Is The Don Jazzy Brand Truly Dying? – A Rejoinder To Bayo Omisore
Olamide and Don Jazzy, two artistes that started the drama at the Headies 2015.
According to Bayo Omisore’s piece on The NET (which he titled ‘Kill
Don Jazzy’), the Don Jazzy brand has served its purpose and should be
rested at this point as it no longer appears relevant in the scheme of
things.
Read an excerpt of the piece below:
“So to start with, I am not a hater. I do not wish any evil on
Don Jazzy or Michael Collins. If anything, I can be categorized as an
interested onlooker when I want to be passive or an invested businessman
active in the Nigerian music industry for the past 18 years.
“Finally, I understand the workings of PR. Hell, I handled the PR
of Mo’ Hits in 2006 when the only talent was D’banj. Back then,
Wande was a dancer, Dr. Sid (I plead the Fifth) and D’Prince was a
model. I do not wish death on Michael Collins. I however think the Don
Jazzy brand is dead. Or should be rested. I’ll tell you why.
“Do you remember Don Jazzy? Remember that Soundcity advert. I
remember the first day I met D’banj and Don Jazzy. This must have been
either late 2004 or sometime in 2005. I had been in the business as a
journo for a few years by then so I knew them. We had done a story on
Mr. Solek at Hip Hop World in 2003. Jazzy had worked as the keyboardist
of the band but he had moved on to music production working under JJC.
He was very quiet; never uttered a word. You could have been forgiven
for thinking he was mute.
“Do you remember Don Jazzy? Remember that Soundcity advert. I
remember the first day I met D’banj and Don Jazzy. This must have been
either late 2004 or sometime in 2005. I had been in the business as a
journo for a few years by then so I knew them. We had done a story on
Mr. Solek at Hip Hop World in 2003. Jazzy had worked as the keyboardist
of the band but he had moved on to music production working under JJC.
He was very quiet; never uttered a word. You could have been forgiven
for thinking he was mute.
“After that, the communication from the Mo’ Hits camp was that
Don Jazzy was the boss. He was being driven around town by a university
graduate who earns an enviable salary working in an oil company (Fifth).
Jazzy didn’t speak in public. He never granted interviews. He asked
simply that whatever you wanted to offer to him should be offered to his
‘children’. (Note that he had been calling his artistes his children
since the Mo’ Hits days. Nobody questioned it then because this is the
Don we’re talking about here.) In fact, once, I was at the crib of one
of the Mo’ Hits people, and he told me I had to leave because Jazzy was
coming. I was genuinely curious and somewhat impressed. Impressed
because they kept the charade going even off-camera. Curious because,
well, so could it be it wasn’t a charade after all?
“Remember all those award ceremonies where someone from Mo’ Hits
would win an award and spend half the speech time praise-and-worshipping
Don Jazzy? Or when Don Jazzy himself would win an award for best
production and his wards would mount the stage to receive on his behalf
even while he was seated in the front row in the same building. Guys,
let’s be honest, these are the images of Don Jazzy that made him the
brand he is today. Those days when he only worked with his Mo’ Hits
people and a literal handful of associates.
Olamide and Don Jazzy reconcile. Credit: Instagram
“In the real world, a don is a crime boss, crime lord, mob boss,
kingpin, criminal mastermind; a person in charge of a criminal
organization. He typically has absolute or nearly absolute control over
his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his
ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his
influence, and profits from the criminal endeavours in which his
organization engages. Replace the word ‘crime’ with music and you have
Don Jazzy.
“Fast forward to January 1 2016. Now I am not interested in who
was right or who was wrong. For me, the happenings of the early morning
January 2 2016 made the Headies. They set the tone for the year. This is
entertainment dammit.
“If you ask me, Don Jazzy had no business speaking to Olamide. I
have seen enough Mafia movies to know that no Don that understands his
worth would get so emotional as to entertain the thought of passing such
a message on a public stage. That job is left to his Consigliere, in
this case Dr. Sid, who is already disliked intensely for his supposed
role in the Mo’ Hits breakup via the leaked tape. People would have
talked. But Jazzy would have maintained his self-respect. He opened
himself to ridicule the minute he opened his mouth on that stage.
“In truth, while we loved and respected Don Jazzy for his
mystique, his music-making prowess and his relationship with D’banj,
there was only so much he could achieve as a brand. However, this new
guy is fun, is funny, seems to be humble, is extremely generous and, as
such, is an endorsement magnet getting business from an endless list of
companies. As it should be. As a businessman, it makes every sense for
Michael Collins to be this new guy with access to millions of
advertising dollars. But he cannot expect to eat his cake and have it.
Something has to give!
“In conclusion, I think that as the head writer in this story,
Mr. Collins needs to kill the Don Jazzy character. It has made him money
and fame. But perhaps its time to quit the ‘mafia’ and live a normal
life.”
As unusual as this sounds, you can feel the writer’s soul in the
piece. You can see that he wrote the above lines from a deep part of
him, a part he has long yearned to dig into and extract details from.
And it is somewhat clear why he wrote in that train of thought.
But a lot of people do not buy his ideas here. In fact, many are of
the opinion he is seeking some relevance in an entertainment industry
that has since left him behind. And no matter what he writes or says,
truth is the industry has moved on while he is still stuck in the past.
One of such persons is Efe Iyare, an entertainment critic, who holds
that the entertainment industry in Nigeria should ‘Save Don Jazzy and
Kill Bayo Omisore’ instead.
Iyare thinks a a large part of what Omisore writes about in his opinion piece are lamentations which are unneeded.
Alternatively, he writes that Omisore is wrong for throwing stones when in fact he lives in a glass house.
Read Efe Iyare’s rejoinder to Bayo Omisore below:
“I have the uncanny habit of pointing out snakes when I see them.
Something about trying to paint others bad doesn’t sit well with me.
I’m not one to easily pen down my thoughts on what is considered
controversial or ‘trending’, but for some reason, I wasn’t about to let
this go.
“On Jan 15, 2016, I came across an interesting article written by a certain Bayo Omisore, titled ‘Kill Don Jazzy’.
“In the article, he laments on the Don Jazzy brand without
necessarily praising him, rather trying to find some baseless
correlation between Don Jazzy and the ideologies of the Mafia. I
couldn’t entirely make sense of the rants, other than trying to read
through the blurred lines of a washed up PR manager clinging on to some
relevance in today’s Nigerian Music Industry.
“The article with its fascinating headline might have bought Bayo
his 15 minutes of fame and Twitter trend, but sadly, trends don’t
translate to cash.
“Mr. Omisore has spent a significant number of years in the
Nigerian Music Industry, but has failed to grow and establish a
formidable brand. Let me put it this way, Bayo Omisore is a VHS cassette
in a Blu Ray industry.
“He boasts of once being the PR person for the defunct Mo’Hits
label, a role he held more than 8 years ago. He moved on to several
other unknown positions in obscure labels, before reportedly landing a
lucrative role as manager to renowned African act, 2Face Idibia, a role
he relentlessly bragged about in the industry. But the people know Efe
Omoregbe would actually go on to be the brainchild that rejuvenated
2Face’s brand image and career.
“It was not Omisore’s place to speak on Jazzy’s rejoinder to Olamide at the Headies award, throwing jabs at his ‘Don’ persona.
“Personally, Don Jazzy who was clearly upset at the ceremony,
reacted in a highly professional manner, and even referred to the YBNL
founder as ‘Egbon’, a Yoruba term that connotes ‘Elder’.
“More importantly, both parties (Olamide and Don Jazzy) have since sheathed their swords and moved on.
“Omisore claims the ‘Don Jazzy’ brand is ‘dead and should be
rested’. But he should have taken a sober reflection at his past career
before uttering such nonsense. He failed with Mo’hits and got kicked
out. Mo’hits went on to have successful years until their disbandment.
He somehow also failed to provide the much-needed platform for Yemi
Alade to cling to superstardom, until Effizy Entertainment signed the
songstress and did just that. He is now currently managing talented Efa,
who despite being talented is still trying to break into the music
scene.
READ ALSO: What Olamide Allegedly Did After Beef With Don Jazzy Will Surprise You
“In his article, Omisore is proud to claim he has been part of
the industry for 18 years, he however failed to mention his achievements
or accolades. Let him continue to delude himself as a PR manager, when
the likes of Chin Okeke, Osagie Alonge, Henry Igwe, Ogaga Sakpaide
(Ogagus), Tega Oghene (Tega Mavin), and Osagie Osarenkhoe are young
minds setting the trend in today’s entertainment scene, overshadowing
what is left of the reputation or influence Mr.Omisore wields.
“But here is a parting word of advice – whatever you do in life,
wherever you are and whatever position you occupy or previously
occupied, never throw stones if you live in a glass house. I know this
could be sometimes difficult and all that, but just try your best not
to. You will be glad you restrained. Peace!”
This said, what do you make of the whole situation? Do you agree with Omisore’s logic or do you think Iyare was more spot on?
Whatever the case, the entertainment industry in Nigeria is fledgling
and steady climbing the ladders in a bid to take over the world. And we
sure love this.
This rejoinder was sent in by Naij.com
contributor Efe Iyare – a Marketing Communications professional and
entertainment critic with an avid love for movies, music and
entertainment. He is currently taking a MSc. course in Marketing
Communications from the United States. He is @iyareplaymode on Twitter.
