D'Banj Owns Mo' Hits And Don Jazzy Is His Artist?

Chris

D'banj recently had an interview
with Ebony Magazine and was
asked how he joined Kanye
west's G.O.O,D Music, See the
excerpts below.

EBONY.com: How did you join
Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music
label?

D’BANJ: I had a concert in Dubai
and when we pulled up to the
airport’s first class lounge and a
hostess ran up to me with a
plaque with Kanye’s face on it,
asking me to sign it. I said ‘I’m
not Kanye West, I’m D’banj but
Kanye West is coming? All eyes
open.’ Then my manager spoke
to Kanye, came back and told me
‘He’ll give you five minutes.’ I
walked over -- as an African
man I’m always prepared -- and I
played my music ‘Stand Out,’ ‘Fall
In Love’ and ‘Scapegoat’ for him
on my iPod. Before we knew it,
I’d almost missed my flight and
he invited me to New York.
Coming from Africa I’m my
own manager, I have my
own label called Mo’ Hits with
my artists Dr. Sid, Wande
Coal, Don Jazzy, D’Prince and
K-Switch. I own Mo’ Hits and
we’ve won numerous
awards by the grace of God.
Being with Kanye for the last
eight months and me leading a
successful label in Africa, I’ve
learned a lot and I believe people
will see what we’re going to do.
I signed with Kanye in June and
that same month I won the BET
Award for Best International
Act. My New York concert isn’t
done by G.O.O.D. Music, it’s done
by Live Nation, meaning I’m
already a moving machine. So
who better to introduce me to
the global world than Kanye
West, a crazy genius?

On Sunday (Feb. 19), fans from
as far away as Maryland packed
into New York City’s Irving Plaza
to see D’banj, Nigeria’s biggest
Afrobeat star in concert. The
self-proclaimed “Kokomaster”
hit the stage to screams and
even fainting, as one woman
sunk to the floor after D’banj
touched her hand. Running
through his three albums No
Long Thing, Rundown Funk U Up
and The Entertainer including his
international hit “Oliver Twist,”
the MC born Dapo Daniel
Oyebanjo commanded the stage
with waist wines, glittering
outfits and jokes about his
“Koko,” also known as his
manhood.

EBONY.com: How will you
break into America’s
entertainment scene?

D’BANJ: I’m bringing my culture,
my music and preaching the
gospel. We’ve been learning
from America’s Hollywood scene
and other areas in Africa
because our continent is
developing. We look up to the
way you’ve built your industry
and we try to do ours in the
best that we know. It’s so good
to see that Americans appreciate
my music so that’s what I’m
bringing, just original Africa.

EBONY.com: What is your
chemistry like in the studio
with West?

D’BANJ: Kanye doesn’t try to
change you. He has great ears
and great people working with
him. I learned the way people do
music in America is different,
number one, the budget. You
don’t have to rush a song, you
can take your time. I was glad
because I have a studio in my
home but I thought I was doing
too much. I’ve been working
with everyone else on G.O.O.D.
Music too and John Legend and I
worked together in London
recently. It’s been great
experience, I just beg people to
listen with an open mind.

http://www.ebony.com/
entertainment-culture/dbanj-
makes-good-music

D'Banj Owns Mo' Hits And Don Jazzy Is His Artist? - Interview With Ebony Magazine

Related Topics