Timi Dakolo was born on the 20th of January 1981 in Accra, Ghana to a Nigerian father and a Ghanaian mother. He emerged the winner of the inaugural season of Idols West Africa in 2007 and as a result bagged, himself a Sony BMG recording deal, in addition to other prizes. He has since been dubbed Nigeria's King Of Soul and has garnered various accolades in the process.