Don Jazzy is renowned for spotting, recruiting and nurturing young music talents.
On Tuesday, Don Jazzy surprised Nigerians by unveiling Bayanni, a new artist under his Marvin Records imprint.
Bayanni, real name Abimbola Oladokun, is a 25-year-old Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) undergraduate. He joins Marvin Records’ league of young artists such as Johnny Drille, Ladipoe, Rema, Ayra Starr, Magixx & Boy Spyce.
Don Jazzy, fondly called Baba K, is renowned for spotting and recruiting young music talents, nurturing them till they can stand on their feet.
Although Don Jazzy kept details of the artist under wraps, his unveiling was creative. Comedians Sabinus and Brainjotter are featured in the human generative science-themed experiment video.
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Shortly after his unveiling, Don Jazzy also announced the release of Bayanni’s EP “Bayanni”, which he executive-produced. The four tracks are titled ‘Family’, ‘Body’, ‘Ta Ta Ta’, and ‘Kala’.
BAYANNI
Bayanni, who has been a singer for quite a while, was discovered through social media.
Formerly known as Zhenoboy, Bayanni made covers of different songs and tagged the original owners of the music as well as other influencers in the country who could make it viral.
His unveiling shows his transformation from Zhenoboy to Bayanni, illustrated by Don Jazzy being the Lead Scientist (Prof), working on creating a superhuman in his laboratory.
In April 2021, he recorded and released a cover of Ckay’s Felony. On 14 October, he released the cover of ‘Jowo’ by Davido; on 19 October, he released the cover of Peru by Fireboy DML.
Bayanni’s EP is number 3 on the Apple Top Album chart. His single ‘Body’ is the most listened to song on the music streaming platform and has also gotten a music video to accompany it.
Twitter already verified the new artist’s account, and his Instagram account has surged. He now boasts 186 million Instagram followers. Don Jazzy also hinted that Bayanni would feature in the Mavin all-star anniversary album later in the year.
Social media as springboard for success
Most up-and-coming artists have discovered that curating content on social media can provide an avenue to get spotted and signed onto a record label. Artists create covers of trending songs and tag original owners, influencers and producers hoping to get noticed.
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Great producers like Don Jazzy D’Prince and Olamide have spotted talented music acts on social media.
Some have just been noticed and continued independently. Singers like Arya Starr and Boyspyce, among others, have gotten discovered through social media.
Arya Starr made covers of several songs by famous musicians on her Instagram. Don Jazzy discovered her and Rema around the same time.
Boy Spyce was on Don Baba’s radar after he saw his cover of WizKid’s Essence on social media.
Mr Eazi discovered Joeboy after he posted a video singing a cover to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of you. Mayorkun was turned into the ‘Mayor of Lagos’ after Davido saw Mayorkun’s cover of his song ‘The Money.
The straight shooter, Ruger, used to be a phone repairer who D’Prince noticed after he dropped a freestyle on Instagram. D’Prince spotted Rema after he saw his music covers on Instagram.
Fave SZN also shot into the spotlight after her verse on a freestyle went viral on social media.
On Thursday, Don Jazzy encouraged up-and-coming artists to keep posting their content. He would not have discovered his artists if they didn’t showcase their works on social media, especially Instagram.
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