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Biography

Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe (born October 18, 1985) is a Nigerian music icon who is regarded as one of the pacesetters in the Afrobeats music scene. The singer and songwriter is known professionally as Wande Coal. 

After being signed to Mo’Hit Records, he came to the limelight and recorded the single, Ololufe, one of the tracks in the label’s compilation album titled Curriculum Vitae (CV). 

The release of his debut album, Mushin To Mo’Hits, solidified the singer’s place in the industry, with hit singles like Bumper2Bumper and You Bad becoming fans’ favorites. 

His sophomore album, Wanted, was released in 2015, while his third album, titled Realms, was dropped in 2020.

Wande Coal has risen to the Hall Of Fame in the African music industry with songs such as Ballerz, Turkey Nla, Iskaba, So Mi So, Ashimapeyin, My Way, amongst others. 

In recognition of his creativity, Wande Coal won the African Artiste Of The Year awards at the Ghana Music Awards in 2010 and the Artiste Of The Year at the 2010 Hip Hop World Awards.

Early Life

Wande Coal was born on the 18th Of October 1985 in the heart of Lagos Island, in Lagos State. He was born into the family of Chief Ibukun Olufunto Ojosipe and Mrs Omolara Oluwayemisi Ojosipe. 

He is an indigene of Lagos State and hails from the Yoruba tribe. Days after he was born into the world, his parents named him Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe. He is the first child of the family and has a younger sibling. His parents are Christians and raised him in the same faith.  He has a sister named Towa Ojosipe.

As a teenager, music started for Wande Coal when he discovered that he was gifted with a beautiful voice. To improve on his vocals, he joins the choir in his church. He was still a teenager at the time. His time in the choir helped Wande Coal learn more about music and fostered the desire to make music professionally. 

Besides music, Wande Coal is also a talented dancer. He started off in the Nigerian entertainment space as a dancer before getting his big break in the music industry. 

Education 

Wande Coal attended top-notch public-owned schools for his elementary, high school, and university education. 

He underwent primary school education at Staff Nursery & Primary School, Ijanikin, Lagos State. While he schooled at Federal Government College, Ijanikin, for his secondary school education. 

He studied at the prestigious University Of Lagos, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics. 

Career

Wande Coal‘s big break came after his path crossed with Don Jazzy and D’banj, the founders of Mo’Hit Records. He was signed to the record label in 2006. 

His label mates were D’Prince, Kayswitch, Dr SID, and Tiwa Savage. The world got to see what young Wande Coal had to offer when he appeared on D’banj‘s Rundown/Funk You Up album. He was featured on the singles, Why Me, Loke, and Tonsibe. 

He lent his vocals to the creation of the record label’s compilation album, Curriculum Vitae (CV). His debut single in the album, Ololufe, helped him achieve national fame as thousands of Nigerians were blown away by his voice and songwriting skill. 

After months of hard work in the studio, the singer released his debut album into the public space in 2010. Titled Mushin 2 Mo’Hits, the album helped Wande Coal become an international music star and secured him more collaborations from both established and emerging artists. The album is home to party jams such as You Bad featuring D’banj,Bumper2Bumper, and Taboo. 

In 2011, the singer thrilled the ears of his fans with songs such as Private Trips, Go Low, and Been Long You Saw Me featuring Don Jazzy. Like he did with Curriculum Vitae, Wande Coal played a major role in creating Mavin Records‘ second compilation album titled Solar Plexus. He wrote and sang the singles, Pretty Girls, Forever, and See Me Ri. The project was released in 2012. 

In 2012, the co-founders of Mo’Hit Records, D’banj and Don Jazzy had a disagreement which led to the closing down of the record label. Don Jazzy floated a new record label called Mavin Records, which Wande Coal signed on. D’Prince and DR SID also signed to the new label. They were soon joined by Tiwa Savage, the first female artist on the label. 

However, Wande Coal left Mavin Records in 2013 to continue his career under his own music imprint. This led to the birth of Black Diamond Entertainment. He took a break from music for close to two years before returning in 2015 with a second album. The album Wanted doing moderately well in the market and received an above average rating from critics.

In 2017, Wande Coal‘s career increased momentum once more when he released back-to-back bangers such as Ballerz, Iskaba featuring DJ Tunez, Oh No No, Funkeh, and Turkey Nla. The singer held the industry spellbound with the single, So Mi So, released in 2018. 

Over the years, he has cultivated a good working relationship with a number of producers in their industry. And the list includes the likes of Spellz, Juls, Killertunes, CheekyChizzy, Maleek Berry, Sarz, and Don Jazzy. 

He also worked with other talented music acts like Wizkid, Olamide, Falz, D’banj, D’Prince, Patoranking, Shizzi, Phyno, Ikechukwu, R2Bees, and Naeto C.

His third album, Realms, was released in 2020. The popular song, Again (produced by Juls), is one of the tracks off the project. He worked with Juls once more in 2021 to record and release Come My Way. The music video for Come My Way was shot by Sesan and released on the 4th Of November 2021. 

In 2022, he was featured on the rapper, Olamide‘s trendy single, Hate Me, which was released in February 2022. He also lent his vocals to Listen, one of the tracks in Basketmouth‘s sophomore album, Horoscopes.

In May 2023, he released a studio album named Legend or No Legend, which features the likes of Olamide, Wizkid, T-Pain and Fireboy DML. Songs like Ekelebe, Dues, Nobody Holy, Streets, Jabo, Come My Way, Genesis, Sho Ma Gba, Don’t Feel Love, Kpe Paso, E Choke, Let Them Know, and 3 Square Meal are off the album.

Awards & Nominations

Wande Coal won the Best R&B/Pop Single at the 2010 edition of Hip Hop World Awards. He won the African Artiste Of The Year category at the Ghana Music Awards in 2010. 

He went home with the Artiste Of The Year award at the 2010 Hip Hop World Awards. 

Social Media

Regarded as an icon in the African music space, Wande Coal has millions of his fans actively following him on social media. 

He has over 1.6 million followers on Instagram and over 2.4 million followers on Twitter. 

• Instagram handle: @wandecoal
• Twitter handle: @wandecoal

Personal Life

The singer Wande Coal has resided in Lagos State for most of his childhood and adulthood. He currently lives in a mansion in an elite neighborhood of Victoria Island. He turned 37 years old on the 18th Of October. 

Wande Coal is a married man and father to a handsome son. However, the public doesn’t know much about his wife because Wande Coal has chosen to be private about his personal life. 

The singer is regarded as a mentor and idol of many emerging music acts in the country. He has a record and publishing deal with Empire Music.  

Net Worth

Having come a long way in the industry in the past sixteen years, Wande Coal has built a fortune from his music career. 

This fortune is estimated to be a net worth of US$7 million – US$10 million.

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