Dapo
Daniel Oyebanjo
(popularly known as D'banj, born June 9, 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and businessman. 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 BET Awards 2011, and Best-selling African Artist at the 2014 World Music Awards.
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 Afrobeat 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.
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.
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, KaySwitch, 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".
In June 2011, D'banj was signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D
Music record label as artiste. 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."
After several months of speculation and wild rumors, ace
producer, Don Jazzy confirmed via his Twitter account the breakup of Mo'Hits.
After the breakup, Don Jazzy, D'Prince, Dr SID, Wande Coal started Mavin Records while D'banj founded DB Records and as
expected, he signed his younger brother Kayswitch to the label alongside two
producers, Jaysleek and Deevee.
On June 23, 2012, D'banj performed at the Hackney Weekend to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was headlined by Jay-Z and Rihanna. He performed alongside his friend, and fellow Universal Music Group label mate, Rita Ora on 30 August 2012 at the SCALA London Live Music, Clubs and Arts Venue to celebrate the release of her debut album Ora. He also performed at the AFCON 2013 closing ceremony held in South Africa.
In November 2013, D’banj resigned a multi-million Naira
deal with Globacom, the company he parted ways with in 2010.
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.