Nigerian Afro-Fusion legend Wande Coal has released his new single, alongside crispy visuals, titled Umbrella. Co-written by grammy-nominated producer Sak Pase, multi-platinum singer/songwriter Sean Kingston and Wande Coal, the single comes as the first visual offering and second single from Empire’s upcoming compilation album Where We Come From (Vol. 1). Commenting on the new single, Wande Coal says, “Umbrella is meant to celebrate love and how protective, special, and full of life it makes you feel.”
In the Umbrella video, which was directed by Austin McCracken, Wande Coal is first seen playing the piano and singing at a wedding. After the couple marries, Wande shows his emotion by dancing in the rain and sings the song’s chorus, “I’m in the rain like umbrella.” The visual cuts back to the wedding reception and shows guests dancing and enjoying the festivities.
“I like for my music to tell a story and paint a picture of what I’m going through and experiencing,” Wande said regarding the visual direction. “When people listen to this, I want them to think of happier times with people they love to be around.”
Wande’s Umbrella is in celebration of the explosion of African music into mainstream airwaves. Empire is the top label in Nigeria and this compilation project is a body of work set to highlight the rising talent from their ever-growing roster in the continent. The first single from the project, Cough, by Kizz Daniel dropped on earlier this month and is currently No. 2 on the Global Shazam chart and has also held No. 1 spots across every major DSP platform in Nigeria.
Tina Davis, EMPIRE’s Senior Vice President of A&R, signed Wande Coal to EMPIRE and is excited to share his latest project. “It was an honor to sign a legend like Wande Coal. As a forefather of the Afro-Fusion genre we wanted to make sure we highlighted him on this project,” she said. “Outside of him being an amazing person, he approaches this record from a pure place of love.”