The first time I heard about Steve Babaeko, he sounded like a mini-god. The senior students at my department (Mass Communication) at the University of Lagos talked about him as though he could make their burgeoning careers. Two years later, in 2016, I’ll finally understand why they spoke about him in that way. I was on my way to get my first internship. My friends and I had decided that if any of us wanted to make a name for ourselves in advertising, we had to work at X3M Ideas and under Steve Babaeko.
He had only established his advertising company four years earlier, in August of 2012. Still, he had been a legend long before that, working as the creative director at 141 Worldwide. At the time, I didn’t know him as anything other than an advertising genius. I knew his label X3M Music and some of his acts – Praiz and Simi. I was a serious fan of Simi, who he signed back in 2014, but it never quite hit me that X3M Music and X3M Ideas were in any way connected. I reckon a few people were and probably are still as clueless as I was. Eventually, I realised that this ad man I idolised was more than just a business executive. He was also a man with his finger on the pulse of Nigerian entertainment. What little adoration I felt before multiplied.
Soon, this man who many in the media and business look up to would be turning 50, and I want all eyes to be on him. To see him in the entirety of who he is – not only as the chairman of X3M Group, home to X3M Ideas, X3M Music, Zero Degrees Productions, and Media 100 Limited; but as Steve Babaeko the music lover. The man whose first foray into music began as a young 14-year-old in the small town of Kabba as part of a group named The Music Army. The man who helped produce some of the finest talents in the country right now and who continues to make things happen with sheer guts and determination.
At only ten years old, he realised how poor his family that lived in a room somewhere in Kaduna were. He told Forbes in a 2019 interview that, “I was only 10 years old when I realised, for the first time in my life, that my family was acutely poor.”
Yet, he never let that realisation stop him from dreaming big and working hard. His determination to make it led him to Ahmadu Bello University after getting his A-Levels from the Federal School of Arts and Science, Suleja. There, he studied Theatre Arts and came out top of his class. Then he worked at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Kano state during his compulsory NYSC year. While he was a corp member, Babaeko decided that he had to move to Lagos to have a fighting chance to achieve his dreams.
This is the story of a man who built one of Nigeria’s finest music labels while simultaneously creating one of Africa’s most prestigious advertising firms. This is the story of Steve Babaeko, the man, the legend at 50.
When Babaeko first came to Lagos, he had no idea where he’d live. He had only N500 to his name. He squatted in a small room at Durban hotel, now Golden Tulip, with a chef, for two years while trying to find his way. He finally secured his first job two months after he arrived in Lagos as a copywriter. With barely any formal advertising training and experience, Babaeko took on his career at MC&A with such diligence he quickly became one of the agency’s best hands.
His boss at the time, Victor O. Johnson, revealed in 2012 that even though he only gave Babaeko a job on impulse, he was never disappointed. He said, “Mercifully, my nose did not disappoint me, neither did Steve fall. He gave a good account of himself, demonstrating a surprising knowledge level way above his station. I patted myself on the back but with a sneaky feeling that this Babaeko is a strange one. He took the job like a fish to water, not like the greenhorn or a wet-behind-the ear rookie he was and never looked back. He was always coming up with fresh and brilliant ideas. One of which, together with a senior writer, Paul Ugoagwu, gave us the Texaco business in a fiercely contested pitch that featured three largest-billing Agencies.”
Babaeko moved to Prima Garnet Ogilvy after MC&A, where he met Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko, his wife and one of Nigeria’s leading photographers, in 2004. Recalling how he met Yetunde, Babaeko said, “She worked for a photo studio at Opebi. She is a photographer, unarguably one of the best. They made a presentation on how they could partner with Prima Garnet. I was like, ‘this babe is incredibly beautiful.’ Beyond the beauty when I finally got to know her, I was like, ‘this woman is beautiful from the inside as well,’ and that was it.”
They soon got married in 2006 after the most romantic proposal in Germany, where Yetunde Babaeko grew up. They now have three boys – Louis, Lamar, and Austin. When Babaeko turned 40 in 2011, Yetunde shared, “It is his first-round birthday that I am celebrating with him since I met him when he was just 33 years old. Then, also about 33 pounds lighter and stunningly handsome, he conquered me. His focused mind, his ambition, his humour and disarming charm attracted me immediately”.
He moved to 141 Worldwide in 2005 as Creative Director. While he was leading the team in 2008, he got the opportunity to pitch his ideas to Premier Records, but things didn’t turn out the way he hoped. However, his romance with music didn’t just start that year.
As a 14-year-old, he tried to set up a band with his friends, something he calls a misadventure, but his mom stopped his musical journey in its tracks. He told Netng, “my mum was not having it because there was one day she called me and said, ‘sit down’. She wants to ask me a question, and she wants me to think carefully. She said, ‘look at your father’s side, everybody on your father’s side’; I said yeah. She said, ‘how many musicians do you know there?’ I said none. She said, ‘look at my own family, how many musicians do you know?’ I said none. She said, ‘so you are not going to be a musician’. But I think she did us a national service. She deserves a national honour for that because I’m sure I can’t sing to save my life, so I don’t even know what I was doing at the time”.
He didn’t do much with music again until he met Dede Mabiaku in 1997. This was around the time iconic Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti died. Mabiaku gave Babaeko his first taste of music management in 1998 when he asked him to be his manager. Babaeko knew nothing about the job, but he opted to learn, and he did that quickly.
Babaeko says that the opportunity showed him all of the gaps that existed in Nigerian music management, structure, distribution, and all of those things.” One day, he (Mabiaku) just drove to the office, and he was in a foul mood, and I asked, ‘bros wetin happen?’ And he said that he had parted ways with his manager. I was like, ‘wow! That’s serious. So what are you going to do now?’ He just looked at me and said, you’ll start managing me”. “I was like, I don’t know two flying monkeys about music. He just told me you’ll learn, and that’s it. And I think in managing Dede Mabiaku from around ’98 to 2000, I really really learned a lot. I think that really threw me in the deep waters of where music happens in Lagos, and I met almost all the players”.
Between 2000 and 2008, Babaeko worked as a show producer and stage manager for significant events.
So he had an idea where to start from when his boss put him on the spot after he was tired of hearing how he had all these big ideas on how the music industry could be making more money. Babaeko says that conversation is what eventually led to the creation of X3M Music.
“One day, my boss called me and said, ‘Steve, you are always going on and on about music. Do you know I own shares in Premier Records? I was so excited because Premier was a heritage record label and had a huge catalogue. I knew of Premier. He said, ‘but we are not making the kind of money I hear you talk about’. So I said, if you are not making money, I understand because Premier can do many things to just perch on the wings of business and catch small winds in their shell. He said, okay, that can I put up a proposal, a document that he can present to the board at the next board meeting”.
He created the document and presented it to the board. They liked his ideas, but they couldn’t match his request to be paid 5 million Naira. He asked them to pay him the total sum in bits of three every time he reached a new milestone in his three-phase plan. They returned to him with a counteroffer, asking him to sell his 5 million naira plan for N250,000. Of course, he declined the offer, but he thought very hard about why they’d low-ball him that badly. He decided that it had to be because he had never shown physical evidence that his ideas could work. So he decided he’ll just start his own record label and prove that he could make it happen.
“It kept me up all night for many days as I kept on wondering – why would you ask for 5 million Naira and someone will counter with N250,000. Then I found the answer in my heart. Well, it’s obvious – your proposal looks nice on paper. But where have you done the kind of stuff that you say is possible in your document that will make them trust you and believe that those things you say they should do can be done?” He continues, “I think the next day was when I registered X3M Music. I just called up my lawyer to say register a record label for me. I just wanted to show that those things could actually be done – you just need to apply your heart to it and persevere”.
His wife says that owning a record label was always one of Steve’s dreams. Back in 2004, when they met, he told her it was something he wanted to do. In a sweet 2011 birthday note, she said, “Now also a record label owner. Something he had told me on our first dates he would like to be. I am not surprised that he has successfully accomplished this dream. Constantly pushing his artistes; another striking character trait is his optimism and unique belief in them”.
Not one to start too small, Babaeko’s first client was the German-based frontman of the 13 piece band BANTU, Ade Bantu. He signed a joint-venture deal with the award-winning singer. He was on his way to building one of Nigeria’s finest record labels. Later in 2008, he signed rock artiste, Etcetera. And then, a management contract with Nneka that didn’t last too long. Later on, he signed brilliant lyricist, Overdose and helped put out the rapper’s first song on the label, Hustle or Die.
Babaeko signed R&B singer Praiz in 2010, fresh off Project Fame. But Praiz didn’t really start to make waves until 2012 when they released Rich and Famous. Then in 2014, the record label signed Simi and Sammie. Babaeko says 2014 was also the year that they started stabilising financially. Praiz and Simi are X3M Music’s most successful acts to date.
Simi warmed hearts with her 2014 hit single I, which earned her a Headies nomination. In 2018, the Headies Award named her debut album for X3M (her career second), Simisola, released in September 2017, album of the year.
In May 2019, one month after releasing her second album, Omo Charlie Champagne, under X3M music and her career third, the label announced that she was moving on after five years. Simi took to Instagram after the announcement to heap praises on Babaeko, calling him her dad.
She said, “An especially intense thank you to my forever boss, mentor Steve Babaeko, who has been more than a boss to me. You’ve been there for me even more as a father than as a CEO. And that’s saying a lot. This is bittersweet for me, and my heart is heavy. As far as I’m concerned, my win is your win, boss, and I hope I’ll always be able to come to you when I need you. More than anything, I’d like that. This is not goodbye. You’re just sending your daughter to do great exploits as you sent me to my husband’s house”.
One year later, in June 2020, Praiz also left the label after ten years. He described his exit as one of the hardest things he’s had to do. “It’s been an amazing 10 years of great music, teamwork, patience, love, joy, trials, travels, loyalty and growth with my family X3M Music. It’s always every Father’s dream for his son to grow and succeed, and even greater grace when you have his blessings. He continued, “This is not a parting message but the beginning of greater partnership and relationship. I am and will always be an X3M soldier.”
Babaeko also briefly signed D-Truce. In 2018, Praiz signed Dapo of Project Fame season 9 under a management deal. That was the last time the label signed an artiste. Babaeko says they are changing their mode of operation and taking on more project-based activities. He shares, “The next big thing we are going to do is this thing that I can’t talk about. Once that project sees the light of day, which will be in another couple of months, you’ll see where the future of X3M music is turning towards. I can imagine that a lot of people will take a page off our playbook once we get out with the program”.
His friend of about ten years and CEO of Emblue, Kelvin Orifa, describes him as a game-changer, proof that this new model for the label isn’t out of Babaeko’s character. He says, “I think what sets him apart from other music execs is his unconventionality. I have to give that to Steve, as there is a certain way he goes about making his mark. Steve is ready to go against the tide and won’t rest until he sees the desired results. There’s this resilience about his personality that I admire so much, and this is very evident in the way he has built and positioned X3M music and choice of signed acts.”
But Steve Babaeko is more than just a music executive. Artistically, it is almost impossible to box him in one space. He is a writer. He is a music enthusiast and one heck of a fashionista. He recently got Executive Producer credits on one of the most successful Nigerian documentaries, Awon Boyz. They first launched the film on April 20, 2019, at Genesis Deluxe Cinema, but when it premiered on Netflix on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, it climbed to number 3 on Netflix Nigeria and stayed there for weeks.
Babaeko, who is rightfully proud of the project, says the documentary is only the start of their involvement in the movies. “Recently, we shot a documentary called ‘Awon Boyz’ that ended up on Netflix. It was number three on Netflix Nigeria on the chart. I think for us, that’s just the beginning of a lot of production. We are working on a comedy series that will kick off by the third quarter of this year. By 2022, we are coming up with a feature film. Movies are also the next place we are venturing into now”, he says.
Media Personality Lamide Akintobi says his ability to take on so much has inspired her. “Steve has inspired me generally since I got to know him. Not just because of X3M Music, but because of his work ethic, his dedication to excellence, his interest in things that the typical executive would not necessarily be interested in. So, you are doing advertising; what’s that got to do with music? But he was so passionate that he saw talent in other people, and he felt like it was a gift or a calling for him to try and help other people make their dreams come true.”
That goes to show just how determined Babaeko is to make a mark on Nigeria’s entertainment industry. It’s thinking about how important it is to make things work that makes him tell this writer, “I think my greatest achievement is just being able to participate and being able to contribute our (X3M Group’s) little quota into the industry. I feel very privileged to do that. And being able to just open doors to the new crop of Nigerians who can use the platform to become somebody great in life”.
First, a copywriter at heart whose clever use of words makes him understand and appreciate rap music in a way most people can’t. Then a father, husband, a music enthusiast, executive producer, and CEO of X3M Group – home to five thriving companies; Steve Babaeko is no way near tired. But as with every great man, the occasional conversation about creating a legacy comes up, and his idea of what his legacy should be is as simple as himself.
“I just want to be remembered as the man who contributed a little quota in making the life of the future generation a little easier. This industry is challenging to be in. My heart goes out to millions of Nigerian youths trying to find a future in the Nigerian music industry. It’s an adamant industry to play in. You cannot solve the problems of everybody. I just want to be known as the man who contributed a little in making the lives of the youths trying to make it in this industry a little easier”.
And he’s done that and more.
