"Kanye West wanted the sign me and Don Jazzy but Don Jazzy turned it down that he'll never sign to any foreign label."
Don Jazzy Turned Down Kanye West's Offer, Said He'd Never Sign to a Foreign Label, but Later Partnered with Universal"
"I got a standard artiste deal from Kanye West but I said: 'No, I'm not an artiste, I'm a businessman and I have a record label and the best producer in Africa, Don Jazzy.' So we entered a partnership, there was Mo Hits Records, Good Music, and Def Jam partnership.
Where Def Jam distributes for us but Don Jazzy and I worked on the music and talent. It wasn't just gonna be Dbanj because Don Jazzy and I had plans of signing other artistes.
And while we were into our partnership, Kanye West liked Don Jazzy's sound so he offered Don Jazzy a production deal which was straight forward and would've helped us both. So me, Kanye, and Don Jazzy had a meeting and Don Jazzy expressed his discomfort with the deal.
He said that he was already a boss back in Nigeria and was spending alot of money in the US and he didn't wanna work under anybody anymore. He also said that what he was doing in Nigeria was already certain and he can't leave that for Kanye's deal which is uncertain.
But I told him that the deal with Kanye West was very certain, I tried to explain to him that afrobeats wouldn't only remain in Nigeria but we need to take it global and the only way to take it global was by partnering with the OGs in the music business but he refused and told me that he shall never sign to any foreign label. But fast forward today he has partnered with Universal Music Group on the same kind of deal Kanye West offered us.
If Don Jazzy had taken that production deal, Def Jam would've invested more in our careers but he didn't.
I'm just shocked he finally decided to sign with Universal Music Group after saying he'd never sign with a foreign label and messîng up my career." ~ Dbanj
