Renowned Nigerian music executive Don Jazzy has said some of the best Afrobeats songs were created during the period when artists and producers lived together in record label houses with shared studio spaces and facilities.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Crea8torium podcast, the founder of Mavin Records reflected on the creative atmosphere that existed during the Mo’Hits Records era.
Don Jazzy recounted how a spontaneous moment inside the Mo’Hits mansion led to the creation of Olorun Maje by D’Banj.
According to him, the inspiration for the song came after a disagreement involving D’Prince and the group’s former manager, Sunday Are, over D’Prince’s reluctance to attend radio interviews.
Don Jazzy explained that Sunday Are had approached him to report the issue, but he was deeply focused on studio work at the time and redirected the complaint to D’Banj.
He said after D’Banj confronted D’Prince about the matter, the singer returned to the studio and casually began humming a melody that perfectly matched the beat he was producing.
Recognising the potential immediately, Don Jazzy said he asked D’Prince to continue, and the moment eventually developed into the hit song.
The producer also revealed that another popular track, You Bad, You Want It, was created in a similarly spontaneous way after Dr SID walked into the studio and started freestyling over a beat.
Reflecting on the evolution of music production, Don Jazzy noted that the creative process in today’s music industry is very different from what existed during the Mo’Hits era.
However, he said his own method has remained largely unchanged, as he still creates beats with specific artists in mind.
He also encouraged younger creatives to spend more time together physically, arguing that close interaction and collaboration help strengthen chemistry and improve the overall quality of music production.