Artist: Dbanj
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 also moved to India. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. 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 was introduced to the harmonica by his late older brother, Femi Oyebanjo, who died in a plane crash at age seventeen.[3] With D'banj's love for music being greater than his parents' military aspirations, he struggled for his parents' approval; this can be best heard through an album track, All Da Way from his debut album.
In April, 2011, D'banj was interviewed by BET's April Woodard. The interview titled 'Welcome to America' [4] was a platform for D'banj to introduce himself to the American Music Industry and audience which he stated he was going to get into. In the interview, D'banj spoke on a wide range of topics like; his music, artistes he'd like to work with, his parents, Mo'Hits Records, his love life and his role models such as Kanye West, Usher, Jay-Z, R.kelly etc among other things. The interview lasted 30 minutes.
As a tribute to his mentor Fela, D'banj brings Afrobeat to life and into the 21st century with breathless enthusiasm as well as a good dose of humour. His songs are based on his life, often hilarious but with a deeper meaning which documents the struggle of a young African trying to achieve his dreams. He performs in Yoruba, English and Pidgin English. All his albums are solely produced by Don Jazzy and himself.
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