Globacom – sponsored documentary programme on the Cable Network News (CNN), African Voices is this week tracking the career of Adekunle Gold, a Nigerian highlife singer and songwriter.
African Voices showcases the continent’s most astounding trendsetters who blaze the trail down their own paths in areas such as cuisine, music, arts, fashion, music, technology, architecture and the likes.
Gold headlines the show with two other music icons; Baaba Maal from Senegal and Thee Legacy, an acapella group from South Africa.
Born Adekunle Kosoko in 1987, Adekunle Gold, is considered the king of pop, by his fans. His hit single “Sade”, shot him to popularity in 2015. In the same year, Adekunle signed a record deal withYBNL Nation and released other hit tracks like “Orente” and “Pick Up” before his debut studio album Gold which quickly stood at number 7 on the Billboard World Albums Chart.
The second guest on the show and 65-year-old Mall is an acoustic guitarist singer and percussionist plays what he calls world beat and this has brought him global fame.
Mall has several albums to his credit; some independent while the others were for major record labels. His major albums include Passion released in 1989 and Gorel, which was fourth on Broadway in 1995. He has also featured prominently in Senegalese movies including Guelwaar in 1992 and Best of the Jammys in 2007.
He also made some contributions to the box office hit, Black Panther movie, which contributed to making his sound more relevant and better appreciated. He sings mostly in his native Pulaar dialect as a way of promoting the culture of his people. Maal became a Youth Emissary of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2003.
Thee Legacy on his part is one of South Africa’s biggest, Isichathamiya or acapella group which blends Afro-traditional with modern, urban rhythms and unique dance choreography. Originally from Kwa-Zulu Natal, the group became known after coming tops at the inaugural Sing- Off South Africa music competition in 2015. It is comprised of five talented singers including Jabulani Mthembu, Khanyisani Mazibuko, Philani Duma, Emille Ngcobo and Simphiwe Sikhakhane