Nigerian Afrobeats sensation Adekunle Gold has opened up about one of the most vulnerable moments of his life, revealing that he once wrote a song for Beyoncé while grieving the loss of his father.
The singer, known for blending Afrobeat, highlife, and pop in a unique sound he calls “Afro Pop”, shared the emotional backstory in a recent interview.
Adekunle Gold, whose real name is Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko, recalled that in 2019, just weeks after losing his father, he received an invitation from Beyoncé’s team to contribute to The Lion King: The Gift album, her star-studded soundtrack project inspired by Disney’s Lion King remake.
“At the time, I was too consumed by grief to even think about music,” he explained. “But one day, I forced myself back into the studio. Out of that pain, I wrote Simile.”
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Despite creating the song and sending it off to Beyoncé’s camp, Adekunle Gold admitted that a part of him secretly wished it wouldn’t be chosen because of the deep emotional connection he had to it.
“For years the track remained unreleased until 2024, when my longtime collaborator Michael replayed it during a session. It reminded me that even in my deepest loss, I was not alone. I had God to lean on,” he reflected.
Five years later, Adekunle Gold has finally shared Simile with the world, including it on his most recent album, Fuji. The project, which the singer describes as his most personal body of work to date, explores themes of growth, identity, love, and resilience.
“Grief isn’t just about losing a parent,” Adekunle Gold explained. “It can be the loss of a person, a friendship, a dream, or even a version of yourself; whatever it is, you don’t have to carry it alone.”
