Niniola Apata has received her Grammy nomination certificate for her work as a composer on The Lion King: The Gift. Popularly known professionally as Niniola, she describes her style of music as Afro-house, a blend of Afrobeat and house music.
Nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2019, the 27-track album which drew inspiration from Disney’s animation, ‘Lion King’ features several music artists from a wide range of regions across the universe and most importantly from Africa, including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Tekno, Shatta Wale, Tiwa Savage, and Mr. Eazi. The album also has contributions from Jay-Z, Pharrell, Beyonce’s daughter; Blue Ivy Carter, Kendric Lamar, Childish Gambino, and Niniola.
The Nigerian singer and songwriter participated in the sixth season of Project Fame West Africa in 2013. After releasing her debut single “Ibadi” in 2014, she was nominated for Most Promising Act to watch at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
Niniola released the Sarz-produced single “Maradona” in 2017. The song spent 13 weeks on South Africa’s Metro FM chart, retaining the number 1 position for 6 weeks. Niniola earned nominations at the 2018 BET Awards and SAMAs for “Maradona”. She received nods from Canadian rapper Drake and American record producer Timbaland.
In 2019, elements of “Maradona” were sampled in “Find Your Way Back”, a song from Beyoncé’s soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift. Niniola is also credited as a songwriter and composer on the track.