Wande Coal Essentials

Born Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe in Lagos, Wande Coal creates silky smooth Afropop and hip-hop jams that are bona fide party pleasers: electrifying, often jazz-influenced beats inflated with Coal's indefatigable rap-singing. His breakthrough came with 2008's playful, Akon-influenced "You Bad"—a collaboration with Nigerian superstar D'banj—lifted from his debut album Mushin' To Mo'Hits. And, prophetically, more hits did indeed come: bangers like "Ballerz" and shadowy hip-hop tracks like "Iskaba" would sound natural on pop radio anywhere in the world. If that's Coal's goal, he's well on the way.