Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo popularly known as D’banj is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, musician, entrepreneur and TV host.
Background│Family
D’banj was born on the 9th of June, 1980 in Zaria, Kaduna State. His father was an artillery officer and a church signatory. Owing to the nature of his father’s job that came with transfers and relocations, D’banj’s family moved very often.
Because his father planned for him to join the military too he sent D’banj off to a Nigerian military school as early as when he was 11. D’banj however had different plans for himself and different inclinations which he bagan to show when he started playing his signature instrument- the harmonica when he was 14. His late brother- Femi Oyebanjo taught him how to play it. His brother sadly died in a tragic plane crash and because his brother’s harmonica was one of the possessions successfully retrieved the crash site, it held more sentimental value for D’banj and hence he became more devoted to learning how to play it.
D’banj went on to study mechanical engineering at the Lagos State University but owing to the many numerous strikes Nigerian universities most times embark on he transferred to the United Kingdom. And as fate would have it, he met Don Jazzy there.
At the time Don Jazzy was a struggling songwriter and producer, fuelled by their mutual interests their friendship grew and morphed into a musical business alliance.
They both returned to Nigeria in 2014, the same year D’banj released Tongolo which proved to be a major hit that pushed him to limelight. He went on to release other albums and singles. With each release he solidified his stardom and amassed more fans.
However due to irreconcilable differences, their record label- Mo’Hits split in 2012. D’banj moved on and formed his own record label- DB Records.
And although critics and fans alive thought that perhaps D’banj’s career would go on downside after the split, it did not. He continued to soar and drop even more enticing songs.
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Accolades
As expected of someone this talented and bankable, D’banj has bagged many awards in the industry. Some of which include:
- Most Promising Male Artist at The Kora Awards in 2005.
- Revelation of the Year at the Hip Hop World Awards in 2006
- Artist of the Year at the Nigerian Music Awards in 2006
- UK Role Model Award at the Delta State University Awards in 2006
- Best New Comer award at the Channel O Music Awards in 2006
- Song of the Year award at the Hip Hop World Awards in 2007
- Artist of the Year Award at the Global Excellence Awards in 2007
- Artist of the Year Award at the City People Awards in 2007
- African Artist if the Year Award at the Ghana Music Awards in 2007
- Best Afro Pop of the Year Award at the Nigerian Music Awards US in 2007
- Hottest Single of the Year Award at the Nigerian Music Awards US in 2007
- Best Special Effects Award at the Channel O Music Awards in 2007
- Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2007
- Musician of the Year at the Future Awards in 2008
- Artist of the Year at the Uniport Awards in 2008
- Artist of the Year at the Hip Hop World Awards in 2008
- He also stands to be Nigeria’s first United Nations Youth Ambassador For Peace
D’banj was also the first Nigerian to be featured on E!
Net Worth
D’banj’s net worth is estimated to be N5 billion.
