YBNL Reunion: Olamide Brings Back Adekunle Gold, Lil Kesh and Fireboy DML for December 18 Show
Fans of Nigerian street-pop have waited years for this one. The YBNL reunion is happening on December 18, 2026, in Lagos, with Olamide on stage alongside the artists his label made famous. He announced “YBNL: The Reunion” in an Instagram video on Tuesday, November 10, with a short caption: “The Reunion!”
The show is part of Future Fest 2026, a ten-day festival of music, fashion, film, art, food and technology running in Lagos from December 11 to 20.
Who Is Performing at YBNL: The Reunion
Future Fest named the lineup in its own post the same afternoon. “@olamide will host #YBNLtheReunion on the 18th of December at #FutureFest26 and it’ll feature all your faves,” the festival wrote, tagging Fireboy DML, Young Jonn, Adekunle Gold, Lil Kesh, Pheelz and DJ Enimoney. The post ended with “and moreeee!”, a hint that a few surprise names may still be added.
The festival’s caption settles one early question. A flyer that went round with the first reports did not show Fireboy DML, but the organisers’ own post lists him first among the guests.
According to QED.NG, the show will hold at Oasis Ground on Coastal Road, Victoria Island. The organisers say tickets are on sale at futurefest.live. Future Fest describes itself as coming from the team behind Burna Boy’s Lagos Loves Damini concert and the Asake Live shows.
The show is expected to take fans back through the label’s different eras, from the early street anthems to the more polished pop of recent years. Olamide’s video passed 75,000 likes within a day.
The Artists Coming Home
Every name on the bill has a real link to YBNL, which Olamide founded in 2012 as Yahoo Boy No Laptop. He started the label after leaving ID Cabasa’s Coded Tunes that July, and its first album, YBNL, came out on November 12, 2012.
Lil Kesh was one of the label’s first big signings. He joined in 2014, scored hits like “Shoki” and “Efejoku”, and left in 2016 to start his own label, YAGI Records. Adekunle Gold signed in 2015 and broke through with “Sade”, then released his debut album Gold in 2016 before leaving the label in 2017. Olamide said both deals were two-year contracts that had simply ended.
Adekunle Gold has since become one of Nigeria’s most polished pop stars, and he never fell out with his old boss. In April 2026, the two reunited on the song “Formation”.
Fireboy DML is the one who never left. He signed in 2018, released his debut album Laughter, Tears & Goosebumps in 2019, and went global with “Peru”. He is still on YBNL today, and his fifth album, ZUKO!, came out through YBNL and EMPIRE on October 16, 2026.
Young Jonn and Pheelz both started out behind the scenes. They shaped much of YBNL’s sound as producers before stepping out as singers themselves. DJ Enimoney has been the label’s official DJ for years.
The Missing Name Fans Are Asking About
Asake is not on the announced lineup. He signed to YBNL in February 2022 and became one of Africa’s biggest stars on the label, before he and Olamide went separate ways. He did join Olamide on stage at OVO Arena Wembley in London in November 2025, a moment fans saw as a reunion after their split.
That history is why so many fans are asking whether he will show up in Lagos. The comments under Olamide’s post are full of questions about Asake, Chinko Ekun and other past acts. For now, the “and moreeee!” in the festival’s caption is the only clue.
A Busy Run for Olamide
The reunion is one part of a big season for Olamide. In November 2025, he sold out the 12,500-capacity OVO Arena Wembley, where Lil Kesh opened the show and Asake, Pheelz, Seyi Vibez, Joeboy and Bella Shmurda all joined him on stage. He has now set his sights higher, with a headline show at London’s 20,000-capacity O2 Arena on March 25, 2027, which he announced in October.
His last few years have been full of wins. His 2023 album Unruly reached No. 1 on the TurnTable chart, his song “Amapiano” with Asake earned a Grammy nomination, and Billboard named him one of its Global Power Players in 2025. His 2025 album, Olamidé, included Wizkid, Asake, Young Jonn and even Dr. Dre.
Through all of it, YBNL has stayed at the centre of his story. He once told Ada’s Room why he built the label: “If I ever make it, I’ll try my best possible to reach out to the up and coming artist and create opportunities for them.” On December 18, many of the artists he gave those chances to will be back on one stage.
For the full story of his life, from Bariga to Wembley, read our Olamide biography.
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