Dear Alex Ogechukwu,
In recent times, I have dedicated my time to educated misled and ignorant folks like you and so again, I will quickly SCHOOL you.
To begin with, Don Jazzy is an Isoko man from Delta state but to give you a good night sleep tonight, let’s assume he is from your tribe since he was born in Umuahia about four decades and half ago.
No doubt, we cannot ignore how instrumental Don Jazzy has been to the careers of not just Tiwa Savage but D’banj and Wande Coal before her. It is however rather unfortunate that you will play a tribal card on this which is why I will go on a little journey…
Everything Don Jazzy is as long as music is concerned can simply be attributed to the Yoruba tribe…walk with me.
As a young man, Don Jazzy played drums for a Yoruba C&S church, he developed quickly to the extent that he got invited to United Kingdom to play for the church’s branch in London.
From playing in Church, Don Jazzy started playing with YORUBA bands especially Adesoji Adebayo (WonderBoy Solek) and Jide Chord. Solek later introduced him to Abdulrasheed Bello (Jjc Skillz), the hip hop rave of that era in the UK.
JJC, also a YORUBA taught Don Jazzy how to produce music and introduced him to the world of entertainment which was tad bit different from his regular band boy career.
…through JJC, he met D’banj and the rest is history.
Now long before Don Jazzy, you guys had Oliver de Coque whom some idiots recently tried comparing to Fela but are you aware this same Oliver De Coque was a band boy with atleast two YORUBA Juju bands (Jacob Oluwole’s Friendly Unity Juju Band and later Sule Agboola’s Moonlight Guitar Band) before launching his own solo music career?
Are you aware the Yoruba support for Oliver de Coque didn’t even stop at that? After he set out to form his own band, he was singed to Olumo Records owned by Alhaji Olatunde Waheed Yusuf until many years later when he launched his own imprint.
Like Oliver de Coque, are you aware a Yoruba man, Bayo Odusami gave Psquare their first break? Bayo who was known as Howie T didn’t just promote Psquare, he signed them to his Timbuk2 Records and released their first album before Jude took over managing them. Not for once have they lamented about being cheated by Howie T but we know the other story. Howie T many years later also signed Skales after he left Banky W’s EME.
I have also seen Kelly Handsome making disparaging comments about Yoruba claiming they don’t support Igbo talents. I mean this same Kelly Handsome who got his big break after being signed to Kennis Music owned by a Yoruba man, Kenny Ogungbe and his sidekick; Dayo Adeneye. The same Kennis gave Idoma boy; 2face Idibia his big break, not forgetting the likes of Joel Amadi, Mavelous Benjy, Essence and many other non-Yoruba signed to the label but as far as Yorubas are concerned, they don’t support Igbo talents…let posterity be the judge.
Ask Phyno how he got his big break or better still, remove ‘Ghost Mode’ which was influenced by Olamide from his catalogue and what do you have left? When Phyno left the South East for Lagos and asked Illbliss for guidiance, it was a Yoruba boy; Abiodun Peters the same one you all know as Clarence Peters who gave Ill’s Goretti a home to operate with and gave Phyno the push his Sputnet couldn’t give him. After this, he also started his own Penthauze imprint.
Even more recently, one of the most visible Igbo talents in vogue at the moment is that controversial OdumoduBlvck but do you even know who is behind his break? A certain Teniola Zaccheaus alongside his business partners led by Seni (Bukola Saraki’s son) signed him to their Native Records.
I can actually go on and on but one thing is certain, no Igbo person who knows anything about the Nigerian entertainment industry will berate the Yoruba tribe because no single collective of people have contributed more to the industry than the Yoruba.
Dear ignoramus Alex Ogechukwu, always come proper if you want to banter.
Get informed son.
The Kayode Badmus is the publisher of BlackboxNigeria and a music enthusiast
