There’s an important person in that building, right?’ the cab driver asked. ‘Important musician?’
I nodded, too tired to let any curious driver drag me into a conversation.
He got the message and left me alone the entire drive from Canary Wharf to the London Marriot Hotel, in Grosvenor Square.
Then, as I got down to get my suitcase from the trunk, he gave me a knowing look, smiled, and said ‘are you the musician?’
‘Of course not’, I said to him, smiling this time. ‘The musician is in Canary Wharf, his name is D’banj’.
Silence. Confused look.
‘D’banj?’
Yes, D’banj. He’s big in Africa. You know ‘Oliver Twist?’
Silence again, then as his final ‘no’ came, I said ‘Google him.’
It was 4am on Saturday, April 21. I arrived in London eight hours earlier, and had spent almost all of that time chatting with D’banj, in his first interview with a Nigerian newspaper in a long time, and his first interview on the Mo’Hits brouhaha.
London is D’banj’s town. He’s performed there over and over, his single ‘Oliver Twist’ is on the A-list at Choice FM,
and enjoys heavy rotation on other stations. A day before I came, he
spent hours doing interviews at the Universal offices in Kensington.
Some might hail D’banj as the man championing the gospel of ‘Afrobeats’
across the world. But, just like the cab driver, London does not yet
know D’banj.
As we walk into the Choice FM building
in the afternoon on Saturday, there are no heads turning or fans gazing.
In fact, his lawyer, Elias, who wore a pair of loud snakeskin boots,
attracted more attention than D’banj.
Who leaves a zone where they’re
comfortable and celebrated; where they’re established and successful,
for a place where no one seems to give the slightest care?
D’banj, that’s who.
The 31 year-old entertainer has spent nearly two years building structures he hopes will help take his music to new markets in Europe,
and especially America. This move, he believes, cost him his friendship
and business relationship with his long time partner Don Jazzy.
‘I’m a risk taker’, he says. ‘Life
is all about risks. But you must never endanger yourself. I don’t
endanger myself, which is why, even though I’m here, I’m still in
Nigeria all the time, performing’.
With incredible energy, and the kind of passion that endeared everyone to him when he first moved back to Nigeria in 2005, D’banj says his deal with Kanye West is a case of ‘preparation meets opportunity’.
‘I pulled up with my entourage at
the Emirates first class lounge in Dubai. We were returning from Scott
Tommey’s birthday. I came down with Bankuli, my P.A. Chuchu, and my
business manager Chidi. My entourage was large and I was looking fly.
One of the hostesses ran to me with a Kanye West placard. I said I’m not
Kanye o – then I told my guys ‘Kanye is around so no dulling.’ Chuchu
and Bankuli spotted Kanye walking in to check in. They went to him and
he said we could come over’.
‘As they came, I had my iPad with
me, and my headphones. First thing Kanye said was ‘I like your T-shirt’.
I wore a Zara T-shirt and a D&G ring. He liked my appearance and
said he’d give me 5 minutes. I told him ‘I played with you in Nigeria
during NB PLC Star Megajam. I’ve done a song with Snoop and we’re going to shoot the video now.
I’d like to play you my songs.’ I played Oliver, Scapegoat, and Fall in
love. He was dancing. He removed the headphones and said ‘I don’t mean
to sound rude, but if anyone has to bring you out in the states, it has
to be me, not Snoop. He asked when I was going to be in the US, and I
told him I was going there that day. Then he asked who my producer was,
and I said Don Jazzy. He said ‘come with him.’
Three months later, D’banj, Don Jazzy
and their crew were in New York, where, according to D’banj, it took
almost forever before they could establish contact with Kanye. ‘It was
only an email address he gave us at the airport. So when we got to NY,
we sent several emails but got no response. Not a single one.’
‘Then we met someone that knew
someone that knew another someone and we got another email address. We
sent several messages again, no response. Then Bankuli sent a final one
saying, ‘we have been in New York for some time and sent several emails.
We have waited long enough and are now on our way to do the Snoop Dogg video’
And then the reply came. ‘Sorry to have overlooked your earlier emails. Mr. Kanye would like to meet with you tomorrow.’
‘We didn’t believe it. Don Jazzy,
who had been reluctant all along, still did not believe it. Even when we
got there (Wyclef’s studio) the next day, he stood outside. When Kanye
came I went to call him ‘Oya come now, come play am the music now’. It
was difficult to believe it was real and it was happening. Then when
Kanye came in, with the GOOD music acts, I was like, ‘wow’.
From there everything happened fast. Next they were meeting Jay Z, making a presentation to LA Reid
(At Electric studios), and discussing contracts. But while the label
offered him a traditional recording contract, D’banj opted for a joint
venture agreement structured to guarantee three things: retaining full
control of his materials in Africa, signing Don Jazzy on board (on
behalf on Mohits USA), and, he says, bringing the Universal/Def Jam
imprint to Africa.
‘I’ve always thought of how I can be
a useful vessel to the industry. A friend and colleague always says to
me: ‘D’banj, you’re the Jesus Christ of the industry.’ So having ran
Mohits for nine years, I already had plans of how we could blow Mohits
up. I had plans of expanding, and most especially, bringing hope to
that 11 year-old kid somewhere in Africa who may never have had the
opportunity to get signed to major labels’.
‘So it was not really just about
me. There’s a big market in Africa. I said to them, ‘I’ve sold
millions of records in Africa, we’ve done millions of hits with CRBT,
and I’ve run the most successful label on the continent. You take care
of the US, but let me take you to Africa.‘ And I’m happy to tell
you that we’re doing that. D’banj’s album will be the first under
Universal/Def Jam Africa, and we’re already putting all the structures
in place’.
‘I’m a businessman.’ I learnt from my
mom, who’s a very successful businesswoman. So having run and funded
Mohits for nine years, I knew we had to move to the next level. And
everything we wanted was happening. Finally we could take African music
to the world.’
Just like the lyrics of the song, D’banj
was an Oliver Twist. Here’s a guy who had conquered a continent; was
sitting on the top three list, and making more money than anyone else in
his category. D’banj was a big player in Nigeria, where there are over
150 million people; a big player in Africa, with over 850 million
people. But he wanted to play big globally, with 7 billion people to
grab from.
And that’s where the problem started. ‘Don
Jazzy was no longer comfortable. You know, we were like fishes out of
water, in this new system, starting all over again, like when we
returned home in 2004. I got him a place in the US, set up a studio
there, just so he’d be comfortable and be able to work without going to
hang around the studios. In one year Jazzy did not make a song. I said,
maybe you want to go back to Lagos, you’ll get inspiration there?’
I was all about the work, I wanted us to make this happen, so we can
bridge that gap and create a path for Africa. But Jazzy wanted us to go
back home. And I understand. He’s my friend, my brother’.
‘But I never expected him to do what
he did.’ He said to me in July last year ‘Let’s scatter Mohits. He told
me there are two captains – two captains cannot be in a ship. I was
like ‘that’s not possible, this is a marriage’. He said ‘then this
marriage is no longer working’. I said then let’s go for counseling; I
asked, so what happens to our children?’
Don Jazzy wanted Mohits, D’banj says.
And that happened on April 16, 2012 – after months of a bitter feud,
characterized by accusations and counter accusations, widespread speculation, leaked emails and failed reconciliation attempts.
‘You can see he has signed already’, he said, showing the agreement with Don Jazzy’s signature. ‘I have full rights to my catalogue and full ownership of my Koko Holdings, while he has full ownership of Mo’Hits, including the artistes and liabilities.’
Already judged guilty in the court of public opinion, and publicly disowned by his own boys Wande Coal and Dr SID, D’banj says he’s sad, but not bitter. Does he feel kind of lonely, alone in the cold? ‘Asking
me if I’m lonely because Wande or Jazzy has left me is like asking my
first sister if she’s lonely now – she has two kids now, lives in
Canada. Don Jazzy is still my brother – we just had to move on. We’ll
still work together in future, same with my boys. In fact, just this
week, he sent me the remix to Oliver Twist that we’re releasing in the UK on May 14.
All the interviews I’ve had here, I kept hyping him. It’s already in my
system – you know me, I’m a one-way soldier. Jazzy is a very quiet
person. Loyalty is key. My loyalty still lies in the friendship I had
with him. He was cheated by JJC, and I was present. I swore never to
cheat him. But I’d like to think our visions became different.
‘It was clear when we met that Jazzy
wanted to be the biggest producer, I wanted to be the biggest African
entertainer, not the biggest singer. I had my mind on money. In order to
say I’m the biggest, I had to be the richest. So for a very long time,
he was on the back end. He respected my act, I respected his music
judgment. Every meeting that brought us money I went for. I’d say I need
to confirm from Don Jazzy because that was the agreement, even though I
knew it was my decision. First Glo deal was $500,000. That Landcruiser
jeep was because of my demands. It was because of the skill and exposure
that I used to bargain. I’m a businessman’
‘People say I’m less talented, I was
known as a jester in the JJC squad. I’d make everyone happy and play
the mouth organ, but I knew what I wanted. I decided to give Don Jazzy
power in 2007 when we realized that after four years, they did not
recognize us as a record label. We had signed artistes and done all this
work. So we restructured, and restrategized. So I told him to chill, so
he can be more respected and be the don. I’m older than him by one
year, yet I respected him like a don. I remember when he came out at Ali
Baba show, I knelt down for him, so people would say he’s the baba. All
the talking in my ears and all, it was an arrangement. All the
Soundcity advert and all, he did not tell me anything. It was all an
arrangement.’
With his UK publicist Vanessa Amadi taking notes nearby, his manager Bankulli
interjecting every now and then, and several legal documents
surrounding us, D’banj spoke passionately of his former partner in the
same way a man might go on about a cherished and respected, but
estranged, lover. He’s on his sixth cigarette, and thinks the room is
stuffy, even though no one complains. So he opens the sliding glass for
ventilation. ‘Jazzy did his part’, he says, sitting down again and looking me in the face. ‘He
made the music for nine years. But nothing stops him from making for
twenty more years. We could have changed the formula. Why didn’t he want
to change the formula? It was time to expand the business, Mohits was
Motown reloaded. We always knew we would expand, he always said I had
more swagger than anyone else he knows, And I know he’s one of the best
producers in the world; we wanted to make Mohits the biggest in Africa.
Other labels were springing up. So if we could conquer America, London
when no one had done it before. Most of our people stop in Germany, or
Paris. But this is America, this is the big league; it makes us the
strongest, the biggest. We had already made the money. And who best to
introduce me to the rest of the world? Kanye did not want to change
anything about my music, my style of dressing, or my brand. It is God’s
favour. But Jazzy was and is very scared. Something had worked for eight
years, so he wanted to maintain the status quo. People are afraid to
try new things.’
‘But’, he tells me, still maintaining eye contact while lighting another cigarette, ‘I’m
not afraid. I’m a vessel that God is trying to use to help the
industry. I’m a bridge. Once in a few years, one artiste comes from the
UK to run the world, none has come from Africa. Fela was the closest.
It’s been my own dream; I made my name from Nigeria, unlike Seal, Wale,
and Tinie Tempah. And I want to bring Universal, Def Jam and all to
Nigeria. So if I can build that bridge, then we’re good, because it will
give hope to the boys in Asaba, in Oshogbo that this thing is
possible.’
The day after our Canary Wharf interview, we meet up at Highbury Islington, where he’s shooting a documentary and the promo for the Oliver Twist competition for the UK. D’banj’s new crew: Semtex (a white A&R rep from the label), Bankuli and Vanessa, are on the ground, working with the production team. ‘This is why we’re here o. This is the work’, he says as he invites me into the dressing room.
‘And when people say why am I not
talking, this is why. I’m focused on making this happen. It’s more
important for me to make sure I don’t disappoint all those who have
invested in me; all those who believe in me and are supporting the
movement, than to be fighting over who’s right or wrong. Even now that
I’m talking to you, I don’t even know if I should be doing this
interview.’
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