Artist Focus: Mayorkun The Rising Star
All hail the Mayor!
Real name:Adewale Mayowa Emmanuel Stage name:Mayorkun Date of birth:March 23, 1994 State of Origin:Osun Nationality:Nigerian Genre:Afro-Pop, Afrobeat
A list of the reigning musical sensations in the industry would not be complete without mentioningMayorkun. From the get-go, this determined young man has made a name for himself by making use of the opportunity he was given.
Mayorkun is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and pianist who was discovered byDavido. He was born in his nativeOsun State and is the first of three children in a family of entertainers. His mother is a Nollywood actress while his father is an artist and movie producer.
Mayorkun was part of his church choir at a very young age where he says he learned the rudiments of music.
He had his primary and secondary education at Living Spring Montessori and Hi-Grade College and has a degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos. He had a job as a banker before being discovered in 2016.
Mayorkun was on the verge of quitting his banking job due to being underpaid when his cover video was seen by Davido in February 2016. Davido followed him onTwitter andInstagram and wanted to know if Mayorkun could do more than play the keyboard.
The call from Davido came the same day he penned his resignation letter. He sent his recorded songs to theDMW boss and was signed that same year (2016), releasing his first singleEleko shortly after. The video forEleko got a million views within the first 10 days.
Knowing that he had captured the hearts of music lovers in the country, Mayorkun embarked on a nationwide tour in 2017, performing in over 35 schools.
The self-acclaimed Mayor ofLagos continued in 2018 with a show inIbadan and the capital city ofAbuja.
In October 2018, Mayorkun dropped the singlesPosh andFantasy featuringOlu Maintain as part of a promo for his first studio album titledThe Mayor of Lagos.
Mayor of Lagos was released on the 16th of November 2018. The next month, it peaked at number 15 on theBillboard World Albums Chart.
The fast-rising artist, now bent on worldwide domination, did a tour of theUnited Kingdom with label mateDremo, where he performed in 6 cities. He also performed alongside label boss Davido at the Wireless Festival.
On the 17th of November 2019, Mayorkun thrilled fans at theIndigo O2 Arena inLondon, making it a sold-out event. This was after his ‘Mayorkun Live in Concert’ shows inManchester andBirmingham,England.
Hosted byMTV Base’sEhiz,Beat FM’sShopszy, andBabyboi, the occasion saw DMW boss Davido make a surprise appearance, performing some of his hits.
With other notable singles likeYawa,Sade,Che Che, andMama, Mayorkun is a certified entertainer whose rise to the top cannot be stopped.