Nigerian singer and songwriter Adekunle Kosoko, popularly known as Adekunle Gold, has revealed that he sent in a song he wrote for Beyoncé’s ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ album project.
The Afrobeats singer explained that he wrote the song for the American superstar during one of the most challenging periods of his life.
Adekunle recalled that shortly after the death of his father in 2019, he was invited by Beyoncé’s team to contribute to her ‘Lion King: The Gift’ album project.
“At the time, I was too consumed by grief to even think about music. But one day I forced myself back into the studio. Out of that pain, I wrote Simile,” the singer recounted.
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He noted that he secretly hoped that Beyoncé’s camp would decide against choosing the song for the album despite sending it in.
The 38-year-old singer got what he hoped for as the song ‘Simile’ didn’t make the cut for the ‘Lion King: The Gift’ album. This meant Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Tekno, and Mr Eazi were the only Nigerian singers on the album.
Adekunle has now included ‘Simile’ on his latest album titled ‘Fuji,’ and is hoping the track will comfort listeners dealing with grief or loss.
He said, “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 most profound loss, I was not alone. I had God to lean on.
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“Grief isn’t just about losing a parent. 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.”
