Don Jazzy Recounts How Collaborative Living Between Producers And Singers Produced Afrobeats' Greatest Records 

Music executive and producer Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy, has recounted how artistes and producers living together was responsible for some of Afrobeats' greatest songs.

The MAVINS boss, while speaking in a recent episode of the Crea8torium podcast, posited that collaborative living at the time sparked creativity, and easy fusion and creative flow.

He also referenced D’Banj’s ‘Olorun Maje’ and Dr Sid’s ‘You Bad, You Want It’ as examples of hits that emanated from studio interactions.

Don Jazzy, however, maintained that the creative flow has been distorted since several artistes now live differently, emphasizing the importance of collaborative living in producing good records and improving creative flow.

He said: “I have a theory that says that most of the great music that we made in Afrobeats was when all of us were living together. For instance, D’Banj’s ‘Olorun Maje,’ the idea was from D’Prince and Sunday Are, who was our manager then.

“Sunday Are was complaining that D’Prince didn’t want to go to radio interviews. He came to report to me but I didn’t even listen because I was working in the studio. So, I told him to go and report to D’Banj because he is like a military man. After he reported, D’Banj started shouting at D’Prince. Then D’Prince now came back into the studio where I was with Sunday Are and pretended like he was dusting some equipment and then began to sing, ‘Some people they want make I cry, some people they want make I die, why? Olorun Maje oooo.’

The lyrics just fell precisely to the beat I was making at that time. I told him to pause that I like it. That was how the song was born. Also, the song ‘You bad, you want it’ was from Dr Sid, who randomly walked into the studio and started rhyming to a beat I was making."

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