8. Banky W – “I Begged To Sell CDs In US Salons To Survive; Went To Church To Eat Free Food”
Banky W is an R&B super star and producer today. He narrated his humble beginning, indeed his tale solidifies his emphasis on little beginning because to achieve his dream of becoming a music superstar, Banky had to take up to three jobs while also in university!
He said:
“I worked in fast foods outlets, clothing stores and as a knife salesman, selling knives from door to door. That way, I gathered money to pay for studio recording time. I was recording with a close friend at that time.
“After making that music, we printed a thousand CDs though we didn’t have any fan. I had one battered car that broke down virtually everywhere, so, we would print black and white posters, stick them on the sides of the car, sell from the car’s trunk and drive to salons to do marketing. We would walk to the owners of the salons, greet politely, and ask them to let us entertain their customers. Sometimes, some would kick us out and sometimes some would say yes. If told yes, after singing for a minute or two, we would sell our CDs to the customers!
“A lot of people see you on stage and see the success but do not know what you had to go through! I never had one really big break; it was always two steps forward and a couple backwards. But I just decided that I was going to make music work for me. That was why I moved on to a new salon each time any salon rejected me! I just kept going because I believe failure is when you give up. Albert Einstein said he tried a hundred times to make the light bulb.
When he was asked what kept him going during the 99 times, he said:
“I didn’t consider those 99 times as failure; rather, I considered them 99 ways that it didn’t work!’ We went about selling CDs and, on the days we couldn’t sell much, we would sit down and be broke together. I remember my friend was a member of a church that usually served food after service. So, on the days we didn’t sell CDs and were too broke to buy food, we would attend service in that church so we could pack rice and store in the fridge.”
9. Don Jazzy – Was Once A Security Guard ‘Michael’
Collins Ajereh born November 26, 1982, better known as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian Multi award-winning record producer, singer-songwriter,musician, former CEO of Nigerian record label Mo’ Hits Records founded in 2004 and current CEO of the Mavin Records label which he founded in May 2012, after his split up with childhood friend and Mo’Hits partner, D’banj.
Born in Umuahia in Abia state, his first signing was D’banj who was at that time also the Vice-President of the label and now President after split. Don Jazzy’s first full credit production work was in 2004 on Tongolo for Nigerian singer D’banj.
He went on to produce D’banj’s first studio album titled No Long Thing released in 2005. Michael Collins Ajereh was born in Umuahia and hail from Delta state. His family moved to Ajegunle city in Lagos state where he was raised, and graduated from Federal Government College Lagos. Michael Had always had a flair for music singing and playing the drums from the age of four. He developed a passion for the bass guitar at the age of 12, he went on study Business Management at the Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma in Edo state.
He moved to London in the United Kingdom in 2000 after his Uncle invited him to come play the drums for the neighborhood Church. Various odd jobs followed including working at McDonalds and as a security guard.
Already imbued with an intimate knowledge of traditional and percussion instruments, Don Jazzy further built on his musical knowledge during his UK stint. Finding fellow kindred sprits in the likes of Solek, JJC, Kas, The 419 squad and D’Banj, the gang would spend unrelenting hours practicing, recording and performing different types of music.
He has produced tracks for Dr SID, Wande Coal, D’Prince, Darey, Naeto C, Olakunle Excel et Zanga (O.A.U), Sauce Kid, Ikechukwu & Tiwa Savage.
He also collaborated with Jay-Z and Kanye West on the production of Lift Off, featuring Beyoncé on the album Watch The Throne, released on August 8, 2011. He recently was rated as the 36th. “Most powerful celebrity in Africa” according to Forbes.
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