Dr. Alban
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dr. Alban | |
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 Alban in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alban Nwapa |
| Born | August 26, 1957 Adamawa, Nigeria |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genre(s) | Eurodance, hip-hop, reggae, dancehall |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Years active | 1980's - present |
| Label(s) | Dr-Records |
| Associated acts | Leila K, Denniz Pop, Kikki Danielsson, Sash!, Haddaway |
| Website | dralban.net |
Dr. Alban (born Alban Nwapa, August 26, 1957 in Adamawa, Nigeria) is a Stockholm, Sweden-based musician and producer with his own record label dr-records.[1] His music can best be described as a Eurodance/hip-hop reggae with a dancehall style. He is most famous for his worldwide 1992 hit "It's My Life" and is thought, to have sold over 11 million records.
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[edit] Biography
Alban Uzoma Nwapa was born into a middle class family of 10 children in Oguta, Imo state, Nigeria and had his secondary education at Christ The King College, Aba, Nigeria. He spent most of his youth in his hometown Oguta. His father was a dentist. He grew up listening to Fela Kuti and James Brown. At age 23, he travelled to Sweden to study dentistry. In order to be able to finance his studies, Nwapa started making music. He worked as a DJ in the Stockholm club 'Alphabet Street'. Very quickly his name became widely known, especially since Alban often sang to the records he put on the turntable. DJ René couldn't help but notice him and so he was discovered. Alban finished his studies and even opened his own dentistry practice, keeping his disk jockeying as a lucrative sideline.
In 1990, he met with Denniz Pop from the SweMix label. Together with Denniz and Rap-Queen Leila K, his first record, "Hello Africa" - his declaration of love for his African home - broke all records. Alban Xhezair Nwapa took the stage name Dr. Alban, a nod to his dental studies. His debut album Hello Africa sold roughly 1 million copies world-wide.[citation needed]
One year later this success was surpassed by the second album One Love. 1.6 million singles of the song "It's My Life" were sold (the single was even used as background music for a Tampax advert). It was #1 in the Netherlands, Israel and Germany and #2 in the UK. The following single "One Love" was #5 in Israel. The album immediately sold over 1.7 million units. Then followed the albums Look Who's Talking and Born In Africa. All in all, Dr. Alban has racked up world-wide sales of over 5 million albums and over 6 million singles, which resulted in 7 times Silver, 30 times Gold and 30 times Platinum. His hit single "No Coke" was used to illustrate an anti-drugs campaign in Sweden. The single "Sing Hallelujah" reached #5 in Israel.
After a re-release of "No Coke", Dr. Alban confirmed his Euro dance style with his hit "Look Who's Talking", which reached #4 in Israel, #6 at MTV Europe, and #54 in UK. "Let The Beat Go On" was #12 in Israel, and #12 at MTV9.
Following the social awareness expressed in "No Coke", Dr. Alban participated in a traffic information short film with the song "Moppepojkar"[2] ("Moped boys").
He created his own record company 'Dr. Records', on which he released Born in Africa, the first CD recorded completely in his Dr. Records studios. He had production credits on projects by artists such as La Cream and Daddy Showkey.
More recently, his voice was featured on Sash!'s single "Colour The World". After one year of silence he came back with a new track entitled "Because Of You", followed by "What Do I Do" and a new album, not Euro-dance related. Alban was very satisfied with the new album Prescription. Many hands have been involved in making this new album sound special. There are also guest appearances from Tony Rebell and Anthony B.
In 2005, he featured on Lady D's debut album, with a track called Love na jeje. Lady D is Charlie Boy's wife. CB is the cousin of Dr. Alban.
Dr. Alban is a cousin of another famous Nigerian musician, Charles "Charlie Boy" Oputa. He is also the uncle of Ricarda Wältken from the German Hip Hop Band Tic Tac Toe.
In 2007 Dr. Alban has released new album Back to basics. It is sold only on the Internet through official website, with exception for Russia where CDs and cassettes were issued.
In 2008, he released a single with Haddaway, entitled "I Love The 90's". Alban proved that he did not forget his fellow artists of the last decade and he mentions in the lyrics some of the best hits of the Euro years: "Rhythm Is a Dancer", "What Is Love", "Scatman", "All That She Wants" and his own "It's My Life".
In 2009, Dr. Alban will release a new single with Dutch-based Euro artist Haddaway. Also, he will release a new album with cousin Charly Boy, Nigerian-based naija artist.
[edit] Personal life
He is the father of Jane-Isolle (born 2005) and Julia (born 2008).
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | CH | GER | SWE | |||
| 1991 | Hello Afrika | 2 | 8 | - | 6 | |
| 1992 | One Love | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | |
| 1994 | Look Who's Talking | 7 | 8 | 7 | 11 | |
| 1996 | Born In Africa | 41 | 37 | 52 | 37 | |
| 1997 | I Believe | - | - | - | 27 | |
| 1997 | The Very Best Of 1990-1997 | 38 | - | 66 | 38 | |
| 2001 | Prescription | - | - | - | - | |
| 2007 | Back To Basics | - | - | - | - | |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT | CH | GER | UK | SWE | EGY | ||
| 1990 | "Hello Afrika" (Feat. Leila K.) | 1 | 5 | 2 | - | 5 | - |
| 1991 | "Sing Shi-Wo-Wo (Stop The Pollution)" | 16 | 13 | - | - | 36 | - |
| 1990 | "No Coke" | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | - |
| 1991 | "(We Are One Family) U & Mi" | 11 | 9 | 14 | - | 20 | - |
| 1992 | "It's My Life" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1992 | "It's My Life (Raggadag Remix)" | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1992 | "One Love" | 9 | 11 | 7 | 45 | 19 | 3 |
| 1993 | "Sing Hallelujah" | 7 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 1 |
| 1994 | "Look Who's Talking" | 3 | 6 | 3 | 55 | 2 | 2 |
| 1994 | "Away From Home" | 12 | 26 | 25 | 42 | 24 | 10 |
| 1994 | "Let the Beat Go On" | 23 | - | 18 | - | 17 | - |
| 1995 | "Sweet Dreams" (Swing featuring Dr. Alban) | - | - | - | 59 | - | - |
| 1995 | "This Time I'm Free" | 23 | 32 | 27 | - | 3 | - |
| 1996 | "Born In Africa" | 31 | 47 | - | - | 11 | - |
| 1996 | "Hallelujah Day" | 35 | - | - | - | 30 | - |
| 1997 | "Long Time Ago" | 21 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1997 | "Mr. DJ" | 21 | - | 70 | - | - | - |
| 1998 | "Papaya Coconut" (feat. Kikki Danielsson) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1999 | "Colour The World" (feat. Sash! & Inka Auhagen) | - | 39 | 39 | 15 | 54 | - |
| 2000 | "Because Of You" | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2000 | "What Do I Do" | - | - | - | - | 43 | - |
| 2002 | "I like to move it" (with DJ Aligator) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2003 | "Work Work" | - | - | - | - | 13 | - |
| 2004 | "Sing Hallelujah Recall 2004" | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | "Sing Hallelujah (Remix)" (feat. Yamboo) | - | - | 74 | - | - | - |
| 2007 | "Somebody Call My Name (Habibi)" (feat. Melissa) | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 2007 | "Don't Joke With Fire" | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | "I Love The 90's" (feat. Haddaway) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | "My cool" (with Al Azif & Adam Tensta) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Dr. Alban". www.discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Dr.+Alban. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
- ^ Moppepojkar (1991, YouTube)
[edit] External links
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