King Sunny Ade has his real name as Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye. He is a renowned Nigerian Juju singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and humanitarian.
He was born September 22, 1946 to the Royal family of Samuel Adeniyi Adegeye in Osogbo, Ondo State, Nigeria. He grew up to become one of the highly celebrated Nigerian Yoruba singers, a living legend with international repute.
King Sunny Ade’s Educational Background
King Sunny Ade attended a grammar school in Ondo State, but was said to have dropped out of school. He later made a career in music and joined Moses Olaiya’s Federal Rhythm Dandies in Lagos.
King Sunny Ade’s Music Career
King Sunny Ade kick-started his music career with the Federal Rhythm Dandies.
After seven years in the journey of music, he formed his band, ‘The Green Spots’, which he later renamed African Beats and then Golden Mercury. Since then, the Nigerian African icon has recorded lots of achievements in the entertainment industry worldwide, printing his name in gold.
In 1983, Sunny Ade and his African Beats made their debut stage performance in America, performing to enthusiastic crowds.
In 1990, King Sunny dropped another album, ‘Authority’. The album was a big hit and featured tracks like Alase Laiye Alase Lorun, Majo Ronyinronyin, KSA Ma Wo Won Loye, and Yio Pe Leti Omi, amongst others.
In 1995, the versatile and living legend released E Dide (Get Up), a collection of enormous captivating African songs that paved the way for his Odu album. It was a collection of ancient Nigerian songs he released 1998 and featured Aiye Nreti Eleya Mi, Easy Motion Tourist, Kiti Kiti, Natuba, Ibi Won Ri O, Eri Okan (Conscience). The album was a huge success and earned King Sunny his second Grammy nomination.
King Sunny Ade has remained very consistent and relevant in the music industry.
In the year 2000, he released Seven Degrees North, an album loaded with hit songs like Appreciation, Samba, Suku Suku Bam Bam, Odigan O Ni Se Barber, Merciful God amongst others.
King Sunny Ade has made a big name in the music space as undisputed king of juju music star, the dance-inspiring hybrid of western pop and traditional African music with roots in the guitar tradition of Nigeria.
He has proved to the western world the relevance and beauty of Juju Music which must receive global recognition through Synchro System and Aura albums released in the early 80s under Island Records which also earned him his first Grammy Award nomination.
King Sunny Ade has collaborated with top music stars like Stevie Wonder, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Manu Dibango, Onyeka Onwenu, and Wizkid, among others.
The music icon has several hit songs to his credit, some of which are:
- Odu
- The truth “Otito”
- Aura
- Vintage
- Syncro system
- Syncro series
- Juju music
- Maa jo
- Eje Nlogba
- Ja funmi
- Mo Ti Mo
- Ma Jaiye Oni
- Ase
- Oremin
- Let them say
- Merciful God
- Mo Ti Kole Min Sori Apata
- Oluwa lo yan mi
- Odu oteyi yato
- Samba
- Ariya
- E dide e mujo
- Gbe Kini ohun de
- Eje Nlo Gba Ara Mi
- The best of classic years
- Seven degrees north, among many others.
Aside music, King Sunny Ade is also a gifted Nollywood actor. He has been featured in good number of Nollywood movies including Fopomoyo and Olu Omo.
King Sunny is not just a musician, but a rare instrumentalist. This singular gift marked him out of the numerous African musicians with good delivery of his music, with a blend of electric guitars, synthesizers, and multi-layered percussion.
He is indeed a force to reckon with in the music world, whose Afro-pop music genre has remained on the music top table both locally and internationally.
Awards and Nominations
King Sunny Ade has in the course of his music profession received several awards and nominations including two Grammy Awards.
He is also a recipient of one of Nigeria’s highest national awards, Member of the Federal Republic (MFR).
Recipient of the King of World Music Award by International Reggae and the World Music Award.
He was inducted into the Afro-pop Hall of Fame at the Brooklyn African Festival in the United States in 2009.
In 2009, he was appointed a visiting professor of music at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
In 2016, he received the AFRIMA Award.
In 2016, King Sunny Ade became an inductee of the Hard Rock Cafe Hall of Fame, among others.
His Humanitarian Work
King Sunny Ade is a humanitarian. As part of his humanitarian work, he set up the King Sunny Ade Foundation, which includes a performing arts centre, a cutting-edge recording studio, and housing primarily to empower upcoming young musicians and performers on a five-acre plot of land donated by the Lagos state government.
His Marital Life
King Sunny Ade is a polygamist. He was said to have released a photo of a number of his wives in January 2018 to attest to his polygamous life. There is however no public or authentic information about the total number of wives and children he has.
King Sunny’s Net worth
King Sunny Ade is one of the highly celebrated, reverenced, influential and richest music icons in Nigeria and Africa with an estimated net worth of over $10 million dollars.
He is said to have invested wisely in oil, mining, film and video production company and many others.
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