OXLADE – OXLADE FROM AFRICA TOUR – Chicago, IL

Oxlade is an Afro-Pop singer/songwriter hailing from Lagos, Nigeria. This crooner is best known for his rich harmonies and signature falsetto. As a frontline artist of the new wave of Afrobeats, his poetic penmanship and heartfelt lyrics really strike a chord with his core following: The Oxygenes.

Though he is hailed as a break-out star from Surulere, Olaitan ”Oxlade” Abdulrahman Ikuforijiwas actually born on 22 April 1997 and raised in Mushin, Lagos. His journey into music started when he joined the school choir which sparked a passion for singing, songwriting and experimenting with sound.

Before Oxlade started to release music on Soundcloud in 2017, he began his degree in History & International Relations at Lagos State University (LASU). Here, he grew his first following; performing at events and sharing his music via messaging and social media platforms. In 2018, Oxlade released 3 tracks before dropping his first official single ‘Shugar’. This up-tempo and colourful jam caught the attention of music executives and listeners alike, kicking off his highly successful career. Oxlade went on to release ‘Sing’ with Fireboy DML the first of many high profile collaborations with artists including Whitney Houston, Camila Cabello, Davido, Sarkodie, Skip Marley, Tawsen, Sneakbo, Show Dem Camp, Reekado Banks, Basketmouth, Ice Prince, MI Abaja, Serani, Ms Banks, Tellaman, Juls, Kidi, Mayorkun, Simi, Blxckie, Spinall, Nandy, Fiokee, DJ Tunez, Nailah Blackman, Rexxie, Blaqbonez, Melvitto and more.

In the 6 years that Oxlade has been on the scene, he has accumulated a string of note-worthy achievements. In 2019, he performed to an audience of 20,000 at London’s prestigious O2 Arena to support Wizkid at the Starboy Fest. In 2020, Oxlade dropped his six-track EP, ‘Oxygene’, which included smash hits like ‘Away’ and ‘02’. Rolling Stone crowned the former as one of Top 50 Songs of the Year. In the same year, he released ‘DKT’ which charted at #8 on Apple Music Nigeria. 2020 also saw Oxlade become nominated for Nigeria’s most sought-after music accolade: The Headies Next Rated Award, alongside exciting new talent Bella, Tems and Omah Lay. 2021 saw the release of Oxlade’s sophomore EP ,‘Eclipse’; this was curated in conjuction with his label, Troniq Music.

2022 was monumental for Oxlade! He signed a record deal with Epic Records France and Columbia UK; expanding his global audience with ‘Want You’. This reached #47 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs Chart and Number 18 on the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart. This was followed up by the viral hit,‘Ku Lo Sa – A Colors Show’ which cracked the Shazam Top 100 in countries like the US, the Netherlands, Canada, and the UK. The banger charted in 70+ cities and countries including #1 on the Apple Music Charts for Accra, Nairobi, Uganda and Mauritania and #2 on the UK Afrobeats Charts.

To date,‘Ku Lo Sa’ has achieved Gold status in Canada, France, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and Silver status in the UK. This year also saw Oxlade become a MOBO Award nominee, perform with Usher at the Global Citizen’s Festival in Ghana, feature in Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty Fashion Show, perform with Wizkid to 21,000 fans at the Accor Arena in France and become the first artist onPandora’s ‘Africa Next’. To wrap up an amazing year, Complex named ‘Ku Lo Sa’ #5 song of the year, whilst Rolling Stone crowned it #2 Best Afro Pop Songs of 2022.