Gradually, the aftershock of former collaborators, D’banj and Don Jazzy’s bitter and unexpected split is wearing off. The acrimony has thawed or so. Fans have taken sides. And their protégées like Wande Coal, Dr. Sid, D’Prince, Special Ed, Ikechukwu and Kay Switch have also pitched their tents where they believe the pasture is greener. Agreed, it is still early in the day to start taking an inventory of what they have done or conjecture how their careers would pan out eventually. But, in the last three months since their separation, both have been on a stealthy but concerted competition to outdo each other, especially as opinions are divided on who would attain more success quicker, and without the other’s usual backing.
The consensus has been that D’banj, who has never laid any claim to being a talented singer, is a beneficiary of his estranged partner’s production wizardry and that his career would suffer without those beats. Another school of thought hypothesizes that despite all Don Jazzy’s genius, he still needs D’banj, more than any other artiste.
Don Jazzy
The acclaimed producer was the first to hit the ground running, literally. Immediately after Mo’Hits was pronounced dead, Don Jazzy unveiled his new record label, Mavin Records, with a formidable line up of artistes including Dr Sid, Wande Coal, D’Prince and surprisingly, Tiwa Savage. Subsequently, he released the Mavin Records’ collaborative album, Solar Plexus.
“Kanye has over 100 per cent lined up at his beck and call and it is not like I am priority. So, I will be spending a lot of money staying in the United States when I can return home and be making money as well as grooming more artistes. And it’s very easy these days, I can work here and once I’m done, and feel it’s something that would suit Kanye West, I’ll just email it to them.”
D’banj
One of the causes of the duo’s split in D’banj’s reckoning was that his partner edged when there was an opening for them to break into the international market. Now that the encumbrance of the other guy has been cleared, the Kokomaster is solely committed to realising his dreams of going international alone. And he has rapper, Ikechukwu, who has subjugated his own career to help push D’banj’s, seemingly; bulky hype man, Special ED and his younger brother, Kay Switch, to open up the frontiers of his music. With a home in Atlanta and London, D’banj now shuttles between Nigeria and these cities as he hopes to achieve what no Nigerian-bred artiste has – fostering a flourishing international career.
In order not to lose his fan base at home perhaps, and with Don Jazzy gone, he recently signed producer, Jay Sleek, who has worked with Tuface Idibia, Sound Sultan, Wizkid and Timaya among other artistes, to his DB Records as in-house producer.
In the midst of the conflicting and critical reviews of O yato, D’banj sneaked in with a sterling feature on the remix of Naeto C’s Tony Montana. And that swayed arguments again in his favour once again. With Let’s Get the Party Started, a Tuface Idibia song, featuring him, MI, Wizkid and Tiwa Savage, the entertainer rose to the challenge. He is not leaving his flanks open for potshots.
As he trudges on, D’banj is especially trying to launch KaySwitch’s career. The latter released a single, Sister Caro featuring D’banj recently. It is not doing badly. It is indeed a good start for the Covenant University dropout who never had a single to his name during his years in Mo’Hits.
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