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About

Award-winning Artist and D.C. based globetrotter TolumiDE takes audiences away to a tropical oasis filled with sweet, soulful vocals, warm lyrics and groovy, contemporary African rhythm. She’s a Nigerian-Canadian soul afro-pop singer-songwriter offering bilingual albums that captivate listeners across the world.

Born in Toronto, raised in Lagos and now in Washington, D.C., TolumiDE (pronounced toe–lu-mee-day) exudes great lyrical finesse, eclectic style and dynamic performance energy sharing music she describes as “Suya Soul”. Her stage name is a collaboration of her last name Olumide and her first name Tolulope meaning “Thank you God” in Yoruba language and her influences include acts within R&B, Gospel and Classic Soul genres such as Sade, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Bebe & Cece Winans; and Africa Pop stars as, Onyeka Owenu and Angelique Kidjo. TolumiDE accolades include winning the Best R&B Female Artist at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards, opening for Les Nubians at the Howard Theatre, Such at City WInery, Salif Keita at the Toronto Jazz Festival, singing with Toby Foyeh and Africa Orchestra and performing at a wide range of international fairs as Cherry Blossom Festival, FestAfrica, MusikFest, 202 Creates and Visual Collaborative. In addition, she has had the opportunity to headline shows at the Legendary Blues Alley in DC. TolumiDE soars as a female vocalist with audience grabbing performances, rave reviews and multiple awards.

I describe my music as “suya soul,” a phrase I coined myself to describe the fusion of contemporary R&B with African pop music. Suya, being a popular spicy grilled kebab skewer  indigenous to Nigeria and many West African countries, represents the alternative music flavor I offer to listeners who love soulful music.

– TolumiDE

Early beginnings of her music career began after TolumiDE moved to back to Canada from Nigeria. After completing secondary school studies at the age of 18, she became immersed in all forms of the creativity while studying Fine Art at York University and singing with multi-nominated all-female dancehall reggae band “Women Ah Run Tings” for six years. Shortly after moving to the United States to pursue a career in graphic design, TolumiDE performances began to bubble at open mics, festivals and weddings. She quickly garnered a following for her eclectic stage presence and intimate songwriting ingenuity noted to compliment her urban soul style with a fusion of her Yorùbá heritage while exploring themes of life, love, laughter, inspiration and native languages.

TolumiDE bares her musical journey in her press praised albums “Specialty” and ‘My Love’’; her follow up third acoustic album ‘Mama Sunshine’ sheds light unto brighter days when obstacles come our way and explores themes of positive affirmations, self-assurance, overcoming challenges and nostalgic memories. In spite of the success, she has experienced in her music career, TolumiDE is most inspired by her upbringing, cultural heritage and the loved ones who have supported her along the way. Through the golden moments reflected in her lyrics, she wishes to “bring back those days…”, she longs for her listeners to experience this feeling as expressed in her most recent release “Throwback”.

Dedicated to creative arts community enhancement and youth development, TolumiDE shines as an artist innovator ever ready for music culture advancement. She serves the Recording Academy as a voting Grammy member and a board member of non-profit Afropolitan Youth, hosts of FestAfrica – the largest African festival in the state of Maryland. Ever ready to grace all occasions with riveting vocals, great personality, vibrant culture and engaging audience interaction, she hopes to invigorate the music scene with fresh ethnic sounds that enlightens listeners about contemporary African culture and brings sentimental grooves to old and youthful audiences.

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