“My Parents Were Muslims”: Adekunle Gold Shares How His Music Career Started in Church
- Adekunle Gold opened up about his Muslim upbringing and how his father allowed him to attend church as a child
- The Afrobeats star spent 11 years in the church choir, desperately wanting to lead but never getting the opportunity
- An aunt who lived with the family played a key role in shaping Gold's early musical foundation by teaching harmonies at home
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Afrobeats and Fuji singer Adekunle Gold has shared the surprising story behind his path into music, tracing it back to a church choir he joined as a young boy, despite being raised in a Muslim household.
The Afrobeats star disclosed this during an appearance on the One54 Africa podcast, which aired on September 10, 2026.
Source: Instagram
Speaking candidly about his Nigerian roots and religious upbringing, Adekunle Gold explained that both his parents were Muslims, yet his father held an unusually open view of faith.
"My dad was a Muslim. My mom was a Muslim, I grew up, but my dad somehow allowed us to go to church," he said.
"He was a liberal man. He believed; he always said that he believes religion is an education. Like, you learn. There are things to pick from each religion, you know."
Adekunle Gold shares how the Teen Choir sparked everything
It was inside that church setting that Adekunle Gold's obsession with music took root.
The singer recalled being captivated by a teen choir and, more specifically, by the boys who led the congregation in praise and worship each Sunday.
"I wanted to be that guy so bad, and it never happened for me," he admitted.
"I was in the church for 11 years, and they didn't think I was good enough to be that guy."
Rather than discouraging him, the rejection only pushed him to work harder during rehearsals.
Adekunle Gold, the husband of singer Simi, said he would go all out at practice sessions, hoping his choirmistress would finally take notice.
What fascinated him most was not just the singing, but the ability of those leaders to command a room.
"They knew how to move the crowd, control the crowd. I was fascinated by that," he said.
Source: Instagram
Adekunle Gold speaks about his aunt who taught harmonies at home
Beyond the choir, an aunt who lived with the family played a quiet but significant role in developing the Afrobeats singer's ear for music.
She was herself a choir member and would regularly teach him and his siblings how to sing in different harmonies, including alto parts, at home.
The moment drew laughter from the podcast hosts when the Afro-Fuji singer recalled a telling contradiction:
"The same person that taught me how to sing would tell me, 'You sound annoying.' I can't even win, bro."
"I just knew that I loved to sing. I knew that I was interested, and that drove me... here," he said.
Despite never landing the choir leadership role he craved, Adeekunle Gold credited those 11 years as the spark that set everything in motion.
He wrote his first song at around age 15 and went on to perform with church-related groups and early bands before his breakout highlife cover "Sade" in 2014 launched him onto the national stage.
Watch Adekunle Gold speak about how his music career started in the church in the X video below:
Adekunle Gold explains the inspiration behind his song Simile
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Adekunle Gold explained that he wrote his 2019 hit Simile shortly after losing his father, during a period when he struggled with grief and his emotions.
Reflecting on a recent orchestral performance of the song, the singer said his younger self could never have imagined that he would still be making music and living some of his dreams 7 years later.
He also used the moment to encourage people facing difficult times, reminding them that dark seasons do not last forever.
Source: Legit.ng
