Adekunle Gold, the Nigerian singer, has revealed why he started advocating for people with sickle cell anemia.
The ‘Sade’ hitmaker had opened up about his struggles with the disease in his 2022 single ‘5 Star’.
In a recent interview with CNN’s African Voices Playmakers, Adekunle Gold said he started speaking for people with sickle cell anemia to make them “feel safe and supported”.
The singer revealed that he was “attacked and abused” on social media when he revealed his battle with the condition.
“I want people with sickle cell to feel safe, to feel like they have help and support,” he said.
“Recently when I even talked about it in the song, I saw a lot of tweets, people attacking and abusing me.
“I just really got the courage to speak openly, it, a lot of people can’t share their story as I can. I was writing the song 5-star and I was reflecting on my life, the journey, how I’m a miracle.
“Because the line was sickle cell show me a crisis, it was a tough time for me. I was reflecting on that song and thought maybe it was time to even lend my voice because people are dying.”
Gold also revealed how he has been able to cope with the condition despite his busy career.
“Because I have always knew, I didn’t want this thing to define me. If it means that I needed to exercise more, take my drugs more, eat and rest well, take more water because i need to do that always. I also started working out regularly,” he added.
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