By Beverly Bryan
As The Entertainer marked his formal US debut , MTV Iggy caught up with the Mo’Hits act as he talked about working with his G.O.O.D Music record label boss Kanye West, why he feels he’s already broken out and how he feels bringing Nigerian music to a more global audience.
How does it feel to be bringing Nigerian music to a more global audience?
With the reception I’ve gotten, I’d like to say, not like I was nervous, I just hoped and prayed that people would come with an open mind, that they can listen. And I saw that today, they came with their hearts, they came with their minds. I’m only grateful to God that that’s the beginning. Seeing this, I’m now eager to move around and continue the gospel.
What is your next step toward world domination?
To go on the road. America, for one. Even with this crowd, they’ve already shown us that there is massive audience for me here. I thought I was in New York City, but I’m seeing New Jersey, I’m seeing Maryland, I’m seeing Houston. I already have bookings in Houston. It’s just a big privilege and I’m so humbled. I can’t wait to just gladly take the music there to touch them.
A lot of American artists and rappers are working specifically with Nigerian musicians. What do you think it is that attracts them to that scene?
I think it’s not just now, and it’s not just about one or two things. First, I give a lot of thanks to a lot of people who have come before me. For one, I would say it’s not just even rappers. If you look at what happened here in New York for the last twenty four months, with Fela Anikulapo Kuti on Broadway [the musical FELA!]. I was fortunate to be at Radio City Music Hall during the Tony Awards. It was nominated for eleven awards.
Also, it’s our culture, It’s what we’re preaching, the music, for one, as you know, the sound. It’s not like I want to blow our trumpet, but I always say we came up and we already have sounds and melody and now we’re seeing the aggression.
If you had to describe the difference between performing in Lagos versus anywhere else in the world, what would you say?
Wow. With today, I wouldn’t say it’s any different. Today my people showed me here, people appreciate good music. Good music is universal.
Is there something in Lagos that sets the scene apart?
It’s very real. It’s very real and very original. You know, people are asking me if I’m going to change and I say, ‘What Kanye likes about me is that I’m very original’. Even the way I call my name: ‘I’m D’Banj!” And I don’t want to change that.
That’s what we all have in Africa. You know that we’re blessed with a lot of natural resources. We’re blessed with things like oil, and also we have talents. They say we’re a developing continent. Well, we have been developing. Now, we are developed.
You are already recording with Kanye West. What is it like being in the studio with him?
I came with a mind-set to learn. Also, to show my culture, but more importantly to learn. In the studio the chemistry was great. You know, music is universal. I’ve been in the studio with people who don’t speak English, but, at the end of the day, I love melody. I’ve gained a lot from him, that’s the main reason I’m here.
Do you have a place here in New York?
I do, but I’m not a New York fan. The weather is a bit crazy. I like ATL, it reminds me of Africa. Anytime I stop by the ATL, I like it. The roads are wider and I love the weather. Miami too.
Who is going to be the video for ‘Oliver Twist?’ I heard there would be some cameos.
A lot of cameos. I’ll give you a hint: my new family members.
How did you choose the harmonica as your instrument?
Oh, I didn’t choose the harmonica. My late brother chose the harmonica.
And you play it because of him? Did he teach you?
No, no one taught me. Later, when I studied it, I learned that it’s such a spiritual instrument.
Coming from even way back, from the era of the slave trade. It was one of the very rare instruments that Africans, now African-Americans could play. It was one of the few things that they could do, people that were stuck over here. But even for people that were not African-Americans, it stood for something that was more natural. Like, if you listen to country music a lot of them play the mouth organ and the harmonica.
Are you going to be doing something really different on the new album?
I really don’t know. I’m exploring. I’m going to be doing rock now. I’m doing a rock song! Don’t you believe I can rock?
Tell me about Kokomobile. You have a branded cell phone on the market in Nigeria?
Yes, I do. Well, my brand is called ‘Koko’. It comes from the song on my first album. And people say, ‘Well, what is the koko?’ The Koko is whatever you do to derive pleasure. It is the bone of contention. So, people started calling me the Koko Master. Today, no one knows its specific definition.
But now I have the Koko Lounge, my club in Lagos, Nigeria. And I have Koko Garri, my breakfast cereal.
What will it take to bring Nigerian music to a mainstream audience in the US?
I think it’s already happening. It’s happened. I walked around; I saw the pictures of the people that have performed here [at Irving Plaza], The Beastie Boys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, on the same stage. So, it’s already started.
The thing I love about Americans is they’re open to good music. If it sounds good to them and it looks good, they’ll buy it.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
I like Rihanna.
37 comments
Ooshee!!! Go D’banj Go….. Haters can keep hating
This is a welcome development pal. Up u go.
♈̷̴̩ђυ’re D̶̲̥̅̊ bomb bro… Osheeee
D’banj,omo ijebu rere,carry go,KOKO LOLE SE.
It gladens my heart that the nigeria music is now getting to the level that has longed been anticipated.Thank God.
so Nigeria is developed. hmmm ok
visit http://www.the3axes.com for more music, videos and interviews.
Bro, U d bomb, gUd job, kip it Up. U lyk Rihanna, Mr Oliver Twist. Lol
U re doin gr8 bro nd we re so hapi 4 u. Kp mvin nd dnt mind bad man
Dapo u’re doing well 4 urself. Keep it u¶
@saucekiz_SMILEs: u re jst a sweet@ gosh I admire brainyz lik u…awesome awesome I preach dis all d time…honey u re my chocolate..God bless u for dat wonderful mssg…short of words for u bt u own every gr8 words….
Una 2 funny! Nigerians don’t listen but dance 2 rhytm beats and swagg so plz 4 cryin out loud ! Omo boyz need pay billls remember? D banji nice one though am surpised and surpicious on ur quick acceptance in gods own conuntry I say good wrk
What’s this? À quick PR job to make people forget his Sahara Reporters blunder? Dbanj is not this articulate abeg.
Oh puhleeeeze,are u judging him based on the last Sahara interview???U must definitely be.U seem to have forgotten the countless interviews he has had way before the Sahara one???Get a grip babe “cos he sure is fluent….Only a biased person wld say he or she didn”t notice that there was no way in this world D”banj was prepared for those questions plus equally didn”t wanna give direct questions alongside which i believe was intentional by the way!
My dear,i like ur write up to a great extent but i see u have clearly left out D”banj”s name.See,D”banj may come across as a very comical person who definitely doesn”t let worries get the best of him but at the same time,he sings with content in many cases.I”ll give u many examples.Kindly listen to his first song 1.)”Mobolowowon” and follow it word for word esp the enemy related lyrics pertaining to that song,its deeper than u can ever imagine…2.Listen to “Celebrate” from his Entertainer album and u wld be inspired like u wld never imagine(the msg that song relays is beyond imagination).3.”Olorun Maje”,that is an excellent one,listen to the wordings word for word and tell me how u can do without learning one or two frm it 4.”Loke Loke” by D”banj,pls listen and u wld learn a thing or two from it as well 5.Mo gbona feli feli (despite the humor behind the chorus),have u sat down to listen word for word?I can go on and mention another like 4 songs of his that have good lyrical depth which is undoubtedly undisputable.At the same time,he has sung club bangers which are solely for club purposes/full body movement and many more.For songs solely targetted at clubs,they don”t have to make absolute sense and i bet u wld agree with me on that.As far as D”banj is concerned,many seem to take him as being playful and perpetualy full of life which i quite agree to but hey,when he”s serious,he damn well is.Some tend to be more captivated by the beats of his songs and end up not actually listening to his wordings.Agreed,he doesn”t have an excellent singing voice or vocals but he sure wld pass anytime with his voice despite the beats being catchier.With the harmonica D”banj plays alone(if at all he decides to even stop singing),the sky is the beginning for him particularly b”cos he plays it like it was made for him.For those names u listed i.e Tuface and co,the honest truth is that they have sensational voices and for that singular reason,whatever they sing sounds quite pleasing to the ears regardless of the measure of lyrical depth.Some of Tuface”s songs have content,no doubt but hey some equally are meaningless as in the case of “Enter the Place”,”Excuse Me Sister”,”Implication” which i honestly think lacks any form of sense,even “Only Me” where one of the lines outrightly states that “personality e no matter at all”???.So really,Tuface doesn”t always get it right at all,don”t be mistaken….Same goes for the Asa lady who is an excellent instrumenatlist alongside her powerful voice.She has equally sung some meaningless songs as well so she equally doesn”t get it right all the time.
As regards Davido and a few others u mentioned,i quite agree wiv u on that.U were spot on!However,I must not forget to remind u that music is not limited to only lyrics like many think.The packaging,the delivery,stage performance and so on,matter just as much!
All in one,Tuface”s love-genre music touches the bottomest part of my soul whilst D”banj”s music uplifts my soul esp b”cos of his excellent sense of humour and like we all know even tho” we forget in many cases,music is very complex and versatile,hence its manners of satisfaction is limitless!D”banj is better referred to as a musician whilst i”ll call Tuface an artiste,both excellent in their own ways.U cannot call someone a musician if that person cannot play at least one musical instrument.!!!
@Suacekid_smiles U r truely annonying.Who cares abt ur rant or wat u think u r saying.Get a life!if u dont want to listen to dair music nice and gud.
@saucekiz_smiles, all i will tell you is that music is relative. its an art and you should not forget that what makes sense to me may not make sense to you and vice versa.In my own opinion, d’BANJ IS GREAT AND DOING GREAT SONGS.
@Damoal,u sound like a polite guy or girl whichever the case may be.However,from Saucekilz write up,she/he may have unintentionally left out D”banj”s name but she/he equally didn”t state the negative about him.However from what i have read here right frm all Saucekillz write ups/comments esp the one in response to Babe or is it Baby”s comments,i see that she/he has equally agreed that D”banj has sung some very great songs regardless of his club bangers like Oliver Twist (which evryone shld kno is 100 percent comical and was not really intended to make that much sense) or “Suddenly” with its great melody and rhymes and amusing humour.So,criticizing him over “Oliver” or ‘Suddenly” wld be totally pointless.All in one,lets just wish all of them more luck and continue to support them all.Am a great fan of both D”banj and Tuface and honestly,their songs satisfy me in different ways.God bless them all.
Wow i like d way 9ja music is growin. im nt criticising any artist bt askin dem 2 kp it up were ar there jst last week i saw d video p square ft akon bt always show respect 2 idrís abdulkelim,tuface,faze,blak face, n co who started dis journey on a dificult side. 9ja til i die
I fEEL LikE shooting thE aLL of U̶̲̥̅̊…foolish pplE!!!
Naija Masters must say that Nigerian singers are doing great, so instead of us saying who is good or not, we should all stand up and encourage them beacause this is just the begining.
@saucekiz smile. u are on point, ur head is there jare.u have said it all.
Lets praise all da artiste dan 2 criticise dem plsss dis an international site.
has any of u ask how they judge wu’s beta wen comparing artiste?simple.they use Word,if an artiste churn out good beat&lack content(lyrics/work),they say he/she is wasting d beat.Y d’u think artiste are ask to freestyle?to test their content,to know whether they’re doctored in d studio or they av content.so music is basically to lift the soull and words does that more.even d opera is been presented that way
Ya all doin gud…sauze bro or sis u still have ma hrt honey…Babe I kissed u…oh Bj u jst summarize it all awesome peeps in here fnkz darlinz….am nt talkin cuz ma broz and siz have spoken…It only takes s intelligient fellowz to get d words here..so ya all brainyz stay blessed…
D same interview wasn’t finished lik it was supposed to”As u can see i have tinz to do”dats hw it ended funny Dude…
Did i Ơ̴̴͡.̮Ơ̴̴͡ respect Eedris up dere?buhahahahahhahaahkikikikomg yea ryt…
@Saucekilz,yeah ur very correct but honestly,that guy was in no way in the mood for those questions that day.It was sooooo obvious that the only thing on his mind at that very moment was his concert the next day!
Did u just say Omawumi????SMH
Why can’t we nigerians write standard english or pidgin? na wa o!
Evry one of dem muzician ar gud in der difrnt wayz bt pls can we all stop mentionin 2face nd comparin him wit any one here? Cos hes is a legend peace out.
@ bebe ,vry good writeup,i dont no why some people dont welcome gud development for d sake of u liking one person or nt liking one person,ds guy s sign on a popular american record label which mean it s d right time 4 nigeria music and artisits in hip hop to be recognised internationaly we should be encouraging dem to move on why should we start criticizing him ,i no he might not be d best but somtins happen in vry unic way life also depends on aw lucky and not al d time aw gud u ar;dbanj move on;stand up tall enemy go fall belive iin ur self let dem no u ar destined to be great osheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
@ hugoboss noni I don’t like it when people without an iota of intelligence come on websites to insult intelligent and articulate people! We get it you have nothing to say so STFU! On to my original comment @ sauce kid_smiles point taken and well put across. Love d’banj and my only hope is that he stays true to himself and his culture and I hope he brings out an excellent album under Good music other wise it will be dubbed Bad music loll congratulations I am d’banj you rock!
This’s some old bullshit. Shoot… y’all ain’t gat nothing good to do than gossip? WTF? Them niggas are making their papers and all you do is gossip them? Smhh! Y’all better go get a job.
Koko benz,koko ígbò,koko rice do u feel it,it’s double p men
Koko mint Make u no join illuminaty oo… Of cause u no it’s skiring
I goodbye is the only means of moving on,and that’s what the young man just did to Mo’Hits th the
U r doin gr8 buh y do u hv 2 join d luminaty
He’s promoting african culture and ideology. For me, people around me knows that he’s my favourite musician.