MO'HITS SAGA: Fresh controversy as Dr. SID attacks D'banj in leaked conversation with Davido

By Osagie Alonge

2012 has been a very busy year for the entertainment industry in Nigeria.

There’s been a lot of power play, signings, international collaborations and much more, but the famed Mo’hits Records break up is, without a doubt, the height of everything that has happened in Nigerian entertainment this year.

With a series of stories and scandals about former label mates D’banj and Don Jazzy parting ways, to more stories on the true and actual nature of their split, to the formation of individual labels, it was, to say the least, not a pleasant scenario.

But when will all this drama end? Not yet, it seems; another episode is unfolding, as Sidney ‘Dr SID’ Esiri, former Mo’Hits act, and now a MAVIN Records artiste, can’t seem to get over the brouhaha.

Dr SID plays the lead star in this episode; a recorded audio piece which leaked exclusively to NET, has thrown him into the spotlight for the wrong reasons, hinting at him being a very strong reason behind the Mo’Hits breakup.

The ‘Over the moon’ singer, in a conversation with pop star Davido, is heard chastising his former label boss D’banj for outshining him and every other member of the crew.

In a heated and raised voice SID says ‘Why don’t they know my name? Because your brand and star is too much it is overshadowing.’

Davido is heard arguing back and forth with Dr SID, explaining that it was D’banj that actually brought them to the limelight. ‘Guuuy, it’s not that, D’banj can help anybody…If not for D’banj nobody would have looked at Wande, guy I dey lie? Men, I don’t know’ Davido says.

But SID, obviously not convinced, yells ‘Batman and Robin, who them dey call? Na D’banj na. D’banj did more negative than positive for my career.’

SID confirmed the conversation actually took place with Davido, correcting NET’s earlier report stating it was Wande Coal he was talking to. He also demanded that NET post the full audio recording.

‘@theNetng before I respond to ur post please upload the full convo and for the record the person u call wande coal is actually @iam_davido’, @IamDrSID wrote on his Twitter page on Saturday night, shortly after we broke the news on our website www.thenetng.com.

A graduate of Dentistry from the University of Ibadan, the 32-year-old is said to have met with D’banj in 2003/2004 in the UK. Both artistes returned to Nigeria; D’banj formed Mo’Hits with Don Jazzy, while Dr SID, (a former member of eLDee’s Trybe Records) picked up a job as a dentist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital before going for his Youth Corps service in Yola, Adamawa State.

SID began recording a debut rap album ‘The Prognosis’ in 2005 but abandoned the project a year later. D’banj, at this time (2005), released his debut album ‘No Long Thing’ under the Mo’Hits imprint and scored remarkable success.

Mo’Hits released their second album in 2006 – D’banj’s ‘Rundown Funk U Up’ and after much success, were looking at expanding the label’s roster. They immediately signed an upcoming act from Mushin called Wande Coal, and in early 2007, signed Dr SID. SID is said to have been brought into the Mo’Hits crew due to D’banj’s influence.

Under the tutorship of producer Don Jazzy, he was converted into a singer and officially made his debut in the 2007 Mo’Hits compilation album ‘Curriculum Vitae’ along with other label acts – Wande Coal, Don Jazzy’s younger brother D’Prince, and D’banj’s younger brother Kay switch.

The rapper-turned-singer enjoyed the next three years, touring and performing with the Mo’Hits crew at big shows, including the Thisday Music Festival and Star Mega Jam.

His debut ‘Turning Point’ was released in 2010. The album churned out multiple hits including ‘Something about you’, ‘Over the moon’ featuring Kay Switch and ‘Pop Champagne‘ featuring D’banj.

But it wasn’t all rosy in-house: ‘SID and D’banj began to have fall outs, it became obvious when he released his album and became a man of his own. He felt he too could make decisions’, a source close to the defunct label tells NET.

And when the break up did happen, SID didn’t just take sides with Don Jazzy, but was very vocal about it, being the first to let the public know which side he belonged to. ‘DonJazzy is d most important piece of Mo hits, who doesn’t get the credit he deserves, without his creativity a lot of things will not exist’, SID tweeted in March 2012, during the breakup period.

There are still other unanswered questions; when did the conversation take place? Why was Dr SID discussing such a sensitive matter with an ‘Outsider’ such as Davido? Who is behind the secret recording?

Sources say the recording was done by the former Mo’Hits hypeman Special Ed, who was also present in the room. We could not immediately confirm this.

But we can tell you that Davido and Special Ed have both severed ties with Dr SID and the MAVIN crew, after issues came up over trying to score a Wande Coal collaboration on his debut album ‘Omo Baba Olowo: The Genesis.’ Both guys, along with the HKN crew, have opted for a tent in D’banj’s camp. Special Ed is seen with Davido and the HKN crew – in his videos and several locations, and he still works the stage with D’banj.

A few minutes after NET broke the story online, Special Ed tweeted ‘U know say! @ d end of the day I will alwaiz b ah bad man!!!!’ Davido immediately retweeted him.

Davido’s publicist Valerie Obaze and manager Asa Asika have decided not to comment on the issue, refusing to reply E-mails sent to them over the matter.

Comments on social networks – Facebook and Twitter have also been an interesting read, but the most cynical comes from Dr. SID’s former label mate Kay Switch, who tweeted;

‘@kayswitch: Dr dr sid…..lol doing wat he does best! Eeyaaah’

We await the next episode…