Do you think
D'Banj is a fool? Well, I don't think he is a fool, but a lot of people seem to think he is. A lot of people seem to think he is a fool for parting ways with his friend/business partner, and going on a quest for world dominance. Why would he leave a formula that is already working, and try the unknown? Why did man develop the auto-mobile instead of just walking or riding horses? Because of growth. Reading most of the myopic comments concerning
D'Banj's move didn't surprise me, it just reminded of the reason why we are so backward in Africa. We let the fear of the unknown stop us from growing. We don't want to try anything new; we don't want to invent the wheel, but would rather look at those who do as being stupid.
D'Banj and
Don Jazzy founded Mohits Records in 2004. They started with
D,Banj as the sole artist on the label, and churned out hit after hit.
Don Jazzy was the genius behind the captivating production which D,Banj put his energy and enthusiasm on. The duo made magic. They expanded by signing other artists, including
D Banj's brother (
K-Switch) and
Don Jazzy's bother (
D'Prince). By the late 2000s, they were the hottest clique in Nigeria; dropping hit after hit, after hit after hit. Then, after 7 years of conquering the Nigerian music scene,
D'Banj got tired of the same routine (which any sane man would), and wanted to expand his coverage.
By June 2011,
D'Banj and
Don Jazzy were signed to Kanye's
G.O.O.D Music label;
D'Banj as an artist, and
Don Jazzy as a producer. Things were looking great for the duo in the new territory they planned to conquer (the U.S). But, as we would get to learn after the break-up,
Don Jazzy never felt comfortable with the move to America. He believed-
why go and start all over again in America when we are already kings in Nigeria. And within 9 months of signing with G.O.O.D Music, the dynamic duo announced to the world that they were going separate ways. Mohit Records died, and birthed Don Jazzy's
Mavin Records (consisting of Don Jazzy himself,
Wande Coal, Dr. Sid, and
Da Prince), and D'Banj started his DB Records (with him and his brother,
K-Switch being the two artists on the label).
Don Jazzy continued to do what he knows how to do best- producing banging beats. Because
D'Banj had always managed the financial side of their business venture while they were together at Mohits,
Jazzy had to start working on other ways of generating money outside making music. And in 2012, he signed a multi-million Naira endorsement deal with
Loya Milk. D'Banj took the last song he and Don Jazzy had worked on together, and promoted it like his life depended on it. He shot a video for the song, with cameos from
Big Sean, Pusha T, Mannie Fresh, and
Kanye West. The result? The song exploded in Europe. Through 2012, it gained a lot of airplay on radio stations all over Europe, and was being played in clubs too. The song charted at No. 9 on U.K national songs chart, and No.2 on UK R&B chart. It also charted on song charts of many other European country; including No.10 in Belgium and No.1 in Romania. The video to the song has gotten viewed over 20,000,000 times on Youtube (the highest for any African musician).
While he was enjoying the European love, some Nigerians felt he had done a terrible thing by leaving his old label and going international. They felt he was abandoning the people that made him. The love he had while with
Don Jazzy turned to hate, and people didn't even wait to listen any of his new songs before proclaiming it horrible. Anything without
Don Jazzy was trash to them. With just a few months of living his comfort zone, they expected 'heaven and earth' from him; forgetting that the young man was starting all over, and he nolonger had the genius,
Don Jazzy by his side. But, one thing that
D'Banj has that a lot of the other Nigerian artist lack is
energy and
enthusiasm. He has confidence in the '
D'Banj' brand, and believed he had a shot at the international scene. One thing people need to understand is that talent is never enough.
D'Banj never claimed to be the most talented or lyrical, he just proclaimed himself the best entertainer there is, and he has
hits to show for that. So, has he achieved what he set out to achieve? No? But he is pretty close. His main goal was to break into the American music scene (the gold mine). He wasn't able to do that with
Oliver Twist, but he succeeded in gaining a lot of exposure in Europe. He had people singing his song that weren't Nigerians in Diaspora. I don't think any Nigerian musician has done that in a long time. I mean a Nigerian that makes Nigerian style of music, and resides in Nigeria. He went on to sign his
DB Records to Sony Africa, for distributing all over Africa through RCA. He also signed DB Records to Universal Music Group for world wide distribution.
The
DB Records compilation album,
DKM (which has songs from
D'Banj, J.Sol and
K-Switch) was released yesterday (June 23rd), during his
DKM (D Kings Men) Concert. And on the album, there is a song that will get
D'Banj closer to his ultimate goal. He recorded a song with
Big Sean and
Snoop Lion called
Blame It On The Money. A video is in the works, and this will definitely be his ticket to the American market. How do I know? Legendary American DJ,
Funk Master Flex premièred the song on his website, Inflexwetrust.com;
JD also put it up on his site, Global14.com. I also saw the song on a couple of other American websites I regularly visit like
Rapradar.com, Realtalkny.uproxxy.com, and
Vibe.com. And to top it up, most of the comments were positive. Some said he needed to work on his voice, but most of the people (not Nigerians) that commented said they loved the hook and the song overall. By the time he shoots the video, he would gain some exposure in America, and he can then drop a song that has just him on it for the American market.
He delivered must of his verse on
Blame It On The Money in his native dialect (Yoruba), so he would be exporting our kind of music (
Afrobeat) to the world. No one has done that in the last couple of decades. I am not talking of people trying to be
Usher, or people doing the whole Caribbean dancehall music, which is not original Nigerian. I am talking of someone doing that
Afrobeat music, and selling it to the world. I think he needs to be applauded. And to those who feel he is a fool for having parted ways with
Don Jazzy, I'd ask this- would you rather sell water in pure water sachet for 5bucks, or sell the same water in a bottle for 100bucks. Or, take it a notch higher and sell that same water in an environment (like a 5 star hotel) where people are ready to pay a thousand bucks for the same amount of water?
Fresh news out right now is that D'Banj just signed Olamide to his DB Records. Olamide is currently in Atlanta with D'Banj to perform at some American locations. A lot of money most have gone down for this deal to be sealed, cos I know Olamide is doing great all by himself. In the song with Phyno, he said something like..."One man mopo, mo ni record label/Awon to sign yin, e be ti mo de, wo le de be." He was bascially saying, he is making moves on his own, and that even musicians that sign other people to their labels can't reach his level...so, him signing to DB Records greatly contradicts his lyrics. But ofcos, everyone has a price.
Speaking on his accomplishments since he parted ways with Don Jazzy, he has done really great. There is a lot of talk that he has been dropped from Kanye West' G.O.O.D Music label. I don't really know about that. What I do know is that he is still currently signed to Universal Music Group for global distribution of his music with his new label, DB Records. And his DB Records also has a deal with Sony Music for his music, and other artists that would be signed to his label for a distribution deal that covers Africa. Sony Music was also responsible for getting his song, "Top Of The World", as the official song for the upcoming African Nations Cup.
They were my brothers…and yours.
"I have heard a lot about my relationship with D'banj. Some people call me his houseboy, bouncer, and the rest, but let me say this, I have been close to D'banj since day one. The first time I saw him was at Obi Asika's house, when he was about signing to Storm Records...and if you're observant, you would have discovered that we have similar features; he's lepa just like me and we have same swagger. So we've created some kind of bond right from time which I was not opportuned to share with Don Jazzy. I only find people that find me, simple! Those that I am important to are those that are important to me. I am just chilling with D'banj and now that he's making a stand abroad, it's going to be stupid of me not to utilize the situation he already has. So, we are not just friends, we are also doing business" - The rapper tells Encomium magazine in an exclusive interview
So, what exactly has D Banj achieved? He has done what no other Nigerian has been able to do. Of course, people don't understand that right now, because he is still at the baby stage, but what he has done has never been done before...at least by a Nigerian. I'm sure a lot of people are screaming right now- "what about Fela?"..."what about King Sunny Ade?"...what about this person or that person. All those musicians are definitely more talented than D Banj, and more legendary, but they never were able to break into the International market the way D Banj is going through with it. Fela has been imortalized since his death, and has gotten more repsect and attention from the outside world than he got while alive. Even as great Fela's world tour with the Egypy 80 Band was back in the days, he never penetrated the international market to the point of having his music played on local radio stations in countries all over the world the way D Banj's Oliver Twist is getting played. It is not just Europe, people in the Middle East and as far as the Caribbean have sad they hear Oliver Twist played constantly on local radio stations.
So, what i'm talking about? Think about it, the outside world (America and Europe in particular) most times don't care for lyrics, all they want is something with some melody that can make them shake to the rhythm or nod to. And with D Banj's style being foreign, i bet most of them would care less what he is saying. With the kind of energy and enthusiasm D Banj has, he would find good international producers to work with, and being already signed to Island DefJam Records (In America) and Mecury Records in Britain, nothing can stop him from exporting our raw form of music to the world, and gaining international stardom. By the way, no Nigerian music artist has ever been signed to a Major label like Island Def Jam before...i mean, never has a Nigerian been signed to a major American label coming straight from Nigeria. And i am not just talking distribution deals like the legends of the past did; i'm talking being signed as an artist.
D Banj is already touring with his G.O.O.D Music family...opening concerts for English super star, Rita Ora; hanging out celebrities like Ludacris, Kevin Hart, Common, and Jay-Z. And he doesn't have an inferiority complex; he sees them as equals. Why should he, when he is living the same lifestyle they live. Owning an Aston Martin, and a Bentley just from hustling your music in an African country like Nigeria is not moi moi. You have to give it to the kid. Actually, when i started reading and studying successful people is when i really started respecting him and his hustle. It takes more than talent to reach where he is right now...it takes big dreams...belief in self...committment to work, and a lot and lot of enthusiam. And he has got all these.
This is the 6th month, and I personally think the two are doing great considering the aim they have set to achieve. Don Jazzy, within weeks of the split, released a new collaborative album, Solar Plexus with his newly formed Mavin Records; which had old Mo Hits Crew members like Da Prince, Wande Coal, Dr Sid, and a new addition from Miss Tiwa Savage. The album got mixed reviews from fans, as they said the sound was foreign to what they were used to. But, with time, they embraced it, and most of the tracks off the album now get constant radio play, and are jammed in the clubs.
D'Banj is also not doing badly. As far as his goal, he is doing great. A couple of weeks after the split, he dropped the video to his hit song, Oliver Twist. The video went viral on the internet, as it had cameos from Pusha T, Big Sean and Kanye West. The jam was top 10 on U.K music chart. I did a little research on twitter, and was surprised to see Europeans (not Nigerians in diaspora) commenting on the track. D'Banj had finally gotten the international recognition he craved for, and now performing at bigger concerts...the latest of which was him opening for Rita Ora at her recent concert in London.
