MULTIPLE PAN AFRICAN AND INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNER D’BANJ
EMBARKS ON A NEW CHAPTER IN HIS ILLUSTRIOUS MORE-THAN-20-MILLION-RECORDS-SOLD
CAREER WITH SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT – IN ADDITION INKS A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
DEAL FOR DB RECORDS IN NIGERIA INCLUDING A MULTI-ALBUM, FULL MANAGEMENT,
WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT WITH EMERGING STAR AND SONGWRITER KAYSWITCH
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 very excited 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.
“I’m incredibly blessed and energized being part of this
powerful family and of the endless opportunities this will provide to my music.
Being part of the Sony Music family has now increased my family ten fold and I
can now focus on my music and my fans and taking it to a whole new level and to
all corners of not only Africa but across the planet!” noted KaySwitch.
KaySwitch ‘D Produkt’ (Born as Kehinde Oladotun Oyebanjo),
began his journey into music in secondary school, where he used to rap with his
friends for fun. Rapping gradually became a part of him and later singing and
songwriting. Influenced by iconic stars such as Sizzla Kalonji, Jay-Z, Talib
Kweli, Youssou N’dour, his greatest musical influence was his older brother,
D’Banj, who played a major role in KaySwitch’s love and passion for music and
entertainment. KaySwitch ‘D Produkt’ spent a lot of time with his brother
D’Banj and gradually developed his own musical style and direction, but it was
not until his first encounter with the mic in 2005 while recording a track with
his friend Dr. Frabz in the studio that he decided to take up music
professionally.
His past affiliation with Mohits Records, formed by his
older brother, D’Banj and Don Jazzy, gave him the time to develop his skills in
the studio, and become a highly skilled recording and performing artist. From
the US to the UK, India, Asia, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Turkey,
Dubai and many more countries around the world, KaySwitch ‘D Produkt’ has
toured with his brother D’Banj and also performed at major shows such as the
This Day Show, Star Mega Jam, Koko concert and the Calabar festival.
His music is a reflection of his calm and urban style as
well as his eccentricity. KaySwitch believes in being the best in whatever he
does in life and looking outside the box by creating something unexpected and
different. He lives by the saying “send on” which he interprets as “bringing on
blessing and good things to come”. KaySwitch ‘D Produkt’ is most definitely a
force to be reckoned with in the music world.
The signing of D’banj and KaySwitch is part of Sony Music
Entertainment Africa’s belief that Africa is an important & exciting music
development frontier. The company has set its sights on becoming the primary
partner of the best Africa has to offer and has confidence that through such
partnerships, African musicians can achieve new Pan African and Global success.
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