Niniola Apata was born 15 December 1986 in Lagos but hails from Ekiti State. She is a talented Nigerian afro-house singer, songwriter and performer, better known by her stage name Niniola.
She rose to fame in 2013 after finishing third runner-up on the sixth season of Project Fame West Africa.
Upon the release of her breakthrough debut single “Ibadi”, Niniola was nominated in the “Most Promising Act to Watch” category at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. She currently has a record deal with Drumroll Records.
Early Life And Educational Background
Niniola had her primary and secondary school education at Apata Memorial High School. She later went to the University of Lagos where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology Education.
Her career
While in school, Niniola participated in several social activities and competitions which of course turned out to be the platform to her greatness in music career.
Her participation in Season 6 of Project Fame West Africa placed her as 3rd Runner-Up. In the competition, she performed a live rendition of “Limpopo” with KCEE and also performed her composition “Itura” which was produced by Cobhams Asuquo.
She named Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, The Cranberries, Madonna, Beyoncé and Angelique Kidjo as music icons who influenced her greatly in music. Since then, her dream to make it big in musical career has stood tall and remained resolute.
On 19 March 2014, Niniola released her debut single “Ibadi”, produced by Sarz. The song received positive critical reviews, topped national music charts and received wide airplay.
In addition, “Ibadi” and her single “Gbowode” were used as sound tracks in the Season 2 of Nigerian television drama series Gidi Up.
In 2015, she was listed on notJustOk‘s “15 Artists to Watch in 2015” and was nominated in the “Most Promising Act to Watch” category at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
Niniola is the elder sister of popular Nigerian singer Teni Apata.
Artistry
Niniola describes her style of music as “Afro-House”, a blend of afrobeat and house music. Niniola lyrics are mostly in her dialect – Yoruba language and at a later date, she confessed in an online interview with Gbolahan Adeyemi of TalkGlitz Media saying “she loves her culture and the language makes her song delivery beautiful”.
Personal life
Niniola is a beautiful, creative and versatile singer whose genre of music comprises of folk music, House music and Afro-house, a blend of afrobeat and House music.
She has worked with the likes of Seyi Shay, DJ Spinall, Johnny Drille, Mr Real, Eddy Kenzo, DJ Snake and so on. Her two singles “Ibadi” and “Gbowode” were used as sound track in season 2 of the Nigerian drama series “Gidi Up”.
Like other successful music stars, Niniola is a recipient many nominations and awards including:
- Best Female MPV at Sound city MPV Awards and Best Vocal Performance for ‘Saro’ at the 2018 Headies Awards.
- She has also won numerous awards which include Most Promising Female Artiste at Green Awards 2015.
- And Youth Artiste Of The Year at Maya Awards 2018 and many others.
Her Net Worth
Niniola Apata who earns her much of her wealth from music sales and show bookings, is one of the most influential and talented Nigerian female artistes with an estimated net worth of about $1.5 million dollars.