D'banj (Igwe d Koko)

D'banj was born to an artillery officer father 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, Zaria at age eleven. Musical beginning D'banj grew up listening to Fela Kuti, who he cites as his "great mentor". He was introduced to the harmonica by his late older brother, Femi Oyebanjo, who died in a plane crash at age seventeen. With D'banj's love of music being greater than his parents' military aspirations, he struggled with his parents' approval, this can be best heard through an album track, All Da Way from his debut album. He derived his stage name from the combination of the first name and his surname. 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 humor. 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. 2005, 2006: No Long Thing D'banj's debut album, No Long Thing, was released in 2005, yielding several singles, with Tongolo as the lead single. This proved to be his breakthrough single and a hit. It also provided his Koko Master persona, with the term, koko, taking on a variety of meanings. D'banj's debut success led to collaborations with other artists, this includes Dare Art-Alade's album track, Escalade Part 2 and Ikechukwu's album track,Doo.

2007: Rundown Funk U Up D'banj's sophomore album, Rundown Funk U Up, which was released in 2006, yielded several singles including the club single, Tongolo (Remix) and the lead single, Why Me. This proved to be another hit. 2007-2008: Curriculum Vitae