The artiste D’banj and music producer Don Jazzy are two of the most influential names in the Nigerian music industry in the last fifteen years. As of today, they have a combined over twelve million followers on Instagram, which is just four million short of that of the United States President, Donald Trump. But despite that level of clout, last year (2019), both D’banj and Don Jazzy had a rude awakening. It was their least productive year – they churned out the lowest number of hit songs. In retrospect, If we begin to judge by the volume of hit records they produced while with the music group Mo’Hits Records, one does not need rocket science to realize that both entertainers became less inventive in the last twelve months. So the question now is, is Don Jazzy and D’banj in need of music revival or reunion? Do they need to reevaluate their music production and talent search strategies? Does D’banj and Don Jazzy need to reunite?

Words by Sesan Adeniji

To give a perspective to reasons why the year 2019 was one of the less prolific for both parties, we will need to analyze all they did and all that contributed to that low point. Having in mind that Don Jazzy and D’banj were like hit songs machine from the moment they made a foray into the industry in 2004, it’s not out of order to wonder what went wrong last year. This article’s thesis could be the needed impetus they require to reclaim their territory in 2020. Since the moment both parted ways dissolving Mo’Hits Records, several fans have begged for their reunion, owing to the fact that D’banj hasn’t been able to find his magic touch and that the prospect of a reunion concert could be a goldmine. Both fended off that argument, soldiered on and, winning accolades till the wheels fell off in 2019.

Looking at the music producer Don Jazzy who is now the Mavin Records executive, for those who saw his transformation from the stage name Sexy Don Jazzy to Don Baba Jay, they knew he’s a hard worker that loves to be in the thick of things. From his days performing at restaurants in the Northwest area of London as the backup singer and keyboardist for the band Solek Crew to later become the in-house producer for JJC’s Blackbone Music, he always wanted to churn out sounds that are part of the trends. From Mo’Hits to Mavin Records, over the years, he achieved that until 2019 when the mass exodus of his best artistes reached its climax. When the artiste Wande Coal exited, the void he left behind wasn’t that obvious until Reekado Banks left in December 2018. By the time Tiwa Savage bid farewell in May 2019 signing with Universal Music Group, then, there was no single musician (Johnny Drille, LadiPoe, Crayon, Dr Sid, and Korede Bello) with a hit song at Mavin Records. Although Rema came along to save the day, it’s worth mentioning that he’s not a direct signee to Mavin, just the way Crayon is not. Rema is signed to Jonzing World – a partnering company with Mavin. So with regards to releasing hit songs, as a music producer and as a record label executive, 2019 was not a productive year for Don jazzy.

When it comes to D’banj, the now executive at DB Records and Cream Records, with regards to most of the songs he has released since parting with Don Jazzy, it’s hard to dispute the fact that he might have arguably lost his mojo. Most of his songs published in 2019 like ‘Shy’ and ‘Everything Is Ok’ were below par.

Although his stage performances are second to none, that may soon count for nothing if he does not release a hit single very soon. With regards to recording songs, he continues to put in the same efforts, but that magic combination he once had with Don Jazzy seems to have disappeared. Luckily for him, some of the timeless classic songs he published over the years are still covering for his lack of inventiveness in recent times. D’banj is still a king in his own right, but the value placed on his kingship is dissipating. With the obvious fact that Don Jazzy did not produce any hit song in 2019, neither does his Mavin Record independently have an A-list artiste signed under them while on the other hand, D’banj also did not have any hit single in 2019. With that in mind, is it fair to say that each of them needs a music revival or they need to reunite to produce something magical in this year 2020? The music industry is arguably fast-moving pass them – there’s an urgent cry that both entertainers need to get with the program.

Just imagine the buzz that comes with the news that they have produced the number-one hit song in the country or both have reunited for the birth of Mo’Hits 2.0. Such information will break the Internet. D’banj and Don Jazzy are genii. They can produce hit music again. But we should not allow their antics on social media to become the smokescreen preventing us from questioning their lack of inventiveness on the music front( when it comes to producing hit records). Someone might raise the question with regards to maybe their priorities changed. Yes, that might happen but the goal is still the same. To release hit records as an artist or a record label executive.