Renowned Nigerian music executive Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy, has expressed the view that Afrobeats artists and producers created their best work during the era when they lived together in record label houses equipped with studios and shared facilities.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Crea8torium podcast, Don Jazzy shared a behind-the-scenes account of how a spontaneous moment at the Mo’Hits mansion gave birth to D’Banj’s hit song “Olorun Maje.”
He recalled that the song’s idea originated from D’Prince and their manager at the time, Sunday Are, following a minor disagreement over D’Prince’s reluctance to attend radio interviews.
According to Don Jazzy, Sunday Are came to report the issue to him, but he was too engrossed in studio work to pay attention and directed him to D’Banj instead.
After D’Banj confronted D’Prince over the matter, D’Prince returned to the studio and, in a seemingly casual moment, began humming a melody that perfectly matched the beat Don Jazzy was working on at the time.
Recognizing the magic in that moment, Don Jazzy urged him to hold on, and the song was born from there. He also recalled that another track, “You Bad, You Want It,” came about in a similarly spontaneous fashion when Dr. Sid walked into the studio and began freestyling over a beat he was creating.
Don Jazzy acknowledged that the music creation process today is quite different from what it was during his era.
He noted, however, that his own approach has remained unchanged, as he still enters the studio with a specific artist in mind when crafting a beat.
He concluded by encouraging the new generation of creatives to spend more time in each other’s company, as doing so helps build greater synergy and cohesion in their work.
