Bangalee, the Master of Entertainment

I told you before, Bangalee listen. Am D’Banj Oshe, Mogbe, file…
You all know him as Kokomaster, the entertainer, the musician magician. But wait, before we go, who is he?

Born on 9th of June in Zaria, the northern part of Nigeria, to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a devout church dignitary businesswoman who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo is a talented musician, entertainer and record label boss. Oyebanjo adopted the stage name D’banj, a combination of his first name, Dapo, and his surname, Oyebanjo.

Starting out from an early age with the introduction to the harmonica by his late older brother, Femi Oyebanjo, DBanj’s love for music defiled his parents’ military aspirations for him. He ventured into music fully while he struggle for his parents’ approval, which he later earned through consistency seen in his music career. His debut album, All Da Way told the story of his struggle and approval.

He continued to release good songs for the citizen of his country, giving them lyrics to always chant, and as many will call it, slangs to mouth! D’banj’s debut success led to collaborations with other artists, including Dare Art Alade and Ikechukwu. He went on to co-found a record label ‘Mo-Hits’ with Don Jazzy where superstars such as D’Prince, Dr SID, Wande Coal where part of. The record labels went on to enjoy a good time during its time. But like they said, not all good things last forever.
The record label broke up and Don Jazzy, D’Prince, Dr SID, Wande Coal started Mavin Records while D’banj founded DB Records where he signed his younger brother Kayswitch to the label alongside two producers, Jaysleek and Deevee.

And yes, he been widely recognized, even on a global level. 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, Best International Act: Africa at the 2011 BET Awards, and Best-selling African Artist at the 2014 World Music Awards, Evolution award at the 2015 MTV Africa Musical awards.
D’banj is best known internationally for his 2012 summer hit “Oliver Twist”, an uptempo dance fusion of Afrobeats and electronic dance music that topped the African charts in 2011 and was a top 10 hit in the UK singles chart in 2012 reaching No. 2 on the UK R&B chart.

Aside from being a musician, DBanj has done a lot to give back to humanity. D’banj is the founder of Koko Foundation for Youth and Peace Development. He was also Nigeria’s first United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace. Dbanj is a ONE campaign ambassador; he released the song “Cocoa Na Chocolate” in support of agriculture investments.

In 2015, he was applauded by World Bank Chief, Jim Yong Kim for using his music power and high celebrity status to bringing attention to serious and critical issues in Africa with special focus on agriculture and poverty alleviation.
In 2015 D’banj released the video to “Extraordinary” to raise awareness on gender equality and women’s empowerment. World bank endorsed the song as a song for women awareness.