Adekunle Gold

Adekunle Gold, born Adekunle Kosoko was born on 28th January 1987, into the royal family of Lagos State, Nigeria is an award-winning singer and the nephew of veteran Nollywood actor Prince Jide Kosoko. Gold who had wanted to be a lawyer has overtime carved a niche for himself in the Nigerian music industry as he dishes out hits upon hits. In his secondary school days, he wrote NECO once, WAEC and GCE twice each. He initially went to science class because his friends did, but he didn't think twice before switching to art class. He holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Arts and Design from Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH)

Journey Into Music

Gold fell in love with music as far back as his teenage years when he was a member of the junior choir in his church and wrote his first song at the age of 15. He derived his interest while listening to legendary singers Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade. During his school days, he formed a band with his friends, one which was later disbanded. He came into limelight after releasing “Sade”, a song that was later nominated for Best Alternative Song at The Headies 2015. He was named the king of photoshop after he shared an edited image of him hugging afrobeat queen Tiwa Savage. Gold calls his music “Urban highlife”. In 2015, he signed to Olamide's YBNL Nation label (and designed its logo), and released his album “Gold” in 2016, which debuted at number 7 on the Billboard World Albums chart. After his departure from the record label, Gold unveiled his band "The 79th Element" in reference to the atomic number of gold. He became the brand ambassador for Unity Bank on January 15, 2018. Gold’s third studio album dubbed “Afro Pop” dropped on August 21, 2020 after “About 30” dropped in 2018. “Afro Pop” is a 10-track album that stars Nailah Blackman, Patoranking, Olayinka Ehi, and Tekno.

Personal Life

Gold is married to a fellow singer Simi Ogunleye. Simi, while in a 2019 interview said she met her him on Facebook, after which they had their first meeting at a show headlined in Lagos. They went on to become friends dated and eventually sealed their love with a low-key traditional wedding in Lagos in January 2019 in the presence of few friends and family. They are blessed with a daughter, Adejare who was born on May 31, 2020.

Awards

2015      

Best New Act  category of the Nigeria Entertainment Awards

2016

Best song in the Nigeria Entertainment Awards  for his hit single “Pick Up”

Best New Act to Watch  in same Nigerian Entertainment Awards

Best Alternative Song in The Headies for "Sade"

2017      

He won Album of the Year  category in City People Entertainment Awards

He alongside Simi won Collabo of the Year in the same City People Entertainment Awards.  

The same year, he won Best African Music Artist category in IARA