Tunde Adebimpe
Tunde Adebimpe
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Tunde Adebimpe

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Tunde Adebimpe

Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (pronunciation; born February 25, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known as a founding member and co-lead vocalist of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. In April 2025, Adebimpe released his debut solo album, Thee Black Boltz.

As an actor, Adebimpe has appeared in the films Twisters, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marriage Story and Rachel Getting Married, in addition to several independent feature films. He appeared in the 2024 science fiction television series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and provided voice acting on the animated series Strange Planet, Lazor Wolf, Pantheon, and Tuca & Bertie.

Adebimpe was born into a Nigerian immigrant family in the United States. He attended Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania for high school, where he is still active on the board. His deceased father was a psychiatrist in Pittsburgh. He is married to French cartoonist Domitille Collardey, with whom he has a child.

Adebimpe co-founded TV on the Radio in 2001 alongside guitarist and producer Dave Sitek. Originally its sole lead vocalist, he and Sitek were later joined by co-lead vocalist and guitarist Kyp Malone. This trio wrote and recorded the band's debut album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, which was released in 2004. Following its release, the band expanded again to include the rhythm section of bassist Gerard Smith and drummer Jaleel Bunton. This line-up of the band recorded three critically-acclaimed studio albums together: Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), Dear Science (2008) and Nine Types of Light (2011). Smith died shortly after the release of Nine Types of Light, with the band continuing on as a quartet and Bunton switching to bass to perform Smith's parts live. Their fifth album, and first as a quartet, was entitled Seeds, and was released in 2014.

Prior to launching his solo career, Adebimpe rarely performed away from TV on the Radio. He did, however, regularly collaborate with other musicians. He provided backing vocals on the track "Dragon Queen" on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 2009 record, It's Blitz!, which was produced by fellow TV on the Radio member Sitek. He appeared on several tracks of Dragons of Zynth's Coronation Thieves, also partially produced by Sitek. He produced and provided guest vocals on "Your Glasshouse", a track from Atmosphere's 2008 record When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, and was featured on the song "Deathful" on Subtle's album Yell&Ice. In 2008, Adebimpe formed the experimental side project Nevermen with Mike Patton and Doseone. Their self-titled debut album, was ultimately released in 2016.

In early 2009, he performed three shows as a duo with Tall Firs drummer Ryan Sawyer, the latter two under the name Stabbing Eastward. Also in early 2009, Adebimpe released a combined single/DVD under the name Fake Male Voice on the Japan/Brooklyn label Heartfast. He performed one show under that name with a pickup group at the record's release party. Fake Male Voice again performed at a Heartfast showcase during CMJ 2009, as a duo comprising Adebimpe and Gerard Smith.

In 2009 Adebimpe collaborated with Massive Attack on the track "Pray for Rain".

In 2010, Adebimpe was featured on Sitek's project Maximum Balloon on the track "Absence of Light". Adebimpe, with members of TV on the Radio, were featured on three tracks from Tinariwen's album Tassili (2011), and on the Amadou & Mariam track "Wily Kataso", from the 2012 album Folila. Ian Brennan was a producer on the record, which went on to win a Grammy.

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