Adekunle Gold releases debut album three days early

The announcement was made by the singer himself on social media, jokingly citing impatience as the reason for his debut album’s early release. “Hi,” he tweeted on Monday 25 July, using the hashtag #TheGoldSurprise. “Can't wait any longer. Can't wait. We decided to put out the album NOW. Go get it. Hurry!”

On Facebook, he posted a longer note: "Okay, so listen (read) very, very, very, very, very, carefully, because you will be all kinds of blown away by the time you’re done. We tried our best, our utmost best, to hold in the excitement - but we realised that we couldn’t wait any longer. We can’t keep this to ourselves one more day. Not even one more night. We decided to put out the album a little bit early. By early, we mean NOW! So yeah. Go get it. And hurry up too."

The artist has traced an unusual path to this point in his career. Initially a graphics designer who included his likeness in photos of famous people, he became a recording artist when his song ‘Sade’ became a favourite among fans.

Before his foray into solo recording, Adekunle Gold was a member of a duo called The Bridge. He left the group and released his first solo song ‘Let it Stop’ in 2013. A song preaching peace, ‘Let it Stop’ found only minor success. The next year, he recorded ‘Sade’, a ballad based on the beat of ‘Story of my Life’ by the boyband One Direction. This song became his introduction to the Nigerian audience.

Rapper Olamide, head of YBNL Records, signed Adekunle Gold, and paid for a music video for ‘Sade’. Three singles, ‘Orente’, ‘Pick Up’ and ‘Ready’, have since been released under YBNL. All three have been successful, receiving major airplay on Nigerian radio.

With the release of his debut album, Adekunle Gold becomes the second signed artist, besides Olamide, on YBNL to release an album in a short period of time. The first is the rapper Lil Kesh, whose debut album YAGI was released in March. Lil Kesh has left the label without incident. Industry news indicates that Adekunle Gold may be following suit after satisfying the presumably short YBNL contract. On Twitter, response to Gold has been considerable, with the singer’s announcing tweet retweeted more than 200 times after some hours.

Adekunle Gold followed up his initial tweet with an announcement on where the album can be purchased. “it's on itunes now guys! Let’s tell the world. Gold is out now!”

To buy 'Gold' by Adekunle Gold, visit the iTunes store.