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Record producer and music executive, Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy, has revealed that letting former Mavin artist, Di’ja, go was one of the most difficult decisions of his career. 

Speaking in a recent episode of the Crea8torium podcast, Jazzy recalled that the moment was tense, and Di’ja also noticed that he was uncomfortable during the announcement. 

He explained that it was emotional because he sees every one of his artists as his child. 

“One of the most difficult decisions of my career was when I had to let Di’ja go. That was difficult, and I don’t think I will let any artist go again by myself. Tega and Rima handle that now if they need somebody to leave the label. 

“Everybody on my record label is like my child. So, that was hard for both of us. And she [Di’ja] knew that it was hard for me. She even questioned the guys in the room why they had to involve me in that. All of us started crying. It was hard,” he recalled. 

Di’ja signed a record deal with Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records on 14 February 2014. Between 2014 and 2017, she released multiple singles and as well as an EP under Mavin Records. 

In 2023, Dija clarified that she never formally left Mavin Records, but “life happened.”

Letting Di’ja go was most difficult decision of my career – Don Jazzy

Kizito Ahams joined the call from Geneva, Switzerland. He had just come off a full day of meetings at a conference exploring the intersection of AI and the creative economy, agriculture, education, music, all of it. He was tired. He was also, unmistakably, still thinking.

That combination, exhaustion and intellectual restlessness, turned out to be exactly the right entry point for a conversation about what it actually takes to build something like Afrocroiser from the ground up.

Kizito is Mavin’s Senior Manager, Licensing and Publishing – and the person who conceived the idea for the camp nearly two years before the documentary dropped. By his own admission, he is not the person you see in the front of the frame. But without him, there is no frame.

I caught up with him the evening after a long travel day.

You mentioned the idea for this camp started about two years ago. How did it actually come together?

“I had early interactions with some of the leaders at SACEM a little under three years ago. I was invited for a speaking engagement, and they happened to be in the same territory. After the speaking engagement, we struck up a conversation and built a relationship. We just knew that we had to do something together. SACEM is the oldest performance rights organisation in the world, and, given their excitement about what is going on in Africa and Mavin, I figured there must be common ground for us to do business together. But you know how these things work. There has to be the right time, the right partner, the right budget, all the stars aligned. So, we decided to host them this time around, and to elevate it, we sold the vision of making it a more experiential, cultural exchange programme rather than just a music programme. I got Jimmy on board as the creative guy. We had weeks and months of preparation, along with several meetings with SACEM and the French Embassy. And then they came aboard.”

Many people watching the documentary will see the creative side. But you were managing contracts, splits, IP. How did you balance the business side without killing the creative energy in the room?

“Creatives naturally have the behaviour of wanting to say, hey, let us do this, vibe out, what comes out comes out. But because we were working with people from different demographics, different cultures, we had to educate them early. We signed splits early and negotiated percentages for everybody who would contribute to a record before they even started recording music. We had the French producers sign before they came around. We had the Nigerian talents sign when they joined. Because you do not want to put out a record tomorrow, it has a billion streams like Calm Down, and then people start fighting about credits. The hallmark of what we are doing is protecting their rights and exploring more innovative ways to exploit their intellectual property. Creativity and business can go hand in hand. That is how I see it.”

You talked about having a soft spot for the people behind the scenes, the songwriters and producers who do not get the flowers. Is that what this documentary is ultimately about?

“Without the songs, there is no music. Without the melodies, without the lyrics, without the beats, there is no music. The songwriters are still the most important people in the music industry because everything starts with them. I am passionate about making sure they are better positioned, well represented, and achieve success. And I want to be a conduit, a bridge that connects them to the right opportunities. We also want to demystify some myths about songwriting in the Afrobeats space. Sometimes people think songwriting means writing words on paper and emailing them to an artist. But sometimes it starts from a melody. These guys record the song from start to finish so the recording artist can even hear it, like it, and then put their own spin on it. That is the story we want to tell.”

What do you hope Afrocroiser achieves in the bigger picture?

“I want people to remember that Afrobeats is boundless. There are no territorial limits to how far our music can go. And I want people to know that Nigeria can be a home for collaboration. Our talents are multi-talented. There are phenomenal videographers, cinematographers, and content creators here. When Burna Boy does a song that approaches a billion streams, it is not just Burna Boy. It is the music executives, the business managers, the lawyers, the content creators, and the band. It takes a village. We are trying to say that we can tell these stories too, even though we are not at the forefront. Through the work we put in front of you, you can appreciate how the industry is growing and think about the people behind the scenes who make it possible.”

Kizito ended the conversation by mentioning Terry Cruise dancing to a Nigerian song in a film, and FIFA inviting the artist to perform at the World Cup because of the sync placement. He used it to make a point that landed quietly but stayed with me. Sometimes people hear African music for the first time through a film, an advert, or a scene. The creative industry is still one of the most powerful ways to export culture worldwide. And the people making sure that music is properly placed, properly credited, and properly compensated are the ones working at the back end, largely invisible, entirely essential.

Kizito is one of those people. Afrocroiser’s argument is that they deserve to be seen.

“Without the song, there is no music”- Mavin’s Kizito Ahams on business behind Afrocroiser

There was panic in the early hours of Saturday after a fire outbreak involving a generator nearly escalated into a major incident at the new residence of popular TikTok content creator, Habeeb Hamzat, popularly known as Peller.

In a post shared via his Instagram handle, he uploaded a video of the incident with the caption, “This happened early this morning.

“My new generator almost burnt down my new house, but God saved us, it took us over 30 minutes to off the fire. All I can say is God saved us”.

In the now-viral clip, Peller was heard repeatedly shouting “Jesus!” as visible flames erupted from the generator, sparking fear among occupants of the house.

Amid the confusion, he also instructed those around him to quickly pour water on the generator in an effort to contain the blaze before it could spread to other parts of the building.

It appears the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday.

Fortunately, the fire was brought under control before causing any structural damage, with only the generator affected.

No injuries or casualties were recorded, as everyone in the house was confirmed safe.

See video

Panic as fire engulfs generator at Peller’s new home (VIDEO)