Dr. Alban

Dr. Alban, born Alban Uzoma Nwapa, is a Swedish musician and producer born on 26 August 1957 in Oguta, Nigeria.

He grew up listening to Fela Kuti and James Brown. At 23 he began dental studies in Sweden; to fund them he became a DJ at the Stockholm club ‘Alphabet Street’, singing over the records. Spotted by DJ René, he was discovered but completed his studies and opened a dental practice, which inspired his stage name.

In 1990 his meeting with Denniz PoP (label SweMix) enabled him to leave dentistry for music. In collaboration with Denniz and rapper Leila K, his first single, Hello Africa, became a worldwide hit and Alban Nwapa officially became Dr. Alban.

His debut album, Hello Africa, sold about one million copies. The following album, One Love, surpassed that (over 1.7 million albums) and the single It's My Life sold 1.6 million copies. His song No Coke was used in an anti-drug campaign in Sweden.

After a reissue of No Coke, he confirmed his eurodance style with tracks like Look Who's Talking and Let The Beat Go On. He founded the label ‘Dr. Records’ and released Born In Africa, the first CD recorded entirely in his own studios.

In total, Dr. Alban has sold over 5 million albums and 6 million singles, and earned 7 silver, 30 gold and 30 platinum records. He produced other artists such as La Cream and lent his voice to Colour The World by Sash!.

In the 2000s he released Prescription, collaborated with Yamboo on a remix of Sing Hallelujah! in 2002 and released Back To Basics in 2007.