Wande Coal: The Rise And Fall Of A Star

The Mushin raised singer (Wande Coal) thrilled the entire world with his raw musical talent after he got signed by Don Jazzy to Mohits Record. His signature voice was slaying every song he lays his voice on. He started off dancing but his love for music made him to form a music group back in his University days with another talented singer,Chuddy K.  His voice stood him out from the crowd and no wonder Don Jazzy was able spot him amidst the multitude of other talented singers competing for attention.

He went on to release his first commercial hit single “Ololufe” with the defunct Mohits Record which brought him a lot of fame and fortune that he never even dreamt of achieving. He became the chorus boy in the label that he always takes the chorus/hook in every D’banjs’ songs. He did what no other artistes have been able to do up till today when he released his debut album “Mushin2Mohits” which became an instant success with every song becoming a hit. It’s still one of the best albums ever released in Nigeria till date. Every song on the album was a hit back to back and because of that his status was catapulted to the likes of the greats like 2face Idibia and others. He was headlining all the biggest shows and concerts at the time that an event won’t be complete without him gracing the stage. That was how big he was until something happened.

Wondering what happened? Wande Coal had a fallout with his label boss Don Jazzy which led to him parting ways with the Mavin Records. One would have expected that with his talent and experience he would do very fine on his own but his fans were disappointed that the illuminating career he once had, came crashing down like a pack of dominos. He gradually faded away for a very long time before he came back and released three new singles which got everyone wondering if he was really back for good. But once again he let his fans down as he went into oblivion again. What is really happening with Wande Coal? His fans all over the world kept asking. Is it that he has lost his gift of singing or he has resigned from music finally? No one knows until he announced that he would be releasing his second album “Wanted” after the long break from music. His fans couldn’t wait for him to release the album because they have waited too long for this moment and just like he promised, he released the much anticipated album late last year, 2015. Due to the anticipation of the album and music draught, the new album was supposed to cover for all the lost time he stayed away from the music scene. The hype was massive that we all felt it’s going to be the album of the century. We couldn’t wait to get a feel of the album when it was officially released that the album became the highest selling album on iTunes worldwide because of the high anticipation but sadly the album didn’t live up to our expectation coming from an artists whose past works are still evergreen.

Can Wande Coal really make a comeback or would he remain a shadow of his former self forever? Only time would tell but we hope for him to rediscover himself and go back to the drawing boards to re-strategize and come out looking reformed. For every artiste to remain relevant he or she needs to repackage and rebrand because everything is evolving so is music too. What people loved and enjoyed 7 years ago can become obsolete today so you need to move with time. His fans of 7 years ago are now matured and grown up, so if he still wants to appeal to them he would need to rebrand his music and his person to be able to connect with them. Now we have so many young artistes springing up every day who are giving these older artistes a run for their money.

Wande Coal is good not doubt and he has a very lovely voice but he might not really know the music business and how to stay relevant in the industry. He needs to recruit an energized young team who knows the job and are willing to work to resuscitate his ailing career, only then can he be able to bounce back to the Wande Coal we once knew and loved.