| "Who You Epp?" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Olamide featuring Wande Coal and Phyno | ||||
| Released | 2 April 2016 (original) 26 April 2016 (Wande Coal and Phyno remix) | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | YBNL Nation | |||
| Songwriter | Olamide Adedeji | |||
| Producer | Shizzi | |||
| Olamide singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Wande Coal singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Phyno singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Who You Epp?" on YouTube | ||||
"Who You Epp?" is a song by Nigerian rapper Olamide. The Shizzi-produced track was originally performed alone,released on 2 April 2016 as a freestyle. [1] The song grew through an open-verse challenge,where Olamide left 16 bars open for artists to record their own parts. Many artists took part,both mainstream and underground. Notable artists who participated include Chinko Ekun, [2] Ruggedman, [3] Ayo Jay, [4] Reminisce, [5] Mz Kiss, [6] among other acts. Phyno added a verse the day after the song's release,and a version featuring Wande Coal was made publicly available on 26 April 2016. Olamide later released the official remix featuring both artists on 31 May 2016,accompanied by a music video directed by Sesan. [7] Olamide won the award for Best Street-Hop Artiste for the song at the 2016 edition of the Headies,as well as Song of the Year at the 2016 edition of the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival. [8] [9]
Olamide met Nigerian record producer Shizzi while on his United States tour in Atlanta,and they collaborated on a freestyle titled "Who You Epp?". The track was intended as a light,informal freestyle with no specific meaning,although "who you epp",means "who have you helped?",and is a variation of "who you don epp",a phrase in Nigerian Pidgin used sarcastically to show the irrelevance of the subject. [10] [11] Olamide left 16 bars open at the end of the song,encouraging other artists and fans to add their own verses,which contributed to the song's popularity as an open-verse challenge. [12] According to OkayAfrica ,Shizzi created the beat in 15 minutes. [13]
A few hours after the release of "Who You Epp?",fellow Nigerian rapper Phyno released his version of the song. [14] Later,on 26 April 2016,a version with Wande Coal surfaced online. [15] The music video for "Who You Epp? (Refix)" was directed by Sesan. [16]
On 6 April 2016,Olamide partnered with the music website NotJustOk to launch the Olamide #WhoYouEpp competition,aimed at supporting up-and-coming artists. The competition centered around the freestyle track "Who You Epp?",and participants were required to record their own freestyle over the 16-bar space left open by Olamide. Entrants could download the instrumental from the NotJustOk website and upload their recordings. The top ten entries,selected through public voting,advanced to the semi-final stage. The winner of the competition was promised a free collaboration with Olamide,a free instrumental (funded by Olamide),and a music video directed by Mr. Moe Musa. The submission deadline was 15 April 2016. [17] [18] [19] Joey Akan of Pulse Nigeria saw the competition as an attempt for Olamide to recruit new YBNL Nation members,since the winners appeared on a label-credited release. [20]
NotJustOk announced the top 20 semi-finalists on 26 April 2016:Drew,CEM,Seven,Tosin Robeck,M3dal,A.B.S,Mingul,Jay_Dee,Jesse Raey,UC Flamez,YokeeGilla,Scripts,Odibay,Seax Penz,Bobby D,Sequence,Trod,KizzyDrez,Maupheen,and Delis. [21] By 18 May 2016,the top 10 finalists were selected:Jay_Dee,Delis,Maupheen,A.B.S,Trod,Scripts,Odibay,Drew,UC Flamez,and KizzyDrez. They competed in a live freestyle cypher in Lagos,with DJ Jimmy Jatt as the official DJ and coverage by NotjustOk TV. [22] The competition was later narrowed to the top five:Trod,Delis,Maupheen,Drew,and Scripts. Maupheen and Delis were ultimately declared the winners and earned the opportunity to feature with Olamide on the song "Lies People Tell",along with a music video directed by Unlimited L.A. [23] [24]
| Organization | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Headies | 2016 | Best Street-Hop Artiste (Olamide for "Who You Epp?") | Won | [8] |
| Soundcity MVP Awards Festival | Song of the Year | Won | [9] | |
| Best Collaboration | Nominated | |||
| Listeners Choice | Nominated | |||
| Nigeria Entertainment Awards | 2017 | Hottest Single of the Year | Won | [25] |
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 2 April 2016 | Digital download | YBNL Nation | Original |
| 26 April 2016 | Phyno and Wande Coal remix |