Global recording
company Sony Music Entertainment is proud to announce the signing of Nigerian megastar
D’Banj to its RCA Africa label. The breakthrough deal also includes a
multi-album, worldwide exclusive contract with emerging Nigerian
singer-songwriter star Kayswitch and a strategic partnership with D’Banj’s
Nigerian record label DB Records, who’s catalog includes artists and producers
such as J.Sol, Jay Sleek and DeeVee.
Sony Music’s
RCA Records label hosts a family of global superstar artists and a catalog of
music, which includes some of the most important recordings in history. The
signing landmarks a historic moment, which sees Africa’s number one superstar
artist D’Banj join Africa’s number one music and entertainment company Sony
Music.
“Partnering with
D’Banj is a seminal event for us at Sony Music Entertainment Africa. We’ve
always admired his talent and to be able to assist with bringing D’Banj’s music
to millions of fans, established and
new, across the continent is an honour for us. There are still so many to whom
an artist like D’Banj has so much to offer that we can see a brand new era
emanating from this phase in his career. We are veryexcited about being a
part of it. ” Says Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment Sean Watson.
“Partnering with the
leading music company in Africa is a natural fit for me and DB Records to
ensure my music can be available to my fans across every corner of Africa and
in countries where they’ve never been able to access my music in a legitimate
way, instantly as its released anywhere else in the world. It's a new era for
Africa, the birthplace of music and I’m excited about this very powerful
partnership with Sony Music through which we will give birth together to a new
era with endless opportunities for
my fans, producers, artists and the start of a new time for a revolution in
music from Africa. Nothing is impossible!” says D’Banj
D’Banj (born Oladapo
Daniel Oyebanjo) signed to a Pan African multi-album deal with Sony Music’s RCA
Records. He has also concluded an exclusive management deal with Sony Music and
strategic partner ROCKSTAR4000 for the continent. Under the deal D’Banj will
join Sony Music’s Pan African RCA Label in the family of such superstar artists
as Usher, Chris Brown, R Kelly, Alicia Keys, P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Pitbull,
Britney Spears, Jamie Foxx, Justin Timberlake, Ke$ha, T-Pain and Miguel.
“We are really
excited to be partnering up with DBanj and his DB Records label. DBanj is
undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in Africa who continues to deliver
world-class hits. What we’ve seen from DB Records so far is an energetic mix of
hot new sounds and great new artists like Kayswitch, who we believe will impact
right across Africa. The recent launch of iTunes in Africa means that Nigerian
fans and those elsewhere on the continent will now readily be able to access
this amazing music as soon as it comes to market.” Noted Spiro Damaskinos,
Director of RCA Records Africa
“Since the first
time I met the incredible talent that is D’Banj in Lagos a few years ago,
headlining the first of many shows we did together, I knew he was destined for
musical greatness. Indeed D’Banj went on to smash all expectations around the
world. He has always flown the Nigerian and African flag higher and higher and
broken down the barriers for many of Africa’s great talent to follow through.
We are thrilled to now have D’Banj in the family with Sony Music and RCA
Records and to represent him across the African continent. Together we can take
his amazing music and talent to even greater heights and new audiences, as well
as launch emerging new stars such as Kayswitch through this landmark
partnership” says Jandre Louw, FOUNDER and CEO of ROCKSTAR4000
DBANJ (a stage name
that is a combination of the first letter of his first name and part of his
last name) is an extremely talented Nigerian-born, singer-songwriter-musician
who has become an International Superstar blending sounds from AfroBeats,
AfroPop and AfroFusion music genres. D’Banj literally broke contemporary sounds
and music from Africa onto the mainstream Global stage recently with his
smash-hit ‘Oliver Twist’. ‘Oliver Twist’ has sold more than 11 million copies
worldwide to date. The single debuted at number 9 on the UK National charts
just behind the likes of Rihanna and Tulisa.
D’BANJ’s musical
mentor and influence is the late Afrobeat Maestro – the legendary Fela
Anikulapo Kuti and like him, he performs in Yoruba, English and Pidgin English.
As an energetic,
crowd-pleasing live entertainer, D’BANJ has performed alongside many international
artists on stages all over the world from the 1st Edition of the MTV Africa
Music Awards to the ‘Koko Concert‘ LIVE in London at the O2 Arena amongst
others.
As a recording
artist and performer D’BANJ has won a whole host of awards including Best
African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Artist of the Year at the MTV
Africa Music Awards 2009, BET Awards of 2011 for Best International Act, Best
African Act - (MOBO Awards 2012), Most Gifted Male Video of the Year (Channel O
2012 MVA’s).
D’Banj has also
established himself as a television celebrity on Nigerian TV’s “Koko Mansion”.
In 2011 Kanye West
penned a deal with D’banj onto his G.O.O.D. Music label in the USA. D’Banj also
signed with Mercury in the UK. Over the course of his career D’BANJ
has worked with Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Jay Z, Kid Cudi, LA Reid, Tinie Tempah
and Rio Ferdinand. A humanitarian at heart, D’BANJ is the founder of Koko
Foundation for Youth and Peace Development. He is also Nigeria’s first United
Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace.
“The Sony Music /
D’Banj strategic partnership is the key catalyst to change the business and
face of Music across Africa, especially in the key areas of quality,
distribution and content management”, says the Chidi Okeke, Managing Director of
MComm, leading West African music Distribution Company and strategic partner to
Sony in the region. “This deal represents a major breakthrough in achieving our
vision of delivering quality music across the continent on diverse platforms.
The immediate benefits include the improvement in the distribution value chain,
quality control and direct economic benefits to individual parties and the
continent at large. We are positioned to create the necessary support platforms
and initiatives to drive this partnership to the maximum, and the long-term
plan is to fully penetrate the significantly untapped African market for music
and content in general” he added.
D’Banj’s passionate
drive, coupled to his talent and creativity, regularly delivers appealing music
productions and entertaining live performances ensuring his continuous
relevance in the music market. He remains one of the most celebrated
superstars from Nigeria and the African continent to break into the
international music scene.
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