Nigerian singer, Johnny Drille recently opened up about his struggles in the music industry. He revealed that two major record labels wanted him to change his sound to something more commercial and danceable, but he refused to compromise his artistry.
Johnny Drille’s unique sound was a major obstacle in securing a record deal early in his career. Two prominent labels expressed interest in signing him but insisted on changing his musical style to fit into the mainstream market.
However, things took a different turn when Drille met Don Jazzy, the CEO of Mavin Records. Unlike other labels, Don Jazzy didn’t ask him to change his sound. Instead, he signed Drille because he was genuinely a fan of his music. This move was seen as a huge risk, but it paid off.
“People could never had imagined that a Mavin Records under Don Jazzy would sign an alternative artist like myself. It was weird for a lot of people.
There were two other major labels in Nigeria that wanted to sign me but the conversation was always around, ‘How do we change your sound? How do we make it faster? How do we make it danceable?’ However, when I met Don Jazzy, there were no conversations like that. He was just really a fan of the music…that was a big risk to take, but he pulled it off.”
