Dr. Olugander

Olugander Abukpapa, best known as Dr. Olugander is Gambian reggae and dancehall artist based in Helsinki, Finland. He was born in The Gambia in 1980. He started off his music career with the Black Khelmi Posee crew in Dakar in 1996. They released their first single called ‘Choli’ while he was on holiday in Senegal.

He returned home in 1997 and founded a crew named Cap-Syl-Mad Vibes. The music outfit comprised of Capricon, Sylvester Cobra and Mad Soldier. The crew lasted for a year and later changed to Promised Land Crew in 1998 with Olugander and Capricon as leading singers. They released their maiden single called ‘Babylon Rule’ and later launched a debut album tilted ‘Too Late’, the project was recorded at Yellow Gates Studios. In 2001, Capricon decided to stop music and joined an Islamic brotherhood called the Markas. He made a comeback and decided to launch a solo career thereby releasing his first single titled ‘Poor Suffers’ followed by a second single called ‘War Monger’. In 2005, he released a debut album entitled ‘Little Gambia’.

In 2006, he founded an organization called Ganders Production Foundation (GPF). The following year, GPF produced a lineup rhythm called the ‘Promised Land’. The song was a lineup that featured top and young Gambian reggae musicians. In 2007, he was awarded the Best Reggae Musician at the Njawara Youth and Sports Association. In 2008, he won the Best Reggae Song in The Gambia courtesy of programme organised by the Saul Sounds in the U.K. and Gambian Talents in Atlanta, in the U.S. In 2009, Atlanta Gambians Emergency Relief Association (AGERA) committee in the U.S. in Atlanta, Georgia gave him an award.

In 2016, he released three videos namely 'Xalebi' a love song in Wollof language of Senegambia, 'Be Yourself' and ‘Imagine’. Some of his popular songs are ‘I Will Never Let You Down’, ‘Xalebi’, ‘Love Is m´My Light’, ‘Shed No Tears’ and ‘Run d Place’.

Besides music, Olugander has played a number of humanitarian roles within the Gambian community. In 2010, he donated cooking items to the disaster flood victims through the office of the vice president of The Gambia. In 2011, GPF rehabilitated the school toilets in Wassu Upper Basic Cycle School. In 2013, he donated money to The Gambia Organisation of The Visually Impaired.