December 11, (THEWILL) – Lanre Dabiri, the Nigerian-American musician known as Eldee, has revealed how he met Grammy-winning singer, Ayodeji Balogun, aka Wizkid, and recognised his potential.
Eldee, who is an original member of the Trybesmen band, disclosed that he played a crucial role in convincing Bankole Wellington, aka Banky W, to sign Wizkid.
“I saw that Wizkid had something as soon as he walked in. I am not trying to take credit or anything but I feel like part of what I might have said to Banky W was part of what gave them the full confidence to be like you know what? Let us do it.
“I told him that this kid has something, and we have to figure out a way to make sure that he does not fall into the wrong circles. There were a lot of kids at the time who had talent, and you needed someone you could mould and give directions.”
Eldee also spoke about his input on Wizkid’s early sound and style. He said he advised Wizkid to find a middle ground between his love for reggae and dancehall and creating music that was uniquely Nigerian.
The 47-year-old said he encouraged Wizkid to experiment with different flavours and styles, which ultimately helped shape his distinctive sound.
“Wizkid was leaning towards Reggae and Dancehall when Banky W signed him before he dropped his first single but I told him he has to find a middle ground and do something Nigerian with a lot of flavours in it,” he said.
“Some of what we used to play with Wizkid at the time and asked him to find the middle ground because he couldn’t do dancehall because he wasn’t a Jamaican.”
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
