‘I’m now an upcoming artist’ – D’banj

The 43-year-old singer noted that even after 20 years in the business, he still feels as though he is only beginning to scratch the surface and that the music business has changed over time.

D'banj said in a recent interview with Hip TV that he will be collaborating with a few up-and-coming musicians on his next album, "Entertainer," which he claimed was a follow-up to his highly regarded 2008 album, "The Entertainer."

He also discussed his contribution to the international recognition of Nigerian music.

D'banj stated,

“I am not the first [Nigerian artist] to have done an international collaboration. We were just the first to have done it the way we did it. Usually, when you want to do a collaboration with an international artist, it seemed before ours, like they were doing you a favour. But with the kind of grace that God gave us and the kind of team that we had, we were able to deliver one of the biggest [‘Mr Endowed’].

“I think that actually gave hope and visibility to the kids [new artists] to know that they can do it. So, I feel like a very proud father if I may say. That’s why I am a cat again [up-and-coming artist]. Now, I want to feature not even international artists but local artists. I want to feature Ayra Starr, Rema, Ruger and Don Jazzy. Collaboration is the new competition.”