Ọlawale Ọlọfọrọ (; born Olawale Ibrahim Ashimi; 9 May 1986), better known as Brymo, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, sonic artist, actor and author. Born and raised in Okokomaiko, he started recording music in 1999 while in secondary school. Brymo's debut album, Brymstone (2007), was supported by the single "Shawty". He signed a recording contract with music label Chocolate City in 2010, but was accused of breaching his contract nearly three years later. Brymo's second studio album, The Son of a Kapenta, was released in 2012 and yielded the singles "Ara", "Good Morning", and "Go Hard".
Following his controversial exit from Chocolate City in 2013, Brymo abandoned his career as a mainstream artist and embraced Nigeria's alternative music space. Between 2013 and 2018, he released four critically acclaimed albums: Merchants, Dealers & Slaves (2013), Tabula Rasa (2014), Klĭtôrĭs (2016) and Oṣó (2018). Music critics lauded Merchants, Dealers & Slaves and Tabula Rasa as "masterpieces". Brymo teamed up with three members of Skata Vibration to form A.A.A, an alternative rock band whose eponymous debut Extended Play (EP) was released in August 2019. In 2020, he released the hedonistic album Yellow and the five-track EP Libel. The former is a departure from the dark themes of his sixth studio album, Oṣó, while the latter addressed the rape allegations that surfaced on Twitter that year.
In September 2021, Brymo released the bipartite albums 9: Èsan and 9: Harmattan & Winter. Both projects include folk ballads and explore musical styles such as fusion-rock and alternative folk. His tenth studio album, Theta (2022), was recorded entirely in Nigerian Pidgin. Brymo rebranded himself as a sonic artist in 2022, and has released the sonic albums Mansa (2023) and Petrichor (2025). His twelfth studio album, Macabre (2023), comprises fourteen tracks and was described by the singer as a "reggae album sung in English". Brymo has released books Oriri's Plight (2018), Verses (2020) and The Bad Tooth (2022), and starred in the films Price of Admission (2021) and Elesin Oba, The King's Horseman (2022).
Life and career Early life and career beginnings
Olawale Ashimi was born and raised in Okokomaiko, Ojo, Lagos State, Nigeria; his father is an Awori carpenter and his mother is an Egun petty trader; he is his parents' only child. Ashimi grew up in a multi-faith household and learned to recite the entire Qur'an after being enrolled into an Islamic School. He attended Aganju Aka Primary School and later enrolled at Japual Primary School.
Ashimi was initially interested in pursuing a career in football after graduating from secondary school. In 1999, while in secondary school, Ashimi recorded his first song and titled it "Future". In 2002, he and some of his friends formed a group called The Aliens; they were active between 2004 and 2005, and disbanded in 2005. Ashimi was inspired to create music after listening to his mother singing fuji songs. He gained admission to Lagos State University (LASU), where he studied zoology, but after his second year he left to pursue a career in music.
2007–2012: Brymstone, "Oleku" collaboration, and The Son of a Kapenta
Brymo released his debut studio album, Brymstone, in 2007; its lead single "Shawty" was accompanied by a music video. He told Damiete Braide of The Sun, he chose Rhythm and Blues (R&B) after being influenced by the work of R. Kelly and the Backstreet Boys. He also told Braide he sold more than 2,000 copies of the album within six months of its release. In a 2013 interview with The Sun, Brymo said management problems prevented him from getting a marketing deal for the album and that he had a one-million naira offer that failed because of technical issues. Brymo also said Brymstone is his worst body of work but credits it with helping him enter the music business.
Brymo appeared on the hit single "Oleku", which was released as the lead single from Ice Prince's debut studio album, Everybody Loves Ice Prince (2011). Brymo told The Sun his inspiration for recording the hook of "Oleku" came from the passion and energy around him, and from hunger and desperation. He also said the song did not generate money but gave him exposure. In 2010, Denrele Edun, whom Brymo met a few years earlier, asked Brymo if he knew the rapper M.I, who was interested in talking with him. In 2010, Brymo signed to the label Chocolate City after talking with M.I. Prior to his record deal with Chocolate City, Brymo worked with rapper Jesse Jagz on the song "Love You", which appeared on Jagz's debut studio album, Jag of All Tradez (2011).
On 15 November 2012, Brymo released his second studio album The Son of a Kapenta, which includes guest appearances from Jesse Jagz, Pryse, M.I, Ice Prince and Efya. The album was recorded in English and Yoruba. On 18 September 2011, Brymo released the Legendury Beatz-produced track "Ara" as the album's lead single. Aje Filmworks directed its music video, which was released on 31 December 2011. Brymo told The Sun "Ara" is a slang word that loosely translates to "wonder". In a July 2012 interview with Adeola Adeyemo of BellaNaija, Brymo said he recorded the song while being under pressure from Chocolate City to submit a single. He also said "Ara" was written six months after he recorded "Good Morning".
On 16 April 2012, Brymo released "Good Morning" as the album's second single. Its music video was directed by Aje Filmworks and released on 30 July 2012. In a 2012 interview with newspaper The Punch, Brymo said his father's carpentry profession inspired the album's title, described The Son of a Kapenta as a summary of his life and said each song is a reflection of his energy. Brymo also said he recorded the album to be identified by his body of work as a lead artist rather than as a featured artist. In January 2013, newspaper The Nation included The Son of a Kapenta on its list of Albums that failed commercially in 2012".
2013–2015: Merchants, Dealers & Slaves, Tabula Rasa and Trance On 20 October 2013, Brymo released his third studio album Merchants, Dealers & Slaves, which was produced by Mikky Me and includes guitar work from David. Hard copies of the album were released on 26 March 2014. On 18 October 2013, Brymo revealed the album's track list on Instagram. The album's lead single "Down" was released on 1 October 2013, the day after its music video had been uploaded to YouTube. Brymo dedicated the song to his family and country. In May 2014, Nigerian Entertainment Today reported undergraduate students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale had examined the lyrics of "Down" as part of a case-study project. Brymo was invited to the school to attend the case study presentation. On 21 October 2013, "Eko" was released as the album's second single. Critical reception to Merchants, Dealers & Slaves was positive. Ayomide Tayo of Nigeria Entertainment Today described the album as a "soulful masterpiece that is emotionally charged with amazing production".
On 14 October 2014, Brymo was announced as an ambassador for the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He released his fourth studio album, Tabula Rasa, on 30 October 2014; earlier that month, his manager Lanre Lawal announced plans for the release during an interview with The Punch. Lawal told The Sun the album would be a fusion of African folk and popular music. Brymo told The Nation he recorded the album to move on from his controversial split with Chocolate City. He decided to name the album Tabula Rasa after hearing the judge use the term in a speech. "Fe Mi" was released as the album's lead single on 18 September 2014; Ayo Onikoyi of Vanguard described the song as "a soft traditional ballad". On 6 March 2015, Brymo released a documentary about the song "1 Pound" that was directed by St. Immaculate; a teaser of the documentary was released four days earlier. On 30 March 2015, Brymo released the music video for the song "Ję Lé O Sinmi"; Godson KC Uma of MaadKreativity Inc directed the video, which runs for 3 minutes and 59 seconds.
On 3 December 2015, Brymo released "Waka Waka", the theme song to the stage musical Wakaa! The Musical. In an interview with newspaper This Day, Brymo said the project's script inspired the song and that he was interested after Wakaas production team contacted his management. Brymo also told This Day he recorded the song "Viva", which later appeared on the 2016 soundtrack album Wakaa (The Musical). On 8 December 2015, Brymo released an eight-track compilation album titled Trance. It was released by American record label and publishing firm Tate Music Group, and was originally scheduled for a September 2015 release. Trance was primarily targeted at audiences in the U.S., and contains songs from the albums Merchants, Dealers & Slaves and Tabula Rasa. Brymo described Trance as a medley of thoughts based on his experiences. The album contains elements of African folk, soul, pop, and afrobeat.
Chocolate City departure In May 2013, Brymo announced on Twitter he had left Chocolate City. Audu Maikori, who was CEO of Chocolate City, refuted Brymo's claims during a press conference at the label's office in Lekki. Maikori said Brymo still had three years left on his contract and still needed to record two albums. According to newspaper Vanguard, during the press conference, Maikori said Brymo had committed an act of insubordination when he refused to remove a picture he posted on Instagram. While speaking to journalists in June 2013, Brymo said Chocolate City cheated him when it failed to explain how his second studio album was leaked, and that there was no accountability in the way his album was being sold and distributed.
In August 2013, Brymo signed a distribution deal with digital media company Spinlet, enabling it to distribute his next album online. Nigerian Entertainment Today reported Spinlet discontinued the deal after Chocolate City made them aware of the label's existing contract with Brymo. On 14 October 2013, Chocolate City filed an interim injunction against Brymo, restraining him from partaking in musical ventures beyond the confines of his contract. Six days later, Brymo released his third studio album despite reports about the injunction. On 21 October, a judge at the Federal High Court of Lagos restrained Brymo from releasing and distributing any musical work pending Chocolate City's lawsuit against him.
According to The Nation, Brymo and his management met with Chocolate City representatives in October 2013 to discuss mutually-agreeable terms. Chocolate City asked Brymo to sign an agreement during the meeting but failed. On 11 November 2013, Premium Times reported the legal teams of both parties met in court for a hearing and that the case was adjourned to 5 December 2013. Between December 2013 and March 2014, the case was adjourned four times for several reasons. In March 2014, the Federal High Court of Lagos lifted the restraint it put on Brymo. In May 2014, Nigerian Entertainment Today reported the judge presiding over the case withdrew after he was accused of bias. In a radio interview with Toolz in May 2016, Brymo said he did not win the case against Chocolate City, saying: "we had the opportunity to iron it out in court but they fried it up. I don’t know what they did but they definitely spoke to the judge and spoke to the lawyers and scrapped the case, they are lawyers; they can do it."
2016–2018: Klĭtôrĭs, Oṣó and Oriri's Plight