Nigerian musician Adekunle Gold has stated that he is a descendant of King Kosoko, a 19th-century ruler of Lagos who opposed British colonial incursion. He made the claim during an interview on Great Day Houston, a morning show broadcast on KHOU 11 in Texas, with the video published on YouTube on Thursday. Gold explained that his ancestor fought the British when they arrived in Nigeria through Lagos, was forced into exile, but later returned and reclaimed power. "My progenitor used to be king of Lagos. His name is King Kosoko. He fought the British when they first came to Nigeria through Lagos to try to take our things, then he fought, went to exile, and came back, and then still won," he said. The singer, born in Lagos and of Yoruba heritage, also shared the origin of his stage name. He said he prayed for a name and received it during a church sermon when a preacher repeated the phrase "Adekunle Gold" three times. "Something just told me it must have been God. God told me at that point that that's your name," he said. He decided on the name immediately, adding, "I said, okay, you know what, just make it Adekunle Gold, and it's very befitting of me."
Adekunle Gold traces his lineage to a king who resisted foreign takeover, yet celebrates a name handed down not by elders or history but through a sermon in a modern church. His story blends ancestral defiance with personal divine intervention, placing spiritual revelation on the same level as royal heritage. For a man whose music carries cultural weight, the origin of his name now becomes part of his public identity. This mix of monarchy and ministry shapes how a contemporary Nigerian star sees his place in history.
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