The year is 2016, and a certain Don Jazzy was standing side by side with a revered Hip-hop mogul and his signed artiste for a photo.
“Alright, steady….” A click from a number of camera-phones signaled that the photo opportunity has been availed. Roc Nation boss, Jay Z and Mavin firstlady, Tiwa Savage were the others in the photo, which provided evidence of a meeting in New York.
For Don Jazzy, this was Déjà vu. He has been here before, with his artiste and a world superstar. The year then was 2011, the superstar is the maverick Kanye West of G.O.O.D Music, and his artiste (and business partner) was D’banj.
These days, D’banj is a waning music force, who survives on his past records and the strength of his marketability. Tiwa Savage, the new Golden Girl, has both the music and the brand.
D’banj had met Kanye West at a Dubai airport in 2010, and together with Don Jazzy, he wanted a deal with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music. A man for the rush, D’banj wanted the deal to go on right away, with Don Jazzy signed on with the label. The Mavin boss was against the deal, with his reason being that it was rushed.
D’banj revealed this to Olisa Adibua on his chat show, ‘The Truth: “Maybe Dr Sid? We came back from New York, and we had a meeting with Jazzy. Me and Jazzy. And Jazzy really expressed his discomfort that ‘listen, this place is too expensive. We are spending money, we are going to stay there, things dey happen for Nigeria, we are already bosses here, we don’t need all these…make we just stay here..
“And I’m like ‘we are almost there, like it’s expensive but I know it’s not really guaranteed, because it’s a dog eat dog world out there. And in his own words, ‘you can’t leave certainty for uncertainty,’ which makes sense.
“But I said to him that listen brother this is not uncertainty. For Kanye West to see us is not a joke. He saw us in Dubai, na God. Is it not the same Nigeria that we are doing music that took us there.
“And I asked him that, and he said he didn’t want to go, he didn’t want us to do it again, he said he wasn’t interested. So Jazzy literally said that he wasn’t interested, and I told him, because I had sensed it..before the last concert I had told the lawyers that I felt that it wasn’t…that’s why we had legal papers.
Kanye’s deal was the poisoned chalice that broke Mo’Hits and hit hard on their both careers. Don Jazzy moved on, creating the now successful Mavin Records. D’banj has continued growth, but failed greatly to fully continue his musical brilliance. His deal with Kanye West was not fruitful, and the singer returned to the continent to continue his hustle.
Don Jazzy’s rejection of the deal hinged on the reasoning that the African pop music was not matured enough to make a sustainable impact into the American scene. If D’banj and Don Jazzy had signed, their talents would not be maximized. In many ways, he saw the future, splitting from the Koko master, and setting up his business.
Less than 5 years after, Nigeria is on the verge of an explosion with the music being globally consumed. Wizkid has a song with Drake which is number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, Ayo Jay has a deal with RCA Records, Davido is signed to Sony Music, and more are in the offing.
It is on this wave that Tiwa Savage’s deal with Roc Nation is coming through. Don Jazzy isn’t rejecting an international management deal this time, because apart from the potential it holds for his artistes, it feels right for the affiliation to be sealed. Tiwa Savage benefits from this immensely, and she is insured by the emergence of a new global taste for African pop music. Where the Don once stood with D’banj, he is at a similar place with Tiwa Savage.
Only this time, all the stars are aligned.
