Wande Coal

Wande Coal, the silky Nigerian singer blending Afro-beat with R&B, rose to prominence in the second half of the 2000s as a central figure at Don Jazzy’s Mo’Hits imprint, where he worked alongside D’Banj and issued his first full-length project, Mushin to Mo’Hits, in 2009. Following a period of issuing individual tracks through Mavin Records, he established Black Diamond Entertainment and delivered his second album, Wanted, in 2015. In subsequent years he achieved broader recognition via well-received singles such as the 2017 collaboration “Iskaba” with DJ Tunez and the 2018 release “So Mi So.”

Born Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe on October 18, 1985 and raised in Lagos, he first performed as a teenager in his local church choir. Though he began his artistic path as a dancer, a 2006 contract brought him to Mo’Hits as a vocalist under the guidance of Don Jazzy and D’Banj. Credited as Wande Coal, he appeared on multiple cuts from D’Banj’s Rundown Funk U Up album. As part of the Mo’Hits Allstars he contributed substantially to the 2007 label compilation Curriculum Vitae alongside Dr SID and D’Prince. Two years later he unveiled his own debut, Mushin to Mo’Hits, produced by Jazzy; the set performed strongly in Nigeria while gaining traction in the U.K. and U.S. A 2012 dispute between Jazzy and D’Banj fractured the original label, prompting Coal, Dr SID, and D’Prince to depart for Jazzy’s newly formed Mavin Records. Together with Tiwa Savage the refreshed roster introduced itself via the 2012 compilation Solar Plexus, on which Coal figured prominently across all thirteen tracks.

After issuing a few standalone singles, among them 2013’s “Baby Face,” he exited Mavin and founded Black Diamond Entertainment, unveiling the imprint in 2015 with his sophomore album Wanted, which included appearances by Wizkid, AKA, and 2Face. From 2016 onward Coal concentrated on singles and guest features, scoring major streaming successes with “Iskaba” and “Ballerz” in 2017 plus “So Mi So” the following year. He opened 2020 with the atmospheric track “Again.”