With “Sade,” Adekunle Gold Challenged The Nigerian Music Industry
As “Sade” turns 10, we take a look at how Adekunle Gold provided an alternative template to being a Nigerian superstar by making music with soul and commercial merits.
Everyone knows the story, or at least a version of it. It is the early 2010s, the prime age of Afrobeats music, an era of experimentation, sleek music productions, and generation-defining artists making generation-defining music. This was an era of infinite possibilities that a lanky, young man with cropped hair wanted to be a part of, without much success at first.
That man, known now as Adekunle Gold(real name Adekunle Kosoko), resorted to holding down a day job in the financial sector while working as a graphic designer and brand specialist. At that time, these were low-stakes and relatively easy ways to enter the Nigerian music industry. In his graphic design role, he created the logo for YBNL, the first record label he would later sign with, and artwork for artists under the label.
Advancements in music technology have democratized distribution processes for emerging artists with platforms like Soundcloud and Spotify. Similarly, social media platforms like TikTok launch new artists by directly connecting them with audiences. But things were different back then. Musicians needed validation from label executives before being thrust in front of an audience. Thus, breaking into the industry was challenging, especially for someone like Adekunle Gold, an alternative artist trying to blend various elements from neo-soul to folk, Afro-juju to highlife with Afropop.
However, with the release of "Sade," Adekunle Gold entered the Afrobeats music industry in a way many couldn't: by making unpopular music popular. He didn't enter the industry as a rapper or street pop artist, as most people at the time did, but as a singer whose music, folksy, narrative-driven, and anchored by beautifully written lyrics, surprised many but still fit the high-energy sonic landscape of that time.
In "Sade," Adekunle Gold reimagines the pursuit of desire. Sampling the guitar riffs of One Direction's "Story Of My Life," he created a poetic song restructured and made more interesting by a gentle groove of talking drums. There was no assertiveness, only a tender, quiet observance of one's desire. These qualities made the song tender, and, him, a welcome antithesis to the brash, cold-hearted male celebrity image cultivated by many artists of that era.
Like many of his songs, "Sade," which turns 10 today, came from an unlikely source of inspiration. "The best part of making Sade was when I started writing it," Adekunle Gold tells OkayAfrica. "I was in traffic sometime in May 2013, returning from work. I heard One Direction's "Story of My Life"for the first time, and there was an interlude where I just started freestyling [the hook to Sade]; I didn't think much of it. I finished the song in November 2014, then went to Olaitan Dada to make the song, and he added talking drums to it. I thought it was brilliant."
A crucial alternative
It was crucial and groundbreaking to create something of such moving beauty at a time when the bad-boy persona reigned supreme. Adekunle Gold himself was signed to a label filled with artists like this. Artists like Lil Kesh and Viktoh made hard-edged records that were hardly vulnerable and often braggadocious, the right tone for that era. Adekunle Gold's move, however, coincided with, and, in many ways, helped usher in the early rise of Alte music, a more self-defined, iconoclastic youth movement that resisted traditions.
After releasing "Sade," Adekunle Gold followed up with "Orente" and "Pick Up," continuing the folksy yet groovy musical style. Embedded in his work was, and still is, a penchant for beautiful writing and for creating hit songs that you can dance to or simply bop your head to.
Before "Sade," Adekunle Gold made cover songs. He had put out two covers before then. He also had one solo record and two records he created with the boy band The Bridge, which he formed with his friend SeyiKeyz while studying at the Lagos State Polytechnic. They released songs like "No Sleeping On A Bicycle" and "Norm Breaker" featuring Skales.
With musical influences like Ebenezer Obey,Sunny Ade, and Asa, iconic Nigerian highlife musicians who defined his childhood, Adekunle Gold's musical perspective was already sharpened by the delicate beauty of the music made by these icons. He also knew he wanted to make music early, so he joined the choir as a child and wrote his first song at 15. After releasing "Sade" and winning the hearts of listeners, he got signed to Olamide's YBNL label after being recommended by Pheelz.
Adekunle Gold's long but rewarding journey into the industry was necessary. It paved the way for alternative music to thrive and for artists to break the mold while crafting identities that people come to root for. Adekunle Gold was proof that artsy music, which subverts formulaic structures, can be just as commercial. "Sade" success at the highly contested 2015 Headies, where it won Best Alternative Song, further proved its importance to the industry and what can happen when artists follow their instincts.
As Afrobeats and Afropop navigate an era of conflicting identities, the push for a singular definition of Nigerian music gives way to individualistic, albeit sometimes repetitive, interpretations. Looking back at Adekunle Gold's rise, we can appreciate his ability to insist on an unconventional perspective even when making classic club bangers like "High" featuring Davido. There is a soulful quality in his work, a tenderness, and a sense of personhood that could revive the Nigerian music scene as we know it today.