Adekunle Gold opens up on ‘beautiful’ marriage to wife Simi as Afrobeats power couple: ‘It’s easy to get sucked in’

Adekunle Gold and Simi are parents to one-year-old daughter Deja (Picture: @symplysimi, Instagram)

Adekunle Gold isn’t letting the ‘power couple’ label influence his marriage to singer Simi, but he does admit they have a ‘beautiful’ relationship. 

Fans have been glued to the Nigerian stars’ romance since it emerged they had married in January 2019 after secretly dating for five years. 

They often share glimpses of their relationship on social media but these days, another little member of the family has stolen their shine. Adekunle and Simi welcomed their first child, daughter Deja, in May 2020 and their followers lap up any photos of the adorable one-year-old. 

The Afrobeats singers are one of the genre’s most-loved couples with over 16m Instagram followers between them, but they still value their privacy. 

Speaking to Metro.co.uk for the release of his new single Sinner, Adekunle said: ‘There’s no pressure ever. We let people know what we want to know. We’ve been together for six, seven years – what pressure would we feel to bring people into our lives? We’re good. 

‘The Black love thing is sweet but I’m not living my life for Black love. We’re in a relationship that works for us and if that translates to Black love, Black power, then wonderful but that’s not what we’re going for.’ 

The It Is What It Is singer continued: ‘We do that so beautifully, we know when it’s time to work and when it’s time for family. It helps that we’re both musicians so we understand what the industry entails, the gimmicks and how it’s so easy to get sucked in and forget who you are. 

‘We have a healthy balance on everything.’ 

Sharing how fatherhood has changed him, Adekunle explained that he now ‘works harder’ to give his daughter ‘a better life’ than he experienced growing up. 

‘Everyday I think about how I have a job to raise a beautiful queen and in this crazy world that we’re in, you know it’s hard work,’ he said. ‘I’m grateful to be a girl dad, it’s made me even more aware of how crazy it is to raise a child in this new age so I’m more in tune with everything I need to do to be a responsible dad and a great man at large.’ 

Adekunle, 34, rose to fame with his unique cover of One Direction’s debut single What Makes You Beautiful, putting his own spin on the pop hit for the track Sade. 

Since then, he’s enjoyed success with tracks such as Orente, Pick Me Up and Ready, and released his debut album Gold in 2016. 

He’s currently preparing to release his next album, which is yet to be titled and due out in September. 

Teasing his new music, Adekunle said: ‘Everything on this album is personal. It’s more about where I am mentally, my growth, my family, my baby. It’s about becoming – I’m a whole new person now and I just wanted to express that through the music.’ 

Adekunle found ways to work around recording the album with pandemic restrictions, by recording some of the songs in his closet. In fact, his entire last album, Afro Pop. Vol 1, was recorded there, which oddly sounds normal for life in a pandemic. 

The musician’s music has reached far and wide beyond Nigeria and even Africa, with Adekunle building large fan bases among the diaspora in the UK and US. 

As a mark of how far the Afrobeats genre at large has progressed, Adekunle’s friend and collaborator Wizkid sold out his upcoming show at London’s O2 in 12 minutes, becoming one of just a few artists to do so in less than 15 minutes. 

‘It’s been a long time coming, this should have happened long ago,’ said Adekunle, who considers himself more of an Afropop artist. 

More: New music

‘When I saw the news about Wizkid, I thought it was really beautiful to see. How does somebody sell out the O2 in 12 minutes? That’s crazy. I’m so happy for him, he’s having a good time and it’s beautiful to see that he’s opening doors for more African artists to make such amazing [moves]. 

‘It’s such a good time for African music.’ 

Adekunle Gold’s new single, Sinner, is out now while his album is due in September.

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