Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (; born 18 October 1985), popularly known as Wande Coal, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter.
Early life
Wande Coal was born on 18 October 1985 in
Lagos Island,
Lagos state,
Nigeria, to Chief Ibukun Olufunto and Omolara Oluwayemisi Ojosipe. He is the first of two children.
Education
Wande Coal began his
primary school education at Staff Nursery and Primary School
Ijanikin, Lagos State, and later attended Federal Government College ijanikin Lagos in
Lagos State, for his secondary school education. He then proceeded to The University of Lagos (Unilag), Lagos State, where he studied Human Kinetics.
Career
Wande Coal started singing in the teenage choir at his church.
He later worked as a dancer and was introduced to Mo' Hits Records in 2006 after performing at a campus event at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) attended by D'banj and
Don Jazzy, who contacted him the next day and signed him to the label.
He initially served as a backup singer for D'banj, providing vocals on songs such as "Loke" and "Tono Sibe", and later performed with the label’s live band. Coal appeared on most tracks on Mo' Hits' compilation album
Curriculum Vitae (2007), after which work began on his debut studio album
Mushin 2 Mo' Hits (2009).
Wande Coal's "You Bad" single won the award for Best Pop Single at the 2010 edition of Hip Hop World Awards, which was also nominated for Song of the Year. His debut album also won the award for Best R&B/Pop Album and Album of the Year. Receiving a nomination for Best Vocal Performance (Male) for his song "Bananas" at the event, he won the awards for Artiste of the Year and Revelation of the Year.
2012–2015
Coal has also recorded tracks with other Nigerian artists, including Ikechukwu,
Phyno,
Davido,
Naeto C,
Dr SID, D'Prince, Wizkid and many other artists. In 2012, following a fallout between record label executives
Don Jazzy and D'banj, Coal,
Dr SID and D'Prince signed on to Don Jazzy's new Record Label
Mavin Records with the addition of
Tiwa Savage from 323 Entertainment acting as the first lady of
Mavin Records. Reports of Wande Coal’s exit from Mavin Records surfaced in 2013 after he released and promoted the single "Kilaju" without the label’s support.
On 5 November 2013, he released another single, "Baby Face", which he said was produced by
Shizzi. Shortly after, Don Jazzy accused Wande Coal of intellectual property theft on Twitter and uploaded a studio demo of the song that he said had been recorded the previous year.
Wande Coal denied the allegations and shared what he described as the original studio version of the song on social media.
In the same report, entertainment lawyer Demilade Olaosun stated that ownership of the song could not be determined publicly because Wande Coal’s recording contract was not available.
Mavin Records formally announced Wande Coal's departure in a press release dated 7 November 2013, issued shortly after the public exchange between both parties.
In 2013, he launched his music label Black Diamond Entertainment.
2017–2022
After a long hiatus, Wande Coal dropped his second album
Wanted. Most reviews of the album placed him on a slightly above-average scale.
Coal released a single Tur-Key Nla in December 2017. He kicked off his 2020 with a single track titled "Again", produced by Melvitto.
An unnamed writer for
Vanguard said the song proved Wande Coal still had strong vocals, calling it "a validation of Coal's musical prowess," and added that it brought back the feel of his early work while noting it "might not be as great as his single 'Ololufe'."
He just released another Single in 2021 titled "Come My Way".
In 2022, he was featured on the rapper,
Olamide‘s single, Hate Me, which was released in February 2022.
He also re-released his album "Mushin2Mohits".
Discography
Studio albums
-
Mushin 2 Mo' Hits (2009)
-
Wanted (2015)
-
Legend or No Legend (2023)
Compilation albums
-
Curriculum Vitae (2007)
-
Solar Plexus (2012)
EPs
-
Realms (2020)
-
Best Of Both Worlds with Kel-P (2025)
Singles
As lead artist
Awards
-
African Artiste of the Year – Ghana Music Awards 2010
-
Artiste of the Year – 2010 Hip Hop World Awards
-
Best R&b/Pop Single – 2010 Hip Hop World Awards
-
Album of the Year at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2010
-
Song of the Year at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2010
-
Hip Hop Revelation of the Year at the Hip Hop World Awards – 2010
-
Song of the Year at MTV Africa Music Award - 2016
-
Best Collaboration at Nigeria Entertainment Award - 2017
External links
