Lyta (Real Name: Opeyemi Babatunde Rahim, born 4 July 1998) is a 25-year-old Nigerian singer best known for his songs Worry, Monalisa, and Time, among others.
Some people discover their talents early enough in life and pull the curtains of fear, doubt, lack of courage, and procrastination that will hinder them from achieving success. This happens to be the case of Lyta, a Nigerian musician who discovered his talent early in life and began his career in the music industry at the age of 13 in 2011.
Lyta, as a musician, is popular with his genres of afrobeat and pop; his songwriting ability and vocals have all contributed to keeping him on the ladder of success. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with Nigerian music stars, including Davido, Naira Marley, Olamide, Cheesy Vibes, and a host of others. He has also been nominated for several awards at The Headies and City People Music Awards for Next Rated, Best Street-Hop Artiste, Most Promising Act of the Year, and Best New Act of 2019.
Although young and still coming up in the music industry, Lyta has already been part of several renowned record labels, beginning with YBNL Nation before moving to Doro Musik Gang and currently signed to Marlian Records. Learn more about his rise to fame below.
Lyta is Originally from Kwara and was Born and Raised in Ajegunle, Lagos
In Ajegunle, Lagos, Lyta is 25 years old who was born as Opeyemi Babatunde Rahim on July 4, 1998. He had a rough childhood growing up in Ajegunle as a child to parents who didn’t have it all. Although he has chosen to let his family live their lives away from the media, Lyta has a close-knit relationship with his mother, who is blind. In fact, the singer hates that his mother suffered, which is why he works so hard to keep her away from the shackles of poverty.
On the other hand, his father is a major contributing factor in his music career, as he has worked towards getting music sponsors for the singer. The afro-pop music artist hails from Kwara State in the North Central geo-political zone of Nigeria. However, he is a Lagosian, as he was born in the city, attended different schools, and currently pursues a career there.
Although the names of the exact schools he attended are unknown, his being a practicing Muslim contributed to him attending an Arabic School at Ile Kewu. At his current age of 25, Lyta is a successful musician and one of the best upcoming artists in Nigeria who has made many hit songs in his few years of becoming a professional singer.
He Started Pursuing His Music Career At The Age Of 13
Lyta found out that his talent in music was natural and rare, thereby exploiting music in different ways right from his childhood when he would choose to sit at the back seat in class so that he could write songs. By the time he was 13, the singer was sure he wanted a music career, and he started taking it seriously.
However, he did not start music as a solo artist but as a member of the Ile Kewu music group at his local Mosque. Shortly after, multi-talented musician, Olamide, discovered Lyta on a street show, flexing his rapping skills, and called him on stage to perform. Seeing his talent, Olamide was impressed, which marked the beginning of his journey into a professional music career, stardom, and his becoming a member of the YBNL Nation.
Although He Became Famous After Signing With YBNL, Lyta Left The Label Shortly After
When Olamide reached out to him to join YBNL in 2018, Lyta saw it as an opportunity to take his music career to a whole new level – he was right! With YBNL that marks its name among notable record labels in Nigeria, which has produced many acclaimed artists, the afro-pop singer gained attention and released 2 singles, Time, which features Olamide and Self Made.
His being part of YBNL Nation barely lasted a year. Lyta opted out in 2019, and there are two sides to the story regarding his leaving the label. On the part of Lyta, reports would claim that it was because of contractual and personal issues. He still went further to add that there was never a record deal with YBNL but was paid within the ranges of 50,000 and 80,000 for the shows he performs.
On the other hand, Olamide, who had earlier unfollowed Lyta on Instagram, claimed that the musician was never signed to YBNL and left with the claim that he had someone who wanted to sign him, a claim Olamide perceived to be untrue. The YBNL boss also claimed that Lyta was not cool with the Label’s calendar and could be jealous of Fireboy. All these, according to Olamide, led to Lyta leaving YBNL.
Lyta Is Currently Signed To Marlian Records
After leaving YBNL, Lyta signed a contract with Doro Musik Gang in 2019. Although short-lived as in YBNL, he still made a huge career success with the label following the release of one of his major hit songs, Monalisa, produced by Killer Tunes.
Following a successful career with Doro Musik Gang, Lyta joined Naira Marley’s Marlian Records, where he is still signed. With the label, he released Hold me Down (Omo Gidi), which has gained massive attention.
The Best of Lyta’s Songs
- Time: After joining YBNL, Lyta released Time featuring Olamide in 2018. The song gained over 800 thousand views on YouTube. The song also won him a nomination at 2019 The Headies in the Best Street Hop Artiste category.
- Self Made: Following the release of his foremost single, Lyta released another song under the YBNL Nation record label in 2018. As the first, the song gained acceptance and further created a large fanbase for Lyta. The song was produced by Rexxie, while the official video of the song was directed by Unlimited L.A.
- Monalisa: It was the first song he released as a Doro Musik Gang signee in 2019. The song was a huge commercial success in Lyta’s career. In addition, it gained more than 500,000 views within its first month of release, and only a few weeks after its release, an A-list artist Davido showed interest in the song and reached out to Lyta to be part of the song by doing a remix. The young singer welcomed the gesture, and a month later, in August, the remix was released. The original song and the remix individually made over a million views.
- Worry: About four months after the Monalisa remix was released, Worry was released on December 6, 2019. Killer Tunes produced the song, and Simplicity Visual Studios directed the video in London. Apart from the financial benefits the song brought Lyta, it is currently the most-watched song of the singer on YouTube.
- Hold Me Down (Omo Gidi): This is the first song Lyta released under Marlian Records. As the many songs before it, Hold me Down recorded another success.
Other Lyta’s Songs
- Mama (2019)
- Everybody (2020)
- Coco ft Flavour (2020)
- Sade by DJ Consequence Ft. Lyta and Buju (2020)
- Are You Sure? ft. Zinoleesky, Emo Grae, and Naira Marley (2021)
- Happy by Demmie Ft. Lyta (2021)
- Money by Dellbee Ft. Lyta and Barry Jhay (2021)
- Thank God by Kashy Ft. Lyta (2021)