Osunlade

Osunlade, a widely admired and often imitated New York-based producer, DJ, and label head, absorbed music from childhood onward through piano instruction and vocal performances in his church choir. At 17 he joined the ensemble of the long-running children’s program Sesame Street as an on-air presenter and subsequently supplied production for the show. From the late 1980s forward he operated as a freelance producer and session musician, contributing to releases by Musiq, Patti LaBelle, Najee, India.Arie, and Eric Benet. In 1999 he founded the Yoruba imprint, issuing his own deep house recordings while simultaneously developing other artists. His debut album, the 2001 set Paradigm, appeared on the U.K. label Soul Jazz, whose edition of the well-received LP substantially raised his visibility. Viewed as one of the leading creators of deep house colored by soul and funk, Osunlade—an ordained priest in the African religion of Ifa—imparts spiritually charged, uplifting qualities to every project he undertakes. The mix album Offering, issued by R2, followed in 2002.