Signing on to Mavin Records appears to be the dream of every upcoming artistes in Nigeria. The case of singer, Johnny Drille is no exception as he revealed how he got the massive record deal with the Don Jazzy owned label.
The singer who is known for his unique folk sound revealed that he was an independent artiste for a very long time but his journey into Mavin Records started when he dropped his cover of Di’ja’s song, ‘Awww’.
While speaking in a recent interview, Johnny Drille said;
I have been independent for a long time and atimes things were hard because I had to get everything by myself. My first contact with Mavin Records was with Don Jazzy in February 2015 when I dropped my cover of Di’ja’s song, ‘Awww’.
He followed me on Twitter and told me he liked it and would love to hear more. We kept in contact over time and then he was silent for very long period.
At some point, he was really silent and I figured maybe I shouldn’t hope too much and that I should just keep pushing myself, and everything.
Then, sometime in August of 2016, I got a message on Twitter from Don Jazzy asking me if I was in Lagos at the moment, and thankfully I was.
He invited me over to his office and let me know he wanted me to join Mavin Records. In March 2017, I was officially announced as a Mavin Records’ artiste.
When asked how has working with Don Jazzy been for him, Johnny Drille pointed out that the Mavin boss is a great person and a hardworking producer.
He said;
He just keeps going and going almost like he is never going to get tired. Before we had extra producers, Don Jazzy was the only producer who did all the work. He’s an all round great person and if you ever get to meet him, you will know for certain.
Meanwhile, the singer spoke about the commercial viability of his style of music. According to him, his own folk sound is gradually becoming commercially viable in Nigeria.
I believe that every kind of music has got its own audience and that it is just a matter of finding them. Afro-pop is our sound and we can’t deny that, but at the same time, for an industry to grow and mature, it needs to give other genres of music a chance to shine. I’m really excited for my kind of music because it is gradually happening.
