Darey Art Alade Biography: Wife, Age, Parents, Net Worth, Children, Songs, Albums, Family

Dare Art Alade (born Oluwadamilare Babatunde Art Alade on February 9, 1982, in Lagos, Nigeria) is a multi-platinum Afro-R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur.

He is professionally known as Darey and is the son of the legendary Nigerian jazz musician and entertainer Art Alade.

The youngest of five children, Darey grew up surrounded by music, sifting through his father’s jazz record collection and attending his concerts from an early age. He sang with several choirs in his youth, including the National Troupe of Nigeria Choir and the Cathedral Choir, before he began performing in clubs across Lagos and Ibadan from the age of 15.

It was during one of those sessions that he was scouted by an executive at Cool FM, where he began presenting while simultaneously studying for a degree in Music at the University of Lagos. He later attended the Music Society of Nigeria (MUSON), studying music theory, voice, and classical piano.

Darey rose to national prominence as a runner-up on Project Fame West Africa in 2004. His debut album, From Me 2 U, followed in 2006 alongside the hit single “Escalade”, launching a career that would span multiple platinum-selling albums including unDAREYted, Double Dare, Way Home, and Naked.

His music catalogue includes acclaimed records such as “Not the Girl”, “Carry Dey Go” featuring 2Baba, and “Pray for Me” featuring the Soweto Gospel Choir. He has shared stages with global acts including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Usher, and Lionel Richie.

Beyond music, Darey has built a formidable career as a broadcaster and TV personality. He has served as a judge on Nigerian Idol, a coach on The Voice Nigeria (which he won in Season 3), and a host on Project Fame West Africa, among other shows.

He is the co-founder and Creative Director of Livespot360, a leading creative and events agency. He also founded the Art Foundation, an initiative promoting music education in primary and secondary schools across Africa.

Dare Art Alade is married to entrepreneur and media personality Deola Ayeni Art Alade, and they have two children together.

Early Life & Education

Dare Art Alade, known professionally as Darey, was born Oluwadamilare Babatunde Art Alade on February 9, 1982, in Lagos, Nigeria. He is 44 years old.

His birth date places him under the Aquarius zodiac sign, covering those born between January 20 and February 18.

Darey is of Yoruba and Kogi State descent, his family originating from Odo-Ogga in the Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, though he was born and raised in Lagos. He practices Christianity, in line with the predominant faith of his background.

Darey is the last of five children born to Art Alade and Olapeju Alade. His father, Art Alade, born Modupe Afolabi Art Jemi-Alade, was one of the most celebrated figures in Nigerian entertainment, a jazz pioneer who established Arts Place, an entertainment centre comprising a nightclub, restaurant, and art gallery, and served as acting Director of Programmes at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

His paternal grandfather, Babatunde Alade, was the first Yagba man to become a principal customs officer in Lagos in the early 1920s, and his paternal grandmother taught music at a girls-only school. Music ran deep in the family long before Darey drew his first breath.

His mother, Olapeju Olufunmilayo Art Alade (nee Cole), raised him and his four older siblings, whose names have not been publicly confirmed, in Lagos. Art Alade died on June 29, 1993, at the age of 55, when Darey was just 11. The loss was significant, but it only hardened his resolve to honour the legacy left behind.

Darey has childhood memories of rummaging through his father’s extensive jazz collection and tagging along to his father’s concerts, experiences that gave him his first taste of showbiz.

He began singing with choirs at a young age, including the National Troupe of Nigeria Choir and the Cathedral Choir, steadily sharpening the instrument that would later make him a household name. At age 15, he began performing in clubs in Lagos, Ibadan, and other cities in Nigeria.

Darey had his secondary school education at CMS Grammar School in Lagos before proceeding to the University of Lagos, where he earned a degree in Music. He later furthered his formal training at the Music Society of Nigeria (MUSON), where he studied music theory, voice, and classical piano.

During his university years, he balanced his studies with radio presenting at Cool FM and performed with the a cappella group The Schoolboys, sharpening his vocal precision and harmonic arrangements.

Career

Dare Art Alade launched his professional career through the airwaves of Cool FM in Lagos, where he was scouted as a teenager after impressing a station executive during a late-night club performance.

His time at Cool FM gave him the opportunity to acquire advanced knowledge in radio presentation, production, and marketing, and he soon became a regular on-screen personality on the African entertainment variety show Y’Hello.

His big break came in 2004 when he emerged third in the first-ever African edition of the internationally renowned reality TV series Project Fame, performing in front of over 100 million TV viewers and signing a recording deal with Sony BMG Africa, which unfortunately was never realized. The exposure, however, was transformative, establishing his name across the continent and setting the stage for what followed.

His debut album, From Me 2 U, hit the Nigerian market two years later on Storm Records, laced with several hit singles including “Fuji” and “Escalade”, which enjoyed massive airplay in Nigerian and international media.

The album also included “Original Naija”, which was used as the theme song for the first-ever edition of Big Brother Nigeria. The album won several awards, including the Awards for Musical Excellence in Nigeria (A.M.E.N) and the 2006 Channel O Music Video Award for Best R&B Video in Africa.

In early 2009, he dropped his second album, unDAREYted, on his newly founded record label Soul Muzik, which produced the biggest R&B song in Africa that year, “Not the Girl”. The album caught the attention of African-American music business legend Dick Griffey, who offered to produce Darey’s third album, but unfortunately passed away before the project could be completed.

His third studio album, Double Dare (HeartBeat), was released on February 28, 2011, under Soul Muzik, and featured collaborations with a wide roster of Nigerian acts. The project was a double album and further cemented his reputation as one of Nigeria’s most versatile recording artists.

It was followed by Naked, his fourth studio album, a 13-track collection spanning Afrobeat, soul, and R&B, featuring collaborations with Asa, Olamide, and the Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, with ten of the thirteen tracks produced by Oscar Heman-Ackah. The album’s lead single, “Pray for Me”, featuring the Soweto Gospel Choir, was released on July 7, 2015, and tells the story of a young man who leaves home against his father’s advice and struggles to find his footing in the city.

After nearly five years away from active music, Darey made a comeback in August 2020 with the gospel-influenced single “Jah Guide Me”, accompanied by an Afro-futuristic music video and released to widespread acclaim. He described the single as the beginning of a deeply African-rooted musical chapter.

Beyond recording, Darey built a formidable parallel career in broadcasting and live entertainment. He appeared as a coach, judge, and host on several major television productions, including Project Fame West Africa, Nigerian Idol, and The Voice Nigeria, which he won as a coach in Season 3. His stage presence took him across the world, sharing billing with some of the biggest names in global entertainment, including Beyoncé, Wizkid, Jay-Z, Ciara, Cardi B, Burna Boy, Kelly Rowland, Sean Paul, Usher, Akon, and Lionel Richie.

On the entrepreneurial front, Darey co-founded Livespot360 with his wife, Deola Art Alade, growing it into one of Nigeria’s most influential creative and events companies. Under the Livespot banner, he produced the Love Like a Movie concert series in 2013 and 2014, landmark love-themed events that drew red carpet appearances from global personalities including Kim Kardashian and Grammy Award-winner Kelly Rowland.

The third edition, held in February 2018 at the Eko Convention Centre, featured Ciara as the international guest star, alongside live performances from Yemi Alade, Adekunle Gold, Iyanya, Sound Sultan, and Omawunmi. He has also executive-produced major festivals including Livespot X Festival and Born In Africa Festival, and co-founded Entertainment Week Lagos in 2022, an annual convention bringing together creative professionals and entertainers from across the continent.

Social Media

• Wikipedia: Darey
• Instagram: Darey Art Alade (@dareynow)
• X: Darey Art Alade (@dareynow)
• YouTube: Darey
• TikTok: Darey Art Alade (@dareynow)

Personal Life

Dare Art Alade was born on February 9, 1982, and is 44 years old.

He is estimated to stand at approximately 1.75 m (5 feet 9 inches), though this has not been verified by the singer himself.

Darey Art Alade and his wife, Deola Ayeni, got married in February 2007. The union has remained one of the more talked-about marriages in Nigerian entertainment, largely because of the age gap between the two. Darey is eight years younger than his wife, Deola Art Alade.

Far from being a source of tension, the couple have spoken openly about their relationship in ways that suggest the gap has never been a defining issue. In one interview, Darey said plainly that there was no pressure in his marriage, adding that he was perfectly happy and had no problems.

Darey has said that tying the knot with Deola was a purely personal decision, and that he could have had children outside of marriage had he not chosen to commit. He described his approach to love and marriage with characteristic directness, saying: “Love is a decision. A lot of people think it is a feeling. You decide to love someone, and you decide to spend your life with someone.”

The couple’s marriage is blessed with two children: Femi Art-Alade and Tinuke Art-Alade. Both parents have kept their children largely out of the public eye, maintaining a clear boundary between their professional lives and their family.

Deola Art Alade is a trained graphics and design expert and a deeply private person, rarely seen at events outside those coordinated by their company, Livespot360. The two have built their marriage into a creative and business partnership, co-founding and running Livespot360 together as equal architects of one of Nigeria’s most prominent entertainment brands.

No prior relationships or dating history for Dare Art Alade has been publicly confirmed or documented before his marriage to Deola. He has not publicly discussed any past partners, and there are no verified accounts of previous relationships in the public domain.

Net Worth

Dare Art Alade has built his wealth across multiple streams spanning over two decades in the Nigerian entertainment industry.

His income draws from music sales and royalties, television hosting and judging roles, live performances and concert production, brand endorsements, and his co-ownership of Livespot360, the creative and events powerhouse he runs alongside his wife, Deola Art Alade.

Darey Art Alade is reportedly worth $5 million, though some other sources place the figure closer to $2 million to $3 million. The wide variance reflects the difficulty of independently verifying the earnings of a figure whose wealth is tied not just to music but to a private creative enterprise.

While the couple’s combined net worth is not officially known, it is widely believed to run into hundreds of millions of naira, with the growth of Livespot360 having significantly multiplied their fortune over the years.

Under his creative direction, Livespot360 has executive-produced experiences for major global brands including Amazon, Disney, Nestlé, Fenty, Nickelodeon, Meta, MTN, Coca-Cola, Netflix, Heineken, Access Bank, and the NBA, among others.

The company has also ventured into television production, with Darey executive-producing The Real Housewives of Lagos for Showmax and the Nigerian adaptation of the Amazon Prime Video format Last One Laughing (LOL) Naija. These ventures have substantially expanded his earnings beyond what a music career alone could generate.

Dare Art Alade’s net worth is estimated at $2 million to $5 million. The full extent of his wealth, factoring in Livespot360’s corporate contracts and event revenues, is likely higher than most published figures suggest.

Discography

Albums

• From Me 2 U (2006)
• unDAREYted (2009)
• Double Dare Vol. 1 (Heart) (2011)
• Double Dare Vol. 2 (Beat) (2011)
• Naked (2015)

Singles

• “Escalade” (2006)
• “Fuji” (2006)
• “Original Naija” (2006)
• “Not the Girl” (2009)
• “Carry Dey Go” ft. 2Baba (2009)
• “Stroke Me” (2009)
• “Don’t Let Me Know” (2010)
• “The Way You Are” (2010)
• “Sisi Eko” (2010)
• “Ba Ni Kidi” (2010)
• “The Way You Are (Remix)” (2011)
• “Asiko” ft. Ice Prince and Jozi (2012)
• “Special Fever” (2013)
• “Asiko Laiye” ft. Olamide (2014)
• “Pray for Me” ft. Soweto Gospel Choir (2015)
• “Jah Guide Me” (2020)

EPs

• Way Home (2022)

TV Shows

As Host/Judge/Coach

• Project Fame West Africa (Host, 2008 onwards)
• Nigerian Idol (Judge)
• The Voice Nigeria Season 3 (Winning Coach, 2021)
• Gulder Ultimate Search (Host)
• Glo Naija Sings (Host, 2011)

Executive Productions

Concerts and Festivals

• Love Like a Movie 1, 2 and 3 (2013, 2014, 2018)
• Livespot X Festival (2019)
• Born In Africa Festival
• Entertainment Week Lagos (2022, co-founded with Deola Art Alade)

Television

• The Real Housewives of Lagos (Showmax)
• Last One Laughing (LOL) Naija (Amazon Prime Video, 2024)

What People Ask