'Dedayo - Unity Anthem

Fast-Rising Singer, 'Dedayo comes through with another chart-topping single titled "Unity Anthem". 

As the Nation experiences hate speeches and agitation for the creation of Biafra, 'Dedayo sends a strong message through "Unity Anthem" imploring all to close ranks and come together as we celebrate 57 Years of Independence. He is assisted on the song by fellow vocalists, Ayo, Toro, Niel and Elijah as they all pass the message of Unity and Togetherness.

 "The storm can only make the Eagle Stronger!"

 The song “Unity Anthem” is embedded with a strong message for unity and oneness and coming at a time when the country celebrates its 57th Independence. It is a must listen as the Nation celebrates 57 Years of Independence.

Download Unity Anthem

5 Lessons Upcoming Artistes Need To Learn From Wizkid - Latest9ja

Wizkid, the biggest African artiste has gone through a lot, the hustles and struggles. Here we draw out 5 lessons upcoming aristes can learn from him.

The race to make it big in the entertainment is indeed an uphill task. Everyone wants to be a one-hit wonder and blow immediately just like Humblesmith. Several challenges abound for upcoming artistes especially for those without a record label. Dropping singles every month, collaborating with other artistes on joint tracks, performing for a meagre pay at shows/concerts, appealing to streets and radio DJs to play your song, settling the bloggers who will publicize your brand, it's really a long way to stardom. Wizkid was in those shoes too even though he started early as Lil Prinz at the age of 11, he was in the category of 'legendary hustlers' as he was a studio rat together with Siri(remember him in Ojuelegba?) in the famous MoDogg studio. However, Wizkid's ascension from an upcoming artiste to arguably Africa's best exploit to the world is extraordinary yet surprising. Wizkid has broken and set new records in the industry. He's the perfect example to follow. Virtually everyone wants to be like the Starboy. However, before you begin your journey, these are lessons to learn from the Baba Nla;


1. Work hard: Wizkid's first album is a must have for every upcoming artiste. No wonder it ranks high among the best albums in Nigeria. The album is detailed with the struggles Wizkid faced while he was an upcoming artiste, how people scorned him then but wanted to associate when he had made it. Especially in Oluwa Loni and Wad Up, he revealed how he used to wear one shirt, one jean, hustling on the streets, hoping to meet a benefactor one day. He did free shows, went to studios before OJB took interest in him and he eventually laid the chorus on M.I's track, "fast money, fast cars". As an upcoming artiste, never rest on your oars, greatness is not achieved in a day.

2. Networking: Relationships with people don't happen immediately. you have to meet with people who are friends with them just to be close with them. Wizkid would definitely have networked his way to meeting OJB Jezreel. OJB was one of the major producers back then due to his relationship with 2face and the whole of Kennis Music. Even now, Wizkid is still networking. Skepta referred Wizkid to Drake, his relationship with TY Dollarsign granted him a  feature with Future and they're already on tour. Upcoming artistes, learn to network with influential people in the entertainment industry. Theindustry is a wide place, there are a lot of people to network with. Make friends with the big players in the industry.

3. Leave your Comfort Zone: The man would leave his family and cling unto his wife and they shall become one. Who remembers this saying? Well, one of the reasons why Wizkid is at the top of the game right now is because he decided it was time to establish his own franchise. It was time to leave the local terrain. Wizkid might have never had that kind of international exposure if he was still under EME. Could have remained local like Davido. His decision to stand alone gave him the opportunity to surf the globe, trying to gain some international connect. That's why Kiss Daniel and Reekado are finding it hard under their labels because they can't make their decisions alone, kind of like been controlled.

4. Evolve Constantly: Wizkid never started out as an afro-beat artiste, he was actually doing some lovey-dovey songs and RnB. This was evident in his superstar album. Only few had a little afro-beat sounds. But after a period of self-discovery, he tapped into the world of afro-beat with Jaiye Jaiye and since assumed the post of the "New King Of Afro-Beat" . He replaced Sam Klef as his official producer. Upcoming artistes should never fail to explore, don't just streamline your music to only one genre, evolve, tweak your sound and let your fans feel your versatility.

5. Develop A Wonderful Relationship With The Fans: One thing that stood Wizkid out when he was an upcoming artiste was that he had a wonderful relationship with the fans. That has been helping him in his career. Maybe that's why he's the most followed Nigerian on Twitter. He interacts well with them, preaches goodwill messages, makes them laughs(who remembers when he cooked watery indomie and posted it on snapchat?), drops hints of songs to be released and he's also generous.
So, upcoming artistes, it's left to you. To make it in the entertainment industry is an uphill task. You have to be unique and extraordinary. You have to please the fans as they're your customers, they're the ones who will buy your songs and promote it as well. Your music has to appeal to them. You need God as well as a good record label and management. Or else you can blow and eventually unblow like Ice Prince.
Apart from these reasons, what else do you think we can learn from Wizkid? Have your say in the comments box.

• Otolorin Olabode is a creative and an amazing content writer. He's a contributor to Huffington Post, YNaija, Pulse.ng and Omojuwa He can be reached via Email: otolorinolabode@gmail.com and also through +2348064717949

Nigerian Producer Sarz: The Brain Behind Wizkid's Hit Tracks - Latest9ja

Sarz; The Legendary Hit Maker

Sarz, fondly caled O1S, an acronym that stands for Only 1 Sarz is a Nigerian Producer and beat maker whose talent stands out from the vast majority of producers that exist nationwide. Known with several artistes, he has produced for Olamide, Reminisce, Patoranking, Banky W, JahBless and lately Wizkid. His relationship with Wizkid dates back to 2012 when EME released their first studio album and Sarz produced an hit single off the album titled "Dance For Me" which featured the Starboy.  Few months later, Wizkid paid a visit to Sarz's studio where he recorded "Beat of Life" which topped charts and gained rave reviews from fans who fell in love with the afro-beat track. Later on, Sarz produced arguably the best song of 2013, Jaiye Jaiye which featured Femi Kuti. An afro-beat song, Wizkid did enough justice to the song with fans scoring it a high. In 2015, after the success of his sophomore album, Ayo, Wizkid released a single titled Sound It which was produced by Sarz. Typical like all other Wizkid songs, Sound It was also majorly afro-beat. It is safe to say that Sarz seems to be the only producer on the continent who understands what Wizkid truly wants in the afro-beat genre.

 In 2016, Wizkid started to record his third studio album, Sounds From The Other Side. With the help of Efya and Dj Maphorisa, they all began to work for this major project, Wizkid, Sarz and DJ Maphorisa were all accorded production credits on the best song in 2016, One Dance. It was rumoured back in Nigeria when an affiliate of Wizkid, Seyi Shay said in an interview that Wizkid sold One Dance to Drake. She further alleged that Wizkid recorded One Dance with the help of other producers which included Sarz. Apart from One Dance, Sarz also produced the smash hit, Come Closer which featured Canadian Rapper, Drake. Sarz's exploits cannot go unnoticed as he is responsible for Wizkid's switch from the regular afro-beat to the modern day Caribbean Sound. Wizkid's First Song in 2017, sweet love was also produced by the legendary producer.The track to which had been billed for release since 2016 was eventually released as Wizkid's first song off his record deal with RCA records. It is safe to say that of all songs Wizkid has released in 2016-2017, Sarz is responsible for 65% of the total output!

Why Every Upcoming Artiste Must Listen To Wizkid’s Superstar Album

I listened to Wizkid’s first album, Superstar yesterday. To be honest, that album is his best yet and one of the best Nigerian albums. It was all about his struggles, hustles and how he suffered while he climbed the ladder of success. Something everyone can relate to, unlike the Jamaican rhythm and Pon Pon tracks he's releasing. That album would have an impact on you if you are a legendary hustler not like all these silver spoon kids like Davido who can't even define "Suffering".

Wizkid’s Album Art Cover 

 My best track on that album is Wad Up featuring D'Prince of Mo Hits(It was MoHits then). That track is emotional. Wizkid talks about times when people degrade him when he was nothing, how girls would ignore him just because he had only one jeans and one shirt, how Christian would move away from him just because his clothes were dirty.  But when fame and success came, everyone wanted to associate him. Everyone wanted to be friends with him. Similar to a verse in the Bible,  " the rejected stone has become the cornerstone". All the girls who rejected him in the past were always the first to greet him. Wad up. That is the ish with life, success is like sugar, it attracts ants. Success has many friends. You make it one time, people would want to associate. Nobody likes a poor man. Everyone relates with a rich man just because they feel they can gain something from him.

Wizkid before the fame 

Next favorite track was No Lele. Big ups to Sam Klef,  the beat really added more juice to the track. Pure Afro-beat. This was like a remembrance track for Wizkid. He recounts how people asked him, how you make am. This song is a must listen to upcoming artistes. The advice wizkid gave in that song is classic. He says "When they tell you say you no go fit, my brother make you tell them say no lele". Lesson derived from this is to fix your eyes on the gold. Pay no attention to the hypocrites. Never let anyone poison your mind that you can't make it. Keep pushing the hustle. There are a lot of other motivational songs in that album. Oluwa Ni. Say My Name. Those songs are lit too. If you are an incoming artiste, this album is one of your starter pack. A must listen. Just wished Wizkid stayed true to the genre of music exhibited in that album. Wish he was still with Sam Klef. But man had to change to club music, gbedu wey dey burst speaker. If you listened to Superstar then, which was your best song?

Wizkid performing at an event 

#ThrowbackThursday
Written by Otolorin Olabode

Five things To Draw Out From The Wizkid-Nicki Minaj’s Picture

The whole social media was sent into frenzy last night after a picture of Wizkid and Nicki Minaj emerged. While some thought it was one of those “Adekunle Gold’s” photoshop magic, others went the extra mile of going to Nicki Minaj’s Instagram Wall to confirm the picture.  However, it was no surprise to many last night as Nicki Minaj has been “stalking”  Wizkid for a few weeks. First, she started by liking his picture, then she took a step further by commenting on his posts and who knows maybe something might have gone down in the DM. However here are Five things to take from the Wizkid-Nicki, picture

Wizkid and Nicki Minaj at Nicki's Studio

1. Nicki Minaj Closer: Well, since Drake refused to by not appearing in the Video two times, label mate,  Nicki Minaj filled in the gap by coming closer.

2. Increase in Revenue: This picture would definitely boost Wizkid’s popularity particularly in the US which is his targeted market. And after appearing in Future’s snaps last month,  this would definitely boost album sales and bring in more revenue for the Starboy. This is due to the massive popularity of Nicki Minaj and not forgetting, she is the queen of rap!

3. A possible collaboration: While a few notable blogs have described the picture as a chance meeting between Nicki and Wiz, some have said it occurred in the studio. While we are not yet clear on that, this could lead to a possible collaboration in the next few weeks.  A chance meeting between Chris Brown and Wizkid in 2012 led to the massive hit “African Bad Gyal”  and also an acknowledgement from TydollarSign on Twitter led to two collaborations between Ty and Wiz. And who knows maybe Nicki Minaj is willing to score another One Dance Feat — Billboard No1.

4. More Fans And Followers: There’s will surely be an upsurge in the amount of Wizkid’s followers yesterday and a lot of people in the US will be willing to give Wizkid a chance by listening to his music and also purchasing his album. There will be a large turnout at his shows and concerts and just like when Instagram verified him after Drake put up his picture on his wall, more global attention will be on Wizkid now.

5. Wizkid is Talented: This picture shows that there are lots of benefits to enjoy from been talented that publicity won’t give you. Since the beginning of this year, Wizkid has been churning out tracks after tracks and shortly after the release of SFTOS for the international market, he released Medicine and Odoo for the local market. He has broken records and set new ones. The first Nigerian to appear on Billboard Hot 200 and he also topped the Billboard World Albums Chart. Any challenger for the Pon Pon Artiste?

Five Entrepreneurial Lessons To Learn From Small Doctor

So, during the weekend, I wrote a post about Small Doctor, That Wack artiste you all hate. But to the streets, He's their most prized asset. He is to what Pogba is, to Man Utd. But to the high class, we so much hate pangolo music, it's noise to our ears. We like Wizkid, Drake, Nicki, Adele.

What of the streets, if it's not Paso, Atawewe, Obesere, Osupa or Small Doctor, it can't just make sense. Will you expect a "NURTW area fada" to listen to Adele, nah he can't even comprehend the lyrics. You just have to play those "Orin melody" songs to him. However, the post isn't about his genre of music, it's about the Entrepreneurial Lessons You All Can Learn From Him.

Small Doctor came into the game less than 3 years ago, but damn, he came in with a new style. A fusion of the afro-urban style into the pangolo music. He made street music a little bit modern. It was now spiced up, beats were made by top-notch producers, tho still maintaining that pangolo beat. Lyrics were dropped which contained vulgar content and the usual slangs. So, what entrepreneurial lessons can I learn from small doctor?

1. Identify Your Market: Ask yourself, what aspect of the aspect will your goods/services be useful for? Small Doctor is someone who the high-class hates for his trashy and noisy music. But the streets love pangolo music, gbedu wey dey burst brain. You can't expect the streets the to listen to Adele-like music, it's not possible. The music has to appeal to them. Small Doctor was able to introduce some urban street-hop into the existing "pangolo street music". Not like all the regular "pon pon sound" or "frog-voice laden songs". Study your market, understand what they need and want, take advantage and monetize!

2. Market your brand: The next thing after discovery is to market your business. Just like a farmer does when he harvests his produce, its time to distribute goods and services to consumers. Publicize your brand, your service, your business. Consumers want to know what exactly it entails. They want to know the benefits of purchasing from you. Small Doctor was able to get street rep from the people of the street, every hotel, bar, restaurants and "mama put joints" were vibing to the "mosquito song". Small Doctor would have done some free shows, gave out free CDs, settled some DJs. Likewise for upcoming entrepreneurs, the beginning is always the hardest. Advertise your services/ brand on social media. Buy friends and family over with some free stuffs. Chances are that you get referrals from close friends. Tap into the world of social media especially Facebook where the level of interpersonal relationship is huge.

3. Have a logo: This is not about graphics design. It's about the core values of your business. Your mission, what you stand for and represent. As a fashion designer, it could be the ability to deliver service on time to clients. Small Doctor had a unique sound, The Hiann Hiann Hiann sound that serves as his intro at the beginning of all his songs. Hardly will you hear any Small Doctor song without that intro.

4. Constantly Evolve and Change Your Practices: After a few years, small doctor felt the need to evolve and move from the rugged life to a new urban lifestyle yet still maintaining the modus operandi: Pangolo music. Mosquito killer penetrated fully into the industry and his song with Olamide coupled with his "Gbera song" grew to be street anthems. There would be a time in your business where you would need to acquire a few employees, employ a new strategy or add a chain of business. This is necessary as change is needed for growth.

5. Set out a continuity plan: People asked what's next with small doctor after “Gbera”, but look, he's got the whole streets vibing to "Penalty". Likewise, set out a continuity plan, your vision for a new year and how you're going to achieve them. A continuity plan is needed so as not to run out of ideas when trying times occur.
Lastly, Don't streamline your career to one aspect. Explore other aspects. Be multi-resourceful.

Written By Otolorin Olabode, A Freelance Writer And Huffington Post Contributor
otolorinolabode@gmail.com