I feel really blessed to be in the position to be able to do that. I am glad that it actually did at some point. Yes I had a vision, I had a dream and the passion and I wanted to see a lot of it come to fruition.
Yet he remains utterly humble in his conduct, refusing to take the credit alone for starting the musical revolution that is Nigerian music, Eldee is instead quick to point out that “there are so many people that are instrumental to bringing the industry to where it is now. With 3 albums under his belt, (Long time coming, Return of the King and Big boy) Eldee is still a force to be reckoned with by any standard. We have created something that tells our story, so people connect to the music quicker because they can relate to it”. “I was thinking if we can connect to the people, they’d respond better, then we would actually create our own genre, style and I think that’s what happened. So I figured lets make hip hop that was Nigerian instead of trying to recreate what other international artists were doing. “It was something that I knew the technicalities off.
“Hip hop was something I knew very well” says Eldee. In the 90’s however the popularity of hip hop within the Nigerian music scene became evident by the number of radio stations playing hip hop influenced music. He maintains that in the 80’s a disconnect occurred between artists and the Nigerian audience as influences from western cultures pervaded the Nigerian music scene- reggae and high life music. His astuteness about the Nigerian music industry remains apparent as he answers each question with insight into the game, which he has played now for over a decade! Explaining the vision which he had for Nigerian hip hop, Eldee starts from the very beginning. Throughout the interview, Eldee’s passion for Nigerian music is obvious. The record company is responsible for discovering and mentoring such artists as Sasha, 2Shots and Sid. “Music is something I have always had a passion for even when I was young”Īlso known as the ‘Big Boy’ of Nigerian music, Eldee is credited by a lot of Nigerian artists for setting the foundation for Nigerian music. The interview itself lasted no longer than an hour as Eldee and I chatted like old friends about his music, work ethic and family.Ībout Eldee: The rise of a musical vision I must have said my prayers right that day because Eldee also showed up at Swe bar with non other than Banky W (working for Bella Naija sure has its perks!). The meeting itself had been in the pipelines for months, so finally seeing him walk through those doors, (on time I might add) dressed in a blazer and jeans was quite exciting. On the 12 th of February 2010, I met up with Lanre Dabiri aka “Eldee the don” at the ultra fab Swe Bar. The “Big Boy” of Nigerian Music, Eldee the Don, drops another album and speaks exclusively to Glory Edozien for Bella Naija.