Artists pay black tax in a plethora of ways. From doling out cash via online giveaways to sharing money while on the streets or at performances. Beyond the monetary giveout, artists also support talented individuals. After making it and being known in the music industry, some of them later signed artists as a form of empowerment. While only a small fraction of them have been able to optimally manage a talent, however, this doesn’t diminish their impact in the music industry.
In the list below, Emmanuel Daraloye takes a look at some of the artists who have signed artists and successfully managed them to stardom.
Olamide: Since the founding of Yahoo Boy No Laptop (YBNL) in 2012, the label has continued to take talent from obscurity to stardom. Although there has been major conversation about Olamide’s ability to manage talent with some of the artists voicing out via interviews and online posts, there have been few great stories within the last decade. Adekunle Gold, Lil-Kesh, Fireboy, Asake and others are prime examples of Olamide’s success story.
Don Jazzy: “Don baba Jay”, for those who followed Mo’hit exploits in mid 2000s, Don Jazzy was a major figure in their historic run of albums and artistry. By the time Mohit disbanded in 2012, Don Jazzy launched Mavin nl records a few months later with a new crop of unknown artists with a return of few old ones. Korede Bello, Reekado Banks, Di’ja were some of the artists signed at the inception. With Don Jazzy’s brilliant music business acumen, it was not surprising when they made remarkable progress in the music industry before they left. The new crop of Mavin artists 2.0 like Boy Spyce, Bayanni, Magixx are also making impressive runs.
D’ Prince: Not the quintessential example of a top artiste, yet D’Prince made his mark before he left showbiz for talent management. Now the brain behind Jonzing world. The label discovered music stars like Rema, Ruger, Gdzilla, Glorious and Bagetti. The first two are already a known figure in the music industry while the rest are still finding their feet in the industry.
Banky W: Mr. Wellington himself. The man who gave the world Wizkid, Skales and perhaps brought back Niyola from musical wildernesses. Till the journey ended, Banky W showered his metttles by managing these talents to an appreciable level before they all left. In the 2010s, Empire Mate Entertainment (EME) was one of the most sought after labels in Nigeria. Banky W made it happen.
Mr Eazi: Legend has it that Mr. Eazi is more of a businessman than a sonic artistes. He seems to have enjoyed more successes with his emPawa initiative than with his sonic voyage, that’s a good topic for later day. emPawa, an incubating initiative has been responsible for the talent management of artists like Joeboy, Fave. They have also offered monetary support to Lady Donli, GuiltyBeatz, Camidoh, Goodgirl La, and many more. These artists are spread across Africa and the United Kingdom.
MI Abaga: Perhaps, the greatest African rapper, MI Abaga has paid his dues. After conquering the music industry with his cadence and brilliant flow, he switched to the business side as he led the Chocolate City Music Group for a number of years. He spearheaded the career development of artists like Dice Ailes, Koker, Ckay, etc.
Reminisce & Timaya: The success rate of both artists as a talent manager is low yet they made an impact. Reminisce had Oladips, while Timaya was behind King Perryy. These artists had an appreciable level of success before they departed.
Burna Boy and Wizkid: Two of the greatest artists of their generation yet talent management has been a big problem for them. Their record label has only been able to actualize just one artists dream of stardom. Burna Boy’s Spaceship were behinde Bnxn for a minute while Wizkid sparingly gave support to Starboy Terri. Bnxn made more successful runs when he left Spaceship while Starboy Terri is still in the wilderness.
Davido: Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) list of artiste increases almost on a daily basis until 2023. Either through partnership or signing, these artists have benefited from Davido’s benevolence. Artists like Mayorkun, Peruzzi, Dremo, Liya and others already moved on to other label stroke talent management companies after DMW showed them to the world. Right now, Logos Olori and Morrayvey are the artists signed to the label. Slowly, both of them are becoming known in the music industry.
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