Between Dapo, Micheal & Kanye.

The Music industry in Nigeria has witnessed unprecedented growth in the recent years. We have grown musically in terms of quality of production and marketability of our works. Maybe we are still a little retarded in terms of lyrical content but we have definitely mastered how to get a party rocking. The growth we have experienced i believe may be attributed to the meteoric rise of talented music producers as Micheal Collins 'Don Jazzy' Ajereh, Samklef, TY Mix, OJB Jezreel, Cobhams Asuquo to name a few.

A lot of us give credit, though understandably, to the performing artiste. After all, its their voice we hear and its their song we dance to. Unfortunately, we relegate the real heroes, the music producers to the background. Don Jazzy however has been one of the hybrid producers who manage to remain in the limelight just as much as his artistes. I presume this might be due to the fact that his prime act, Mr D'banj doesn't particularly have the mental capacity to say anything intelligible thus his seeming dependence on the Don Jazzy figure.

It takes a genius to sell records produced by acts like D'banj, D'Prince and K-Switch. Since 2004 when the Mr Kokomaster concept was unleashed on Nigerians, D'banj has honestly enjoyed a lot of airplay and patronage and has built an expansive fan base both locally and internationally. But as far as i know, there can be no D'banj without Don Jazzy. I read a few weeks ago as a matter of fact on the raving social media that D'banj - Don Jazzy = Durella! I totally agree.

Let us take a close look and listen to the most melodious tunes D'banj gave us as extremely bored Nigerians. Listen to the track 'Koko' and ask yourself if it really made sense to you. He said 'what is the koko...who is the koko....' and goes on to try to elucidate what really the 'koko' meant. Honestly, if the song made sense to you, i think you should have a mental state evaluation. The song was however a hit, why? The Midas touch of Don Jazzy. For all you know, Timaya or Terry G could have rhymed on that beat and still made a bigger hit. It was all about the beat. Then fast forward to hits like 'Socor' and 'Funk you up'....still not very challenging items in terms of content but we still danced. Up till the critically acclaimed 'Entertainer' album of 2008 where D'banj himself in the tenth track of the album titled 'Entertainer' attested to the fact that he could not sing but he was an entertainer. No doubt he had very good songs, 'Mo bo lo won', 'Fall in love', 'Loke' and 'Suddenly'  being my favorite personally.

If D'banj's seeming success doesn't convince you of Don Jazzy's genius, what about D'Prince? It amazes me when i find myself, as many other Nigerians, humming and even dancing to lyrics as senseless as those of D'Prince. From 'Jonzing world' to 'Give it to me', we all hailed D'Prince. Now ask yourself what you'd do when your first son tells you his role model intellectually is D'Prince. I'll wake up from the bad dream.

Don Jazzy i understand is a seasoned drummer and guitarist. He has tried his hand on vocals also and i think his calling remains producing cosmopolitan beats. Recently, Twitter has been agog with rumors of a split between the two associates. The argument has been who of the two would be worse off by the break-up. I have read arguments for and against either as the backbone of Mo-hits and i appreciate all the views I've read thus far. I am however tempted to believe the only losers in the fracas will be the bored young Nigerian generation that has swayed helplessly to the delicious tunes from the stables of D'banj-Don Jazzy.

Don Jazzy's not likely to lose because i believe as long as he's the only who produced all those songs for D'banj then i'm almost certain he'll churn out another superstar. It may take time but it will come. As long as he does not relent in mixing the best sounds, he'll get another 'entertainer'. It may not even take that long if he tunes in consistently to the auditions of the myriad reality music TV shows i.e. Nigerian Idol, Glo Naija Sings or Project Fame. There are several 'entertainers' waiting for their big break.

Now to Mr Oyebanjo. Ironically, he's not going to lose out to. Incredibly enough though if he is judged by his IQ as a person. He is however taking a risk, the risk being marketing himself to a 'not as bored' American audience. It is a dangerous risk but one that if it clicks will blow him beyond his dreams. With Kanye West and the Illuminati connection, its certainly possible. On the hand, i doubt if Kanye will make a beat we the bored Nigerian masses will jump up and dance to. We are in the 'knack you akpako' era and i'll love to see a Kanye beat start and rock a party in Ajegunle. Again, D'banj has built a brand and his endorsements may keep him afloat for sometime while he plans his next move. But i'll advice him, don't try the 'do you know the koko' line with the Americans, they might not swallow it and may resort to Google 'koko' just to tackle the poor boy. Maybe the harmonica may also give him a soft landing as i believe the future of music is in instruments. And we can't forget his 'youth leader' romance with Mr President. That too will count for something eventually as long as Baba Shoes remains in power.

Finally, D'banj and Don Jazzy splitting was just a matter of time. Egos have grown since the days of face-caps and tight tees. D'banj has evolved and its certainly understandable if he feels larger than life.

No worry Collins, the grass is always greener on the other side. Keep doing your thing, you've certainly made your mark.