In the recent interview D'Banj opens up on how it all started, his journey to stardom, how he met Don Jazzy and the split of Mo'Hits Records.He also talked about his deal with Kanye West.
How I Bonded with DonJazzy
We bonded before we left the UK
because Jazzy fell out with his
partnership with JJC. Because I was privileged to be his friend to know what had happened and what was happening back home,Rugged man had reached out to me once and told me the kind of money they were collecting,which when I converted it it was like 1,800 pounds or $2,000 per show and I was like what!!! The people making it in the industry were styl plus,2face's plantashun boys.
So,before we even did anything, we
listened to what they were playing
in Nigeria.Jazzy was fond of that ..Oh boy this one don dey make
money oh..(we listen)..We listened
to music of everyone making
money ..So when I found out he had
major issues with JJC , I said "Oh
boy,lets go back home". So we came back, my parents were here.By then he had moved all his
family over there.We came back in
2004 and moved straight into my
mum's boys quarters in Maryland
(Lagos).We got a first car,Toyota
Privera from her ..We said we will
pay her later.....and we paid her for
it eventually.We got Tongolo,the
first video and released it in
November, just before Christmas
and that was it...
What caused the Mo-hits split? What made you decide...
What made me? (shocked
expression)You guys have not
spoken to Jazzy?Jazzy.tell them the truth mehn..Come and tell them
these people the truth..
What broke Mohits..Hmmn Difference of opinion..First of all it wasn't me.We had traveled and left Donjazzy in New York with some of the management team because he
had a production deal.We were trying to go global..I would love if
you had the Truth from Jazzy too,it
would have been better
I met Kanye west, but you all know I am a businessman.But there were two different deals.One he saw I was an artist,and he wanted to sign that artist.Then this artist said "I have a producer .We have the best thing coming from Africa...And he was sold.And then we flew to New York
On paying money to Kanye
I got an artiste deal.I got a standard
artiste deal because Kanye wanted
to sign me as an artist.Then I said
nooo..I'm a businessman.I have a
record label can do partnership.It
was a partnership between Mohits
record,Goodmusic and Def Jam
records.It wasn't going to be Dbanj
and Donjazzy.I was just the first part of the deal.There was also a
production deal because Kanye
loved Jazzy's sound ..
ON DONJAZZY AND THE KANYE DEAL
On why Jazzy pulled out He saw the big picture but some people are
real.You can force a horse to a river,
but you can't force it to drink
water ..
But what really caused the split
Eh first person if I will be truthful
will be Dr Sid (Laughs).We came
back from Newyork and had a
meeting with Donjazzy..And Jazzy
expressed his discomfort like
listen,this place is too expensive, we are spending money ..Going to stay there,things dey happen for
Nigeria,we are already bosses
here..We don't need all this ..I'm
like we are almost there.It is expensive but we can't guarantee
because its a doggy world out
there..I said to him,listen
brother ,this is not uncertainty.For
Kanye West to see us,na God..and he said he didn't want us to do it
again ..He wasn't interested.But I
told him because I had sensed it
before the last concert we had.I told
the lawyers in New York.They were
trying to get him to come around
but he didn't .
So we had that meeting and he said
he didn't want me as a partner
again .That there was alot ..I told
him to give me 6 months..to convince him again..maybe to sell
my share to someone else, take the
money to go and try again ..I saw it
wasn't working and he formed a
synergy with SID.It was clear.He
wasn't comfortable around me .My
mistake was, I wasn't sensitive
enough to have noticed ..
So December 2011, during a general meeting after 6 months, he said he had thought about it and wasn't interested ..Infact, not just him..That this one is not interested,this one is not interested(mo hits members)..I
said ah! I was heartbroken. Kswitch
is my brother..But the truth? K-switch was with them ..
People were not comfortable..Now I look at it, maybe I did change..We all changed ..It wasn't money.It was because we ran mo hits record like a family.That's why we failed
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