Adekunle Gold

Adekunle Gold is the professional name of Nigerian singer, songwriter and graphic designer Adekunle Kosoko. Associated with Afropop, highlife and related West African popular-music styles, he gained wider attention with the 2014 single “Sade” and subsequently released albums including Gold, Tequila Ever After and Fuji.

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About Adekunle Gold

Profile information current to 2026-08-19.

Nigeria · Singer, Songwriter, Graphic designer

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Also known as: Adekunle Kosoko
Known for: Afropop; Highlife and urban highlife; Nigerian popular music
Country: Nigeria

Singer
Songwriter
Graphic designer

At a glance

He is a Nigerian singer and songwriter whose work has been associated with Afropop, highlife and a style he has called “urban highlife.”
His 2014 single “Sade” brought wider attention and later won Best Alternative Song at the Headies 2015 ceremony.
His debut album Gold was released in July 2016 and, according to Apple Music’s editorial biography, reached No. 7 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Alongside music, he has maintained a background in visual art and graphic design, which he has described as a continuing professional practice.

Background and visual-art practice

Platform and reference biographies list Adekunle Gold as born in Lagos on January 28, 1987. In a 2020 interview, he said he studied Visual Arts at Lagos State Polytechnic and majored in graphics. He has described graphic design and music as concurrent practices, saying he continued to produce design work for himself and others while developing his music career.

Breakthrough and early recording career

Gold gained wider attention with “Sade,” a 2014 highlife-oriented adaptation of One Direction’s “Story of My Life.” The song won Best Alternative Song at the Headies 2015 ceremony. Interview and reference accounts connect its reception to Olamide’s interest and Gold’s subsequent YBNL career phase, which began in 2015. His debut album, Gold, followed in July 2016.

Musical direction and later releases

Gold described his early sound as “urban highlife,” combining pop, highlife and folk influences. Apple Music identifies About 30 from 2018 as his second album and Afro Pop, Vol. 1 from 2020 as his third. Tequila Ever After was released in 2023 and presented by Universal Music as his Def Jam Recordings debut, while Apple Music describes the 2025 release Fuji as his sixth album. The platform later listed Fuji Xtra, released in May 2026, as a 20-track edition adding five tracks to Fuji.

Timeline

2014 Released the breakout single “Sade,” a highlife-oriented cover adaptation of One Direction’s “Story of My Life.”
2015 Entered a YBNL career phase after Olamide showed interest following “Sade,” according to interview and reference accounts.
2016-01-01 Won Best Alternative Song for “Sade” at the Headies 2015 ceremony.
2016-07-25 Released the debut album Gold ahead of its originally scheduled July 28, 2016 release date.
2023-07-28 Released Tequila Ever After, which Universal Music presented as his Def Jam Recordings debut.
2025-10-03 Released Fuji, described by Apple Music as his sixth album.

Additional verified details

Current context

Apple Music lists Fuji Xtra as a 20-track Adekunle Gold release that adds five tracks to Fuji. This is release-platform metadata and is not a complete account of activity after the observation date.
Apple Music metadata credits Fuji Xtra to Somtin Different under exclusive license to Believe UK. The release credit supports attribution for this release only and does not establish his current management, label contract or broader corporate status.

Biographical facts

Platform and reference biographies list him as born on January 28, 1987, in Lagos, Nigeria.
In a 2020 interview, he said he studied Visual Arts at Lagos State Polytechnic and majored in graphics.
He has described graphic design and music as concurrent practices, saying he continued design work for himself and others while pursuing music.
In a 2016 interview, he described his sound as “urban highlife,” combining pop, highlife and folk influences.
Apple Music’s editorial biography states that his debut album Gold reached No. 7 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Apple Music identifies About 30, released in 2018, as his second album and Afro Pop, Vol. 1, released in 2020, as his third.

Connections

Affiliations

Affiliations associated with Adekunle Gold.

YBNL Recording artist 2015
Def Jam Recordings Artist; Tequila Ever After was presented as his debut release for the label 2023-07-28