Ekeh Chiaka Joseph (born November 28) known professionally as Majeeed is a Nigerian
afropop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of po ...
singer and songwriter signed to Dream Empire Music. He is known for his breakthrough single "Yawa No Dey End", released in 2022 as the lead single off his extended play ''Bitter Sweet''.
On 29 April 2022, a new version of "Yawa No Dey End", was released with
Joeboy, through Dream Empire Music, and
emPawa Africa, which peaked at number 41 on the Nigeria
TurnTable Top 50 chart, on the week of May 9, 2022.
He was cited as one of the 10 African Artists You Should Know by
Audiomack, after he surpassed 1 million streams in April 2022. On 11 July 2022, "Yawa No Dey End" debuted on the newly launched
TurnTable Top 100, an expansion of the Top 50, at number 59. On 13 July 2022, following the initial launch of the
TurnTable Top Afro-Pop Songs chart, "Yawa No Dey End" debuted at number 30. On 16 July 2022, he was cited as one of the artists on the initial issue of the
TurnTable Artiste Top 100 chart, and debuted at number 80.
Early life
Ekeh Chiaka Joseph was born on November 28 in
Lagos to Nze Oliver and Nze Grace.
He hails from
Imo
IMO or Imo may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland
* Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies
* Isomaltooligos ...
, a state in the
south east region of Nigeria.
He relocated to
Ogun State at the age of eight.
He had his primary education at Iyana Ipaja, in Lagos State,
and his secondary education in Ogun State, before proceeding to
Cotonou
Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...
, for his tertiary education at
Iscom University Benin
The Institut Superieur de Communication d’Organisation et de Management (Iscom University, Benin) is a private university in Cotonou, the largest city and economic capital of the Benin. Iscom University is one of the first institution in Benin ...
, where he graduated with a B.Sc in
Mass Communication
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...
.
On 6 February 2022, he told Ayo Makinde, and Alero Edu on
Sunrise, "I started music, while I was in secondary school; in JSS2, that time I use to kolobi my mom's money to go to the studio, and just make music."
Career
Majeeed began his music career as a songwriter to
Seyi Shay. In 2020, he released two
promotional singles, titled "Gee For Life", and "Rocky Lo", which features
Seyi Shay. "Rocky Lo" was made available for free downloads. Late 2020, he began learning music production. In February 2022, he told
Vangaurd, "I produced 'Time' at
Harrysong's house."
On 19 February 2021, Majeeed released "Time", as the first single off ''Bitter Sweeet'' ep, which peaked at number 8 on
Apple Music in Nigeria, and number 10 in Mauritius.
In the second quarter of 2021,he signed a record deal with Dream Empire Music on 20 August, and was on the line-up for the 2021 edition of the
Felabration, held at
New Afrika Shrine on October 11.
At
Big Girl listening party on November 20, 2021,
Seyi Shay called out Majeeed, as the primary writer of Big Girl studio album. She said, "I don tell everybody, say you write all the songs, way they for this album". He opened for
BNXN
Daniel Benson (born 14 May 1997), known professionally as Bnxn (pronounced as Benson) and formerly known as Buju, is a Nigerian Afro-fusion singer, songwriter and record producer.
Early life
He was born in Lagos. He hails from Akwa Ibom stat ...
(formerly Buju) at Buju Live in Concert in
Lagos, held on 22 December 2021.
On 6 January 2022, he released an acoustic version of "Time", as his first official single under Dream Empire Music. He achieved mainstream with "Yawa No Dey End", a record co-signed by
Don Jazzy, and
Tiwa Savage.
On 16 April 2022, he covered Pulse Nigeria Future Sounds playlist. and re-released "Yawa No Dey End" with
Joeboy, through
emPawa on 29 April 2022. It debut at number 41 on
TurnTable Top 50. On 3 May 2022, he was cited as one of the Best New Artists, by
The Native, among other artists.
On 7 May 2022, he opened for
Reminisce,
CDQ, and
Terry Apala
Terry Alexandar Ejeh (born 31 October 1988) better known by his stage name Terry Apala, is a Nigerian afrobeat, Hip-Hop and Apala (traditional Yoruba music) musician.
Background and early career
Terry Apala was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to J ...
at Urban Live, a music concert curated by
Urban96 Radio Network
Urban 96 Radio Network is an English speaking commercial radio station with headquarters in Lekki, Lagos. The station broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format, playing a variety of music genres including R&B, hip hop, pop with a blend of ...
monthly. On 26 June 2022, he was on the line-up of Funbi's Bus, The Journey So Far edition, and Mainland Block Party, Music is Life edition, alongside
Ice Prince, and
Blaqbonez. On 2 July 2022, he released the official music video for "No Room For Love", directed by Olu the Wave, and featured a cameo appearance from Sylvia Adora, a Nigerian actress known for her role in
Papa Benji.
On 27 July 2022, he was named
Apple Music 'Up Next' Artist in Nigeria. On 30 July 2022, Majeeed sold-out his first solo international concert in Mauritius, named after the most played song on his ep in Mauritius, "Smile For Me". On 1 August 2022, "Smile For Me" reached number one on Mauritius
Apple Music Top Songs. On 5 August 2022, "No Room For Love" debut on
TurnTable. It peaked at number 11 on
Bubbling Under Top 100, number 14 on
Top Afro-R&B Songs and number 9 on
NXT Emerging Top Songs.
The
Tiwa Savage-assisted track "
Gbese" was released on 22 February 2023, through Dream Empire Music and published by
EMPIRE.
It was produced by
Masterkraft.
The song debuted at 38 on the
Official Nigeria Top 100 and at number 26 on the Nigeria Top Afro-POP Songs. On 4 May 2023, the music video for "Gbese" was released and directed by
Clarence Peters for Dream Empire Music and EMPIRE. In May 2023, Majeeed performed "Gbese" with
Tiwa Savage at
Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards held in
Lagos.
The
Bnxn
Daniel Benson (born 14 May 1997), known professionally as Bnxn (pronounced as Benson) and formerly known as Buju, is a Nigerian Afro-fusion singer, songwriter and record producer.
Early life
He was born in Lagos. He hails from Akwa Ibom stat ...
-assisted track "Waka Jeje" was released on 5 July 2023 off ''Cheers To Life.'' EP, as the third single.
The song debuted at 73 on the
Official Nigeria Top 100. On 6 September 2023, ''
Cheers To Life.'' was released through
EMPIRE for Dream Empire Music. In November 2023, he was featured by
Super Eagles
The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, t ...
on the official theme song "Let's Do It Again". On 11 January 2024, he leads the
national anthem and performed the
AFCON theme song at the Send Forth Dinner Party held in
Lagos State Governor's House
Lagos State House, is the official residence of the governor of Lagos State. Lagos State has two governor's residences, one at Marina in Lagos Island and another at Ikeja on the Mainland. Both residences are used for official and residential pur ...
.
On 6 June 2024, Dream Empire Music managing director and senior A&R; Raymond Ifie reveals Dream Empire Music and EMPIRE's plan for Majeeed to release a 2-pack single each month, from June to August. On 7 June 2024, Majeeed released the first pack-singles titled "California / Rollercoaster (Laba Laba)".
"California" was produced by Mystro during his California trip, while "Rollercoaster (Laba Laba)" was produced by Ceecee Beatz.
It's accompanying visual for "California" was shot by D6ix and Brandon in California.
Artistry
Majeeed is known for fusing
Afrobeats
Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...
. He tells Chinonso Ihekire of
The Guardian, "I came up with the name five years ago, and chose to use the name, because it embodies my attributes as a person. Majeed means noble, or magnificent, in Arabic".
He cited
Tope Alabi
Tope Alabi (born 27 October 1970) in Ogun, a Nigerian gospel singer, film music composer and actress. She is also known as Ore ti o common and as Agbo Jesu. Tope Alabi obtained a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the polytechni ...
,
Chief Osadebe,
Oliver De Coque, and Baba Ara, as his early musical influence.
On 9 March 2022, he spoke about his music journey, and personal life, aside being an artiste, songwriter, and an aspiring producer, on
Television Continental
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
program E-Splash.
Discography
EPs
Singles
Other charted songs
Promotional singles
Guest appearances
Songwriting credits
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Majeeed
Living people
English-language singers from Nigeria
Nigerian pop singers
Nigerian contemporary R&B singers
21st-century Nigerian male singers
Year of birth missing (living people)