Dr. Alban

Biography

Ogbuagu Alban Uzoma Nwapa (born 26 August 1957), better known by his stage name Dr. Alban, is a Nigerian-Swedish musician and producer with his own record label, Dr. Records. His music can best be described as Eurodance/hip-hop reggae in a dancehall style. He has sold an estimated 16 million records worldwide and is most famous for his worldwide 1992 hit "It's My Life×It's My Life1992 · Single · DJ-mixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksA1It's My Life (Raggadag Remix)A2It's My Life (Raggadag Novoice Version)BIt's My Life (Power Version)", from the album One Love×One Love1992 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1One Love (Extended Version)6:03A2One Love (Africana Version)4:55B1One Love (Dragon Fly Version)5:17B2Reggae Gone Ragga (Album Version)4:01. He travelled to Sweden at age 23 to study dentistry and became a DJ to finance his studies.

Early life

Alban was born Alban Uzoma Nwapa into a middle-class family of ten children in Oguta, Imo state, Nigeria. He is Igbo.

Education

He got his secondary education at Christ the King College and spent most of his youth in his hometown of Oguta. At age 23, he travelled to Sweden to study dentistry at Lund University. To finance his studies, Dr. Alban became a DJ at the Stockholm club Alphabet Street.

Denniz Pop and achieving success: 1990s

In 1990, he met Denniz Pop from the SweMix label and, together with Denniz and rap artist Leila K, released his first record Hello Afrika. At this point, he took the stage name Dr. Alban, a nod to his dental studies. His debut album included hits like "Hello Afrika×Hello Afrika1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Hello Afrika (7" edit)3:492Hello Afrika (Denniz Pop mix)5:373Hello Afrika (Tribal mix)7:07" and "No Coke×No Coke1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1No Coke (After Use 12" mix)7:252No Coke (No Hasch-Hasch mix)6:093No Coke (7" mix)3:454No Coke (Swe-Flow-mix)3:50", both of which ended up being million-selling singles. The album itself was quite successful and earned him gold certification awards in numerous markets including Germany (for sales of over 250,000 units), Austria (25,000), and Switzerland (25,000).
One year later, this success was surpassed by his second album One Love×One Love1992 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1One Love (Extended Version)6:03A2One Love (Africana Version)4:55B1One Love (Dragon Fly Version)5:17B2Reggae Gone Ragga (Album Version)4:01. The album included European hit singles such as "It's My Life×It's My Life1992 · Single · DJ-mixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksA1It's My Life (Raggadag Remix)A2It's My Life (Raggadag Novoice Version)BIt's My Life (Power Version)" and "Sing Hallelujah×Sing Hallelujah2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Sing Hallelujah (radio version)3:362Sing Hallelujah (Rico Bass vs. Tom Pulse rmx)6:333Sing Hallelujah (C-Base dance mix)5:294Hallelujah Amen (club version)5:095Sing Hallelujah3:34". The single "It's My Life" reached No. 1 in Israel, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany, and No. 2 in Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The song "It's My Life" went platinum in Germany (for sales of over 500,000 units), in the Netherlands (75,000), and it sold over two million copies overall in Europe. The album in turn reached the top of the album chart in Austria and entered the top five in Switzerland, also reaching No. 6 in Germany. It went gold in Germany (for sales of over 250,000 units) and platinum both in Austria and Switzerland (both 50,000).
Alban's third album Look Who's Talking!, released in 1994, hit the top 10 in numerous markets including Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The album was the first to earn Alban a gold certification award in his home country of Sweden for sales of over 50,000 units.
Dr. Alban founded his own record label Dr. Records, whereon he released his 1996 album Born in Africa×Born in Africa9 April 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Born in Africa (Original Radio version)3:312Riddle of Life2:443Alabalaba (Woman'a'sexy)3:214Hallelujah Day3:185Rock Steady (Pupulala)4:186I Feel the Music3:177Then I Fell in Love3:118I Said It Once4:079Rich Man / Poor Man3:1210This Time I'm Free3:5111So Long3:4012Feel Like Making Love5:0213Rock the Woman / Shake It (Todd Terry mix)3:3114This Time I'm Free (Todd Terry Remix-edit)4:1815Born in Africa (Pierre J's Radio remix)3:40. The album was unable to match the success of his previous releases. It only reached No. 12 in Finland, while it peaked at No. 37 in Switzerland and Sweden, No. 52 in Germany, and No. 41 in Austria. The single "Born in Africa" went to number 1 in Finland.
In 1997, Alban released the compilation album The Very Best of 1990–1997×The Very Best of 1990–199730 June 1997 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Hello Africa (Fast Blast club mix)5:382Stop the Pollution (album version)3:433U & Mi (album version)3:484No Coke (7" mix)3:455One Love (radio version)4:156Sing Hallelujah! (short)4:027It's My Life (radio edit)4:028Look Who's Talking (long)5:249Let the Beat Go On (short)4:0510Away From Home (short)3:2011This Time I'm Free (Credibility mix)3:5112Hallelujah Day (radio)3:3913Born in Africa (original radio version)3:3114It's My Life (Sash! remix)3:5015Sing Hallelujah! (DJ Stevie Steve's Pizzi edit)4:1016Hello Africa ('97 remix)6:4017No Coke (Klanghouse remix)3:56, which only charted in Austria, Sweden, and Germany. The same year, the artist also released the studio album Believe, which peaked at No. 27 in Sweden, No. 30 in Finland, and No. 41 in Austria. In late 1998, Dr. Alban released a single with German-based artist Sash!, entitled "Colour the World", which experienced moderate chart success in Europe.

Decline and return to music: 2000s

In 2000, Alban released the single "What Do I Do×What Do I Do2000 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1What Do I Do (radio version)3:252What Do I Do (singback version)3:26", which charted only in Sweden at No. 43; it spent only two weeks on the charts there. The album Prescription×Prescription2000 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Because of You3:072What Do I Do3:253I Like to Know3:124Looking for Something3:325Beautiful Day3:146Talk About Love3:307Rebel3:388Born a Winner2:529Telephone Love2:5310Get Up3:0511Fuel 4 Love3:1612The Answer3:37 was a flop, as it failed to chart anywhere.
In 2007, after years of absence from the music scene, Dr. Alban released the studio album Back to Basics×Back to Basics1 January 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Don’t Joke With Fire3:012Push It3:153I Wanna Know3:064Work Work3:075Give Me Lovin3:076Single Searching3:227The One3:018Habibi3:309Music in Me3:1210Don’t Joke With Fire (alternative mix)3:0911Push It (Ragga dub mix)3:1212Work Work (Africa Recall mix)2:5813Work Work (Moos Power remix)3:50. It was sold on the internet only through Dr. Alban's official website. In Russia, however, physical CDs and cassettes were released.

Later activities: 2010s–present

In 2010, Alban collaborated once again with Sash! to produce a remake of "Hello Afrika×Hello Afrika1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Hello Afrika (7" edit)3:492Hello Afrika (Denniz Pop mix)5:373Hello Afrika (Tribal mix)7:07", "Hello South Afrika", dedicated to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was followed by a single consisting of 16 remixes.
On 15 February 2014 at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg, Dr. Alban teamed up with Jessica Folcker and arrived in fifth place in the third heat of Melodifestivalen 2014, with the song "Around the World×Around the World15 February 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Around the World3:032Around the World (instrumental)3:03", to win the right to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In 2015, he released the single "Hurricane×Hurricane29 May 2015 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Hurricane (radio mix)3:152Hurricane (Raggaton mix)3:253Hurricane (Snakebyte mix)4:064Hurricane (Andalo mix)4:035Hurricane (Fzerox mix)5:466Hurricane (M:Ret-Zon mix)4:38", which failed to enter the European charts.
In May 2020, Alban released the song "Hello Sverige" (in Swedish) to encourage the population of Sweden to respect social distancing measures put in place to counteract the COVID-19 pandemic. The next month, he released an English version titled "Hello Nations". The song is another remake of his classic hit "Hello Afrika".
In June 2020, Alban released the single "Drama", also in Swedish, in collaboration with singer Folkhemmet. The song talks about Alban's long-running acrimonious relationship with Swedish tabloid journalists.

Personal life

Alban met his future wife, Swedish teacher Katrine "Kin" Hermansson, in 2004, through footballer Tomas Brolin. The couple had two daughters together. They divorced in 2021, and Alban has since continued to live in Stockholm.
A member of the Nigerian chieftaincy system, Alban is entitled to use the pre-nominal honorific Ogbuagu, due to his membership of the Igbuu title society of Oguta.