Ozumba Mbadiwe Remix: A Viable Strategy for Reekado Banks to Take Over Mainstream in Africa?

Reekado Banks returned to the limelight with a massive bang. After the success of Ozumba Mbadiwe, the singer is revitalizing the success of the single with African remixes

Here we go again. It’s another weekend and here I am, breaking into your mail and stuff. But yes, you love it.

Last week, I wrote about Fireboy’s Peru remixes and this weekend, I find myself talking about the same topic of remixes. Maybe this should have been made into a series. Maybe not.

A few years back, sometime around 2014, Don Jazzy signed a young boy to his then newly-found record label, Mavin Records. Reekado Banks, as he’s famously known, was introduced to the world as a signed act on a song titled Dorobucci, which featured the entire Mavin squad including Don Jazzy, Korede Bello, Dr. SID, Tiwa Savage, Di’Ja, and D’Prince. The song was a massive hit and Reekado’s verse generated attention from music lovers.

But let me set things straight a bit before we dive into the really juicy parts of this essay. Reekado Banks already released his first single as a Mavin act before he featured on Dorobucci. On the day that he was officially signed to the label, he released a single titled Turn It Up (featuring Tiwa Savage). It was a soulful song, rich in melodies typical of someone who has been well-marinated in choir music. But the song tanked in its attempt to connect to a wide audience.

Let it also be known that Reekado Banks was already actively chasing a career in music while he was still a student at the University of Lagos, where he studied History and Strategic Studies. Back then, he went by the name Spicy, and if I recollect correctly, he was rolling alongside the likes of Jay Breeze (who is currently Tiwa’s hype man and was Reekado’s hype man some years back). His story took a different turn when his brother, Temi, submitted his songs to Mavin and out of more than 5000 entries, his songs were selected and Reekado Banks was offered a record deal. It was later reported that Temi submitted the songs without Reekado’s knowledge.

A couple of hit songs later and Reekado became everyone’s sweetheart. Some of his popular singles include Katapot, Problem, Standard, Easy, and he delivered like a diligent dispatch rider on these songs. His debut album, Spotlight, which was released in 2016, was a superb introduction into the world of a fledgling superstar, whose versatility is(/was) like a ship exploring different waters. He gained the love of the mainstream audience and that came with rewards like an endorsement deal with Nigerian telecommunication giant, Globacom.

But everything happens for a reason and life is completely unpredictable. In 2018, Reekado Banks left Mavin Records. It was a bit of a shocker for onlookers. What could have happened? His career was blossoming under the label and it didn’t look like he was experiencing any difficulty there, but you never truly know. The same thing happened with Lil Kesh and that sort of thing just makes you wonder why artists are so desperate to leave their labels, especially at the point when their careers are just taking off.

Not much was revealed about why Reekado made such a decision. One of the first moves he made after leaving Mavin was to start his independent label, Banks Music. A year later and news broke that Reekado Banks had fired his brother who had been his manager since the genesis of his career. What was going on? What kind of transformation could have led to Reekado making decisions that could only have been described as rash. When he was asked in an interview, he claimed that it was simply due to a difference in vision.

That same year when he stopped working with his brother, Reekado released a monster hit titled Rora. The instrumental was produced by Tuzi Beats and it turned out that the producer had created the beat with the intentions of having Oxlade record on it. However, after getting no response from Oxlade, he shared the instrumental with Reekado and the rest, as they say, is history. Tuzi shared that Reekado spent months working on the song, recording and re-recording a million times. It was interesting to learn that he puts that amount of work into his craft.

Rora came at a time when Reekado needed a hit song. His 2018 run wasn’t exactly impressive like the previous years and he needed to give his fans something to hold on to. After Rora, he released Put in Pressure and it was a solid song, but it didn’t have the same massive appeal as Rora. Reekado had begun working with Davido’s former manager, Kamal, during that period. The story remains muddy but they didn’t seem to have a smooth working relationship and so, they parted ways eventually.

A long hiatus followed in late 2020, after a string of largely unsuccessful singles (and an EP) from the singer. It was somewhat difficult to understand why those songs didn’t connect with listeners, particularly because they were really good songs. Reekado Banks is easily one of the most unique voices of his generation and coming up with catchy hooks, fascinating lyrics, and music that’s just generally irresistible has never been an issue, so it was all the more confusing. It was a required break. It was also during the pandemic when flights weren’t allowed and he was stuck outside of the country.

Reekado’s return has been nothing short of remarkable. Before he released Ozumba Mbadiwe, one of the biggest singles of 2021, I heard that he had returned to working with his brother. With the release of Ozumba came a reintroduction. The audience had gotten a taste of contemporary artists like Rema, Omah Lay, Ruger, Lojay, Tems, and their palette had become a lot wider, and so we have seen artists that went away struggle to make a come back. The P-Prime produced single gave listeners a warm feeling which they have since pursued relentlessly, mostly as it touched on a traumatic experience that we all collectively witnessed during the End SARS protest in 2020 (that led to the loss of numerous lives), and yet was delivered in an infectious Afropop style.

In an approach to capture all of the attention that the mainstream has been showering on Reekado since the release of Ozumba, he released an EP titled OTR 2 (OTR being an acronym for Off the Record), a follow-up to his 2020 EP Off The Record. As a big fan of Reekado’s music, I thoroughly enjoyed the EP. But it was evident that the EP was overshadowed by the magnitude of Ozumba’s success. The audience is drawn to what it likes and there are no rules behind making what the audience would accept. There’s no fail-proof formula to scoring a successful record and that’s why artists have to be open to trying different things.

It is totally understandable why we would frown at a remix of Ozumba. And why wouldn’t it be? The song already seemed to satisfy all of our expectations and needs, and we didn’t have a problem going back to it at any time. But I’m learning to stop thinking only from the perspective of the consumer and consider that of the artist’s as well. Ozumba has continued to show promise and not only in the Nigerian market. And for the Nigerian market, who better to tap for a remix if not one of the country’s brightest Afropop stars? Reekado has to seize every opportunity laid before him to augment the reach of the song. It stands to reason that he would go for a remix.

Reekado’s take on the remix with Fireboy DML is that;

It is a song that captures multiple subject matters, but the most important is me paying homage to the victims of the #EndSars protest massacre. I was one of the protesters at Lekki Toll Gate during the #EndSars protests. I was actually present at the protest ground for 2 days in a row, but I left because I had to travel. So the massacre at the Toll Gate by the Nigeria army was very personal for me, because it happened less than 48 hours after I left and I couldn’t shake off the feeling. The song also addresses fans who have been asking about my time away from music. My response to that question through this song is that I’ve been busy like the Ozumba Mbadiwe expressway. About the remix, I wanted someone that could add a different perspective to the record. Fireboy has been one of my favourite artists for a while now and he has made his love for this record public so I thought he’ll be a good fit for a remix. He smoked it.

For his attempt at gaining entry into other markets, namely other countries like Ghana, Tanzania, Reekado Banks wisely tapped the salient acts of each of these countries. He released a 5-track tape, titled Ozumba Mbadiwe Remix, that featured various African artists including KiDi, Rayvanny, Elow’n. Music is a universal language and whether you’re here in Nigeria or you’re a foreigner with an African descent, you’re going to bob your head to music that moves you. So far, the one with KiDi has received a lot of commendation on social media.

As expected, there have been a myriad of reactions based on the release of the tape. I should point it out that we completely have nothing to gain from speaking against the strategy (if there are people doing that). I wouldn’t be surprised if one (or more) of the remixes pick(s) up the pace and just begin(s) to do crazy numbers. I mean, that’s what we should all hope for. It’s a win for everyone and for some reason, I think Reekado Banks deserves it. Actually, here’s a link of positive reactions:

Reactions to Ozumba Mbadiwe Remix

It’s easy to criticize the strategy. I think anybody can do that. After all, it’s not a new strategy. DJ Neptune did the same thing with his 2019 hit single, Nobody. What we don’t know is how effective the strategy was, especially as we are unable to measure it. But it’s worth giving the strategy a shot. Africans generally are lovers of Nigerian music and time and again, Nigerian songs have dominated the charts in several countries. I don’t see why an artist shouldn’t deliberately attempt to break into those countries.

2022 is already looking swell for Nigerian artists. I want to see a full Reekado comeback. I want him to continue his run of 2015-2017/18 where he consistently dropped singles that shook the pillars of the mainstream. One thing is obvious, and it’s that Reekado is up to the task.

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What New Music Friday are you listening to? Seems all of our faves dropped. Looks like Asa is poised to release a project. I’m here for it. I have to tell you guys that Khaid’s With You is a superb song. You should listen to it, if you haven’t.