Personality: Dr Alban turns 50

Nigerian-born, Sweden-based singer, Dr. Alban turned 50 years old on Sunday August 26th. Alban Nwapa was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1957. He is a musician and a producer with his own record label, dr-records. His music can best be described as a Eurodance/hip-hop reggae with a dancehall style

At age 23, he began studying odontology. In order to be able to finance his university studies the music-loving odontology student started making his own music. During this time Alban worked as a DJ in the well-known Stockholm club 'Alphabet Street'. Very quickly his name became widely known, especially since Alban often sang to the records he put on the turntable as a DJ. DJ René couldn't help but notice him and so he was discovered. Alban finished his studies and even opened his own dentistry practice, keeping his disk jockeying as a lucrative sideline. He worked as a dentist for three years.

In 1990, he met Denniz PoP from the SweMix label. Alban laid aside his dentist's drill and realised his dream. Together with Denniz and Rap-Queen Leila K, his first record, "Hello Africa" - his declaration of love for his African home - broke all records. Alban Nwapa took the stage name Dr. Alban, a nod to his dental studies. His debut album Hello Africa sold roughly 1 million copies world-wide.

One year later this success was surpassed by the second album One Love. 1.6 million singles of the song "It's My Life" were sold. It was #1 in the Netherlands, Israel and Germany and #2 in the UK. The following single "One Love" was #5 in Israel. The album immediately sold over 1.7 million units. Then followed the albums Look Who's Talking and Born In Africa. All in all, Dr. Alban has racked up world-wide sales of over 5 million albums and over 6 million singles, which resulted in 7 times Silver, 30 times Gold and 30 times Platinum. His hit single "No Coke" was used to illustrate an anti-drugs campaign in Sweden. The single "Sing Hallelujah" reached #5 in Israel.

He is the cousin to Charly Boy! And he has a daughter.

He is the coolest guy in the world! Happy fiftieth birthday to you Alban. Kisses!