Adekunle Gold: Los Angeles

Adekunle Gold is an award-winning Nigerian highlife singer, songwriter, and graphic designer. A household name in his home country, Gold calls his music "urban highlife" because of its conscious intersections with contemporary pop, electronica, folk, and R&B. His debut solo single, "Sade," in 2014, a cover of One Direction's "Story of My Life," set the radio stations of Lagos buzzing. Mixed by top Nigerian singer and songwriter Simi, he won an award for it at Nigeria's Headies the very next year for Best Alternative Song. He signed to Olamide's YBNL Nation label (and designed its logo), and issued two Simi-mixed charting follow-ups in "Orente" and "Pick Up" before releasing Gold, his debut long-player in 2017 that peaked at number seven on the World Albums Chart, while his sophomore outing, 2018's About 30, peaked inside the Top Ten.