D Banj

Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo (popularly known as D'banj, born June 9, 1980), is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player. He has won several music awards including the awards for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Artist of the Year at the
MTV Africa Music Awards 2009. and BET Awards of 2011 for Best International Act; Africa. He adopted the stage name D'banj, a combination of his first name Dapo and his surname Oyebanjo. D'banj is currently best known internationally for his 2012 summer hit "Oliver Twist", an uptempo dance fusion of Afro-Beats and electronic dance music that topped the African charts 2011 and was a top 10 hit in the UK singles chart in 2012 reaching #2 on the UK R&B chart.

Childhood

D'banj was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a church dignitary mother who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State. Due to his father's profession he moved several times within Nigeria and later moved to England. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. However, D'banj resisted the system and disenrolled from the school after three years. While at the Military school he was a member of the elite drum corp of the Nigerian Army. From the Nigerian Military School he proceeded to another military owned institution Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ibara, Abeokuta where he completed his secondary school education.

Musical beginning

D'banj was introduced to the harmonica by his late older brother, Femi Oyebanjo, who died in a plane crash at age seventeen.With D'banj's love for music being greater than his parents' military aspirations, he struggled for his parents' approval; this can be best heard through an album track, All Da Way from his debut album.

BET Interview

In April, 2011, D'banj was interviewed by BET's April Woodard. The interview titled 'Welcome to America'^[4] was a platform for D'banj to introduce himself to the American Music Industry and audience which he stated he was going to get into. In the interview, D'banj spoke on a wide range of topics including his music, artists he'd like to work with, his parents, Mo'Hits Records, his love life, and his role models: Kanye West, Usher, Jay-Z, R. Kelly, and others. The interview lasted 125 minutes, and was the avenue used to formally declare his determination to lead African music into many quarters that its yet to reach.

Music career

As a tribute to his mentor Fela, D'banj brings Afrobeat to life and into the 21st century with breathless enthusiasm as well as a good dose of humour. His songs are based on his life, often hilarious but with a deeper meaning which documents the struggle of a young Nigerian trying to achieve his dreams. He performs in Yoruba, English and Pidgin English. All his albums are solely produced by Don Jazzy and himself.

2005: No Long Thing

D'banj's debut album, No Long Thing, was released in 2005, yielding several singles, with Tongolo as the lead single. This proved to be his breakthrough single and a hit. It also provided his Koko Master persona, with the term, koko, taking on a variety of meanings. D'banj's debut success led to collaborations with other artists, this includes Dare Art-Alade's album track, Escalade Part 2 and Ikechukwu's album

2006: Rundown Funk U Up

D'banj's second album, Rundown Funk U Up, which was released in 2006, yielded several singles including the club single, Tongolo (Remix) and the lead single, Why Me?. This proved to be another hit.

2007?2008: Curriculum Vitae & The Entertainer

D'banj, as an artist of Mo' Hits Records, is also a member of its collective group, Mo' Hits Allstars (includes artists Dr SID, Wande Coal, k-Switch and D'prince). He has once been spotted with one of Nigeria's most talented singers, "Smile Lasisi". The collective's debut album, Curriculum Vitae, was released in December 2007. It included hit singles, "Be Close To You", "Booty Call" and "Move Your Body", which was the lead single. D'banj was featured in Ikechukwu's 2008 hit, "Wind Am Well".
July 2008 saw the release of D'banj's third album, The Entertainer, with the singles "Gbono Feli Feli", "Kimon", "Olorun Maje" and "Entertainer".

Mo'Hits/ G.O.O.D. Music

In June 2011, D'banj was signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music record label as artiste and producer respectively. On June 9, 2011, D'banj wrote on his Twitter account, @iamdbanj, "Just like yesterday, myself and my brother did Tongolo. 7 years later, Mo'Hits signs with GOOD Music. Best Birthday gift ever. God thank you."

Live performances

D'banj is a regular performer for the annual ThisDay Africa Rising Music Festival. He has performed at Femi Kuti?s new Afrikan Shrine in Lagos as well as the Shrine Synchro System?s regular London Night at Cargo. He performed at the Black President Concert in memory of Fela?s art and legacy at the Barbican in London, and also alongside many international artists in Nigeria like Kelly Rowland at the 1st Edition of the MTV Africa Music Awards 2008 in Abuja, Nigeria. He was involved in one of the most anticipated events of the season ?Koko Concert?.

This concert consisted of D?Banj, Don Jazzy, Dr. SID, Wande Coal, D?Prince, new Mo Hits recruit Ikechukwu plus a few guest appearances including May7ven and comedian Tunde Ednut. The stage was set for a thrilling night ? the Koko effect is definitely LIVE in London as fans of D?Banj and Mo? Hits filled the O2 arena to capacity. As expected, the hits just kept coming and the momentum was sustained with on-stage antics from all the artists. In December, 2010, the Mo' Hits
All Stars brought Koko Concert to Lagos and D'banj kept belting out energetic performances that kept the audience screaming. Colleagues like M.I, eLDee, Jesse Jags, Wizkid also joined up on stage. There was also a global premiere of the highly anticipated Mr Endowed remix ft Snoop Dogg. On June 23, 2012, D'banj performed at the Hackney weekend to celebrate the London Olympics which was headlined by JayZ and Rihanna. He also performed alongside his friend and fellow Universal Music Group label mate Rita Ora on 30th August, 2012 at the SCALA London Live Music, Clubs and Arts Venue to celebrate the release of her debut album Ora.

Humanitarian work

D'banj is a founder of Koko Foundation for Youth and Peace Development. He is also Nigeria's first United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace.

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details
No Long Thing	Released: 2005 Label: Mo'Hits Records Formats: CD, digital download
RunDown Funk U Up	Released: 2006 Label: Mo'Hits Records Formats: CD, digital download
The Entertainer	Released: September 11, 2008 Label: Mo'Hits Records Formats: CD, digital download
Mr Endowed	Released: 2013 Label: GOOD Music / Mercury Records (UK) Formats: CD, digital download

|===Singles===

Year	Title	Peak chart positions	Album
		UK
2005	"Tongolo ft Tola HU"	?	No Long Thing
	"Socor"	?
	"Mobolowowon"	?
2006	"Run Down"	?	Rundown Funk U Up'
	"Why Me"	?
2007	"Move Your Body" (featuring Wande Coal)	?
2008	"Kimon"	?	The Entertainer
	"Olorun Maje"	?
	"Gbono Fele"	?
	"Entertainer"	?
	"Suddenly"	?
	"Fall In Love"	?
	"Igwe"	?
2009	"Scapegoat"	?	Mr Endowed
2010	"Mr Endowed"	?
	"Mr Endowed" (remix) (featuring Snoop Dogg)	?
2012	"Oliver Twist"	"bachelor" Guest appearances List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name Title Year Other performer(s) Album "The Morning"[11] 2012 Raekwon, Pusha T, Common, 2 Chainz, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi Cruel Summer Awards Won Most Promising Male Artist - KORA All African Awards 2005 Hip Hop World Revelation - HIP HOP WORLD AWARDS 2006 hosted by Hip Hop World Magazine Artist of the year - Nigerian Music Awards (NMA) 2006 Best Newcomer ? Tongolo fizz Awards 2006 Best African Act MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 Hottest Single of the year "Why me" NEA Awards 2007 Best Special Effects - 2007 Channel O Music Video Awards(?Why Me?) Artist of the Year - MTV Africa Music Awards 2008 Best Male MTV Africa Music Awards 2008 Listeners Choice - MTV Africa Music Awards 2008 Artist of the Year - MTV Africa Music Awards 2009 Best International Act - Africa BET Awards 2011 Best African Act ? MOBO Awards 2012 Nominated Best Newcomer ? Tongolo Channel O African Music Video Awards 2006 Best West African ? Tongolo (Channel O African Music Video Awards 2006) Best African Act ? MOBO Awards 2007 Best African Act ? MOBO Awards 2008 Best Live Performer ? MTV Africa Music Awards 2009[22] Best Male - MTV Africa Music Awards 2009[23] Best Performer - MTV Africa Music Awards 2009[23] See also African hip hop Nigerian hip hop BET Awards of 2011 References ^ a b c "D'Banj ? Full Biography". MTV Base. Retrieved 25 August 2010. ^ "MTV Africa Music Awards ? Winners". MTV Base. Retrieved 25 August 2010.[dead link] ^ a b Biography of D'banj. Mohitsrecords.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ Exclusive | D?Banj BET Interview [Full Video. that1960chick.com (2011-04-03). Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ Newspage Weekly, The Online Edition ? Get to know the Koko master. Newspageng.net. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ D'banj kokomaster (@iamdbanj) op Twitter. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&client=mv-google&v=hIyPvEh02z8&feature=related&nomobile=1 ^ http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/koko_concert_the_lagos_series_.csp ^ http://hitmagtv.com/2012/09/01/Dbanj-performs-with-rita-ora/ ^ Home. WFUNA (2011-10-14). Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ "Cruel Summer ? Various Artists > Overview". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved September 21, 2012. ^ Feature: KORA Awards 2005. BBC ^ HIP HOP WORLD AWARDS WINNERS. hiphopworldmagazine.com (2006-03-13). ^ Nigeria Music Awards 2006. nigeriamusicawards.com ^ Advertising and Marketing in South Africa. Bizcommunity.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ NEA Awards. Nigeriaentawards.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ Museke: Channel O Music Video Awards 2007 winners ^ a b Oladipo, Tomi. (2008-11-23) Nigerians sweep MTV Africa Awards. BBC News. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ Museke: MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) 2009 winners ^ BET Awards 11: Best International Act Africa. M.bet.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ a b Channel O Award nominees released. Bizcommunity.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-07. ^ MTV MAMA Music Awards with Zain nominees ^ a b Museke: MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) 2009 nominees

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