04:53 before I can make music with you.
04:56 I need to have, I need to be comfortable with you,
04:59 not even because of the music alone.
05:01 Like, I'm not saying I can't make music with other people,
05:04 but I like real energy.
05:06 If you like me beyond the music, it's good.
05:09 You know, but like, I need to connect to your music,
05:11 I need to like the person I want to work with first.
05:14 So it won't be a problem for me, you know,
05:16 there must be synergy.
05:18 - And then, okay, so now you gotta tell me this,
05:19 has there been somebody whose energy you've been like,
05:21 I need to get on a track with them?
05:24 - I've been saying this thing since,
05:25 and I don't know if, let's see, maybe God will do it.
05:29 Let's see, it can work, He's kind.
05:32 - Oh. - Yeah.
05:34 - Dude, that would be amazing.
05:35 - Yeah, actually.
05:37 - No, we gotta make sure that happens for you.
05:38 We're gonna put that good energy into the universe.
05:40 You got some support here at Billboard.
05:42 Thanks for coming back.
05:43 - Thank you.
05:44 - Of course.
05:45 (upbeat music)
05:48 (thudding)