It is now official that the once Mo Hits untouchable dynasty has been shattered, and now the dynamic duo of D Banj and Don Jazzy have resulted to war of words. I never thought it would get to this, but as i always say- never say never. I guess when money and ego come into play, best friends can become worst enemies. But, what motivated me to work on this post is the misconception a lot of people have of the relationship between Don Jazzy and D Banj. All these years, with the duo being one of the biggest, if not the biggest movement in the Nigerian Music Industry, we were all made to believe that Don Jazzy was the boss, and D Banj was just his boy...i guess, from all the news reaching the public, reverse can actually be the case.I always like working with facts, and not just -"he say she say". I think after reading the emails shared between the two (don jazzy and d banj), you will have a new outlook of the situation. Below are excerpts from The Punch on this matter, so you know that it is an authentic information.
D’banj must pay all the debts of Mo’Hits – Don Jazzy
In regards to D’banj’s claim for 100 percent ownership of all songs recorded under the Mo’Hits imprint, the acclaimed producer in an email on March 17th, states, “That Mo’Hits Records does not already own 100 per cent of the songs. Note that Mo’Hits Records only owns 60 per cent of the songs and 40 per cent belongs to the individual artiste. So, 40 per cent of the songs is not mine to give.” He continues, “That me (I am) giving him (D’banj) my share of the catalogue does not and will never include him having the right to stop them (the artistes) from performing the songs or give him the right to claim any monies for live performances of these songs. And any loans or debt owed by Mo’Hits records as at today will be cleared by Mr D’banj as I am clearly not aware of any.”
Don Jazzy states further that the catalogues he is releasing to his former partner only consists of songs already released in an album exempting new singles and unreleased materials. “So, songs like Wande Coal’s Go Low and Been Long You Saw Me are not part of this catalogue he is receiving. Also, an artiste like D’Prince, not only has he not released any album, he has not signed any contract whatsoever with Mo’Hits Records. That he has no right to claim any monies for deals that have been brokered already as at today with the catalogues or stop their usage. It is important to note that any unreleased songs done by any artiste (including D’banj and K-Switch) MUST NOT be released and is not part of the catalogue I am giving away.”
He adds, “With these few points, I do hope that you all realise that I have been generous enough to facilitate the End of the “D’banj & Don Jazzy” era as a team. After this new deal has been signed and sealed, I do NOT look forward to seeing an email whatsoever or hearing from the DKM (D’banj, K-Switch, Mo’Hits) crew, and all is well again.”
Will you return the Bentley I bought for you? – D’banj
Same day, D’banj responded to the email, stating, “In case he (Don Jazzy) forgot, this is the arrangement! 50/50—–song writer/ production, which means for a song X for artiste Y, 75 per cent as per production is fully owned by Mo’Hits and writing is shared 25/25 with the individual artiste co- writing. So, that’s the deal! So him (sic) saying 40 per cent is not his to give away is more like 75per me and 25per each artiste.”
He then asks, “What do you mean by any bills or loans would be cleared by Mr. D’banj? That will never happen because when I ran the company, I ran it perfectly and well. So, if I give him my shares he is left with 100 per cent liability. My catalogue is everything that has been done with the Mo’Hits system and under the normal agreement we have, that means everything I have recorded or that has been recorded whether new or old, or even classic, whether beat with concept or even idea without beats, anything we did as a team and sponsored by me throughout, then, it is mine. Including K-switch clause and all mine and even Wande’s singles and all till the date of signing even today.”
Continuing, D’banj writes, “And now, (I) wanna clear the air on this Samsung deal! I would expect by now that you understand that me keeping quiet is being GENEROUS because this is a deal structured under Mo’Hits Records, (and it is) the first deal and income you would ever bring into the company in eight years. We shared the first 150k (One hundred and fifty thousand dollars) the right way, 1/3 down and that was cool. But after you collected another 130k and did not say anything (that) is and could be described as theft! I only refused to contact them (Samsung) directly because of your reputation. But please don’t call me a fool and let’s know who is generous!” D’banj was not coy about his anger. He states that after sharing over N1bn with Don Jazzy in their Mo’Hits days, he was shocked that the producer would now sideline him when he got the balance from Samsung.’’
D’banj writes further, “Please, please, will he (Don Jazzy) return the Bentley because I bought it for him and it was N5.2m more than mine? And Prince that he claims has no signed contract but is actively involved and signed via engagement– I win his catalogue too – all recorded whether released now or not! This is because no one questioned me when I bought D’Prince N11m naira car (LR3/Range) without releasing any album just to boost the image of the boy and it worked for him! So, let’s get the facts straight, I AM BEING MORE THAN GENEROUS.”
Reading between the lines of the above emails would clarify what i said earlier about D Banj actually being the boss all these while, while acting like the boy. I never even thought D Banj owned 50% of the publishings of artist at Mo Hits, not to talk about owning 100%. And for 8 years, he made the world think he was just the worker, for a "Don". If you ask me, i would say it was Don jazzy'z ego that came into play.
And to all the people saying D Banj is running his mouth, and is ungrateful, i guess they don't get what he is trying to do here. In a dispute like this, the masses always take the side of one over the other, based on what they have been made to believe. And it is clear that majority of the public took the side of the Don jazzy, and any statement from him was termed true, and held high. This, would eventually lead to the character assassination of D Banj by Don Jazzy. And you think it is wise for him to keep his mouth shot throughout...when his character is being assassinated?
And i also want to attend so some other issue surrounding this break-up; Wande Coal saying that it is untrue that D Banj actaully bought a Bentley for Don Jazzy. First of all, Don Jazzy and D Banj were together for like 6 years or more before Wande Coal came around, so what can he actually know of a long relationship like that and secrets they keep between themselves. And secondly, he is just an artist under Mo Hits. I don't even think he has the rights to speak against his boss; because, technically speaking, D Banj is his boss.
Below are some of the tweets from Wande Coal concerning the allegations of D Banj buying a Bentley for Don Jazzy-
I wish things had never come this far with this guys, cos they were really heading some where, and making people believe that anything was achievable as long as you put your mind to it. But i have to say that any one hoping on a future don jazzy and d banj making amends is not being realistic. When things get to this stage, of word exchange, it dis really bottled up anger and irritation, and things can never be the same with them again. But, for all the bad image D Banj is getting, if he actually bought that LR3 for Da Prince, then he is more than generous.
And in closing, i want to say, i do believe Don Jazzy helped greatly in the past success of D Banj, but i don't believe D Banj can't make it without Don Jazzy. D Banj has the drive, plus the brand he already has, he will find another Don Jazzy.
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