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50^th ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. COMMEMORATION KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Kevin Olusola creates art at a nexus between styles, cultures and perspectives. His signature sound reimagines classical musicianship through an ambitious modern sonic and lyrical lens, while balancing his dynamic background of Nigerian and Grenadian heritage. He showcases his ability to captivate as a solo artist or as one-fifth of three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum a cappella phenomenon Pentatonix. As such, all of these energies and elements comprise his ever-evolving artistic vision as vocal powerhouse, songwriter, beatboxer, cellist and producer.

Olusola is known as a pioneer of "celloboxing" — playing the cello and beatboxing at the same time — and has garnered international acclaim and recognition from music industry leaders including Yo-Yo Ma, Quincy Jones, Pharrell, and countless others. The fluent Chinese speaker and Yale graduate began developing the skill in college, and in his senior year his celloboxing video performing Mark Summer’s “Julie-O” exploded on YouTube. Vocal arranger Ben Bram and Pentatonix member Scott Hoying serendipitously reached out to Olusola to create Pentatonix and audition for Season 3 of the NBC a cappella TV show "The Sing-Off." After winning the competition’s top prize, Pentatonix went on to multiplatinum success (over 10 million albums sold), #1 albums, three GRAMMY® Awards, film and television projects, sold-out arena tours, and rapturous performances on iconic stages around the world from The Hollywood Bowl to The Kennedy Center. Their YouTube channel boasts over 20 million subscribers and yields over 6 billion video views.

As a solo artist, he released "The Renegade" EP (which debuted #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical and Classical Crossover charts), "The Triptyq Sessions" EP, and the "Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood" EP, as well as fan favorite singles and collaborations. His debut solo album, “Dawn of A Misfit,” was released May 2025 via Sony Music Masterworks. He was also named one of the 100 History Makers in the Making by NBC’s TheGrio.

As a speaker, Olusola’s captivating presentations cover themes ranging from innovation and creativity to teamwork and collaboration all while weaving in stories from his inspiring personal journey. Whether he’s speaking for corporations like Nike, universities like Yale, or megachurches like Willow Creek, his combination of musical performance and storytelling delivers a unique keynote experience that will inspire any and every type of audience.