Posts Tagged ‘olu maintain’

Repping eLDee!

When you think of Naija artists with catchy songs and hits who have been in the game for a while and helped revolutionize the Nigerian music industry while putting our music on the world map, and you don’t think of eLDee, you are so lost! Not only has eLDee produced hot club bangers, he has also worked with international artists and racked up nominations and award along the way!!

For those of you who hear me singing different lyrics to Drake’s “Best I ever had”, guess what? Blame it on eLDee. Not only are my so-called different lyrics eLDee’s tribal language, they are awesome lines. It has gotten to the point where I can’t sing along to Drake’s version without switching over to eLDee’s remix! Hot joint! You know you can’t help but substitute the name of someone special in the chorus!!

Listen to “Best I ever had (African remix)”

This is not the only song of eLDeeI love! I mean, do I need to start mentioning titles?! Don’t get me started with “Bosi Gbangba”,”Go”, “Je ka lo”, “Champion”, “Big Boy” (original and remix version), and alot more! This man is talented!!

We had the pleasure of catching up with eLDee and asking him some questions and we present to you some information he shared with us!

Born Lanre Dabiri in Kaduna, eLDee is a rapper, record producer, architect and founder of Trybe records. An artist to be reckoned with, he is no new comer to the game: he started his love for music and the arts at a young age. He began performing back in high school and since then music has become a part of his life. Growing up in Kaduna, the creation of his musical mind commenced, and though he moved to Lagos to study Architecture at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), he never let go of this passion of his. Though he’s been practicing the art of music making without prior knowledge of music production as a high school student, he began rapping in 1992 but didn’t begin his professional career as a rapper until 1998. He began writing and producing in 1991 and hasn’t stopped since! With musical influences spanning across multiple nationalities and genres like the legendary Fela Anikulapokuti, Ebenezer Obey and Dolly Parton, he draws his inspiration from his day to day life experiences and things happening around the world.

Starting out as one of the members of the hit making group: Trybesmen in 1998, eLDee and his high school friend: Kaboom teamed up with Freestyle to form this group which popularized the Afro-hip pop music genre. Prior to the group splitting up, eLDee founded his own independent label: Trybe Records to support the group. As the head of Trybesmen and Trybes Records, it was no surprise that the group became an instant fan favorite across the globe due to their incredible blend of Afro beat, Reggae, Highlife and Hip hop. While there will be no reunion of the original members of this group for a Trybesmen reunion tour or album, they still remain one of my favorite groups. For those who don’t know or recall Trybesmen, here’s one of their favorite tracks of mine! Enjoy!

Listen to “Shake body”

eLDee, as the head of Trybesmen and Trybe Records, engineered what has now become the music genre most call Afro-hip hop/Afro-pop. With Trybesmen’s undeniably incredible blend of Afro beat, Reggae, Highlife and hip hop, and with over 78 sold-out shows in one year, it was no surprise that Trybesmen became a force to be reckoned with across West Africa. eLDee’s record label also created a platform which has successfully launched and developed artists while placing African hip-hop and pop on the international map. Artists who have been developed under this record label includes but not limited to Sasha, 2Shots, Legus, olaDele, Timi and Mohit’s Dr. Sid. Though there are technically two core artists under Trybe records: himself and olaDele, artists such as Airis and Proto are affiliated and being represented by Trybe Records as well. When asked about what the core artists of the label are up to, he explained that they were both working on an album with eLDee mixtape album scheduled to drop by December!

A mastermind and mogul, eLDee came up with a collaboration of all the artists on the record label named “Da Trybe” and this team released the album: Big Picture in 2005. Though he moved to the U.S in 2002, the huge distance didn’t stop him from having a large fanbase and making his mark in the motherland. He recorded a solo album titled “Long Time Coming” in 2004. He followed up in 2006 with his award winning album titled “Return of the King”. “Return of the king” featured hits like “Champion”, “Je ka lo” ft. Zaina, “I’m leaving” and “I go yarn” and earned him various nominations and awards including the Nigerian Entertainment Award for Best International Album.

In 2008, he eLDee came back with another chart topping album: Big Boy. This album received massive ratings and praise from his fans worldwide and featured club hits such as “Big Boy” ft Banky W, OlaDele, and Olu maintain, “Big Boy (remix)” ft. Iceberg Slim, Rukus and Proto, “Bosi Gbangba” and “Go”. So far this year he has received 3 SVMA nominations, 1 HHWA nomination and 1 MOBO nomination!

As producer, his resume is very impressive and boasts a host of artists, not only from Nigeria, but the UK and the U.S, such as multiple Grammy winner, Lauryn Hill. eLDee produced all the Trybesmen songs, the soundtracks for the Mainframe movie: Campus queen, Da Trybe’s monster hit “Oya”, Life of a ghetto child, the soundtrack for the MNET movie “Prize Maze” , Sasha’s “Emi Le Gan”, 2SHotz’s “Carry Am Go” amongst others. Collaboration wise, this multi-talented artist has worked with numerous people of different nationalities and styles to produce amazing music and create great videos. He has worked with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Young Joc, Keno, oLaDELe, Banky W and Ikechukwu amongst others. In the future, he hopes to continue working with the artists he has worked with before while adding new collaborations to his resume with the likes of the members of the Mohits crew and international artists amongst others. When asked to give advice to upcoming artists, here’s what he had to say: “Get your music together, get a good management team, learn and study the game before you hop in because it’s not an easy ride. If you hurry in, you typically hurry out.”

eLDee is one of the select few Nigerian artists who has been able to command the respect of an international audience. He’s also an active supporter of the light up Nigeria campaign and more information about this campaign can be found at http://www.lightupnigeria.org/. He’s currently working on a mixtape scheduled to drop at the end of the year while making great progress with existing and new artists under his record label. Curious as to who will be on the mixtape, you can expect to hear Young Joc on the “Big Boy remix”, Airis, olaDele, and other artists! I don’t know about you but I am really looking forward to this mixtape and you should be too! eLDee’s songs and albums can be purchased electronically on iTunes and Rhapsody!!

This is definitely one artist to keep watching now and in the upcoming years!

I REP eLDee!

Listen to “Bosi Gbangba”

Listen to “Big Boy” ft. Olu Maintain, Banky W, Oladele

Listen to “Professional” ft. Oladele

Listen to “I go yarn”

For more information on eLDee, please visit the links below:

Follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/eldeethedon

Check him out on Myspace at myspace.com/eldeeonline

While eLDee can no longer accept any more friend request on his personal facebook page as he has reached the maximum limit of friends allowed, he sincerely apologizes about this and urges his fans to connect with him on his fan page on facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/eLDee/22239673588?ref=search&sid=5001422.2357997138..1

Given that he travels alot and based in three different continents, anyone interested in contacting him can do so by emailing him at eldeethedon at gmail dot com