REMEMBERING DAGRIN (The Documentary)

DAGRIN AND GINI

This April marks the second year anniversary of Dagrin’s death and to commemorate this,  the director of his only solo video, Gini, is set to release an authoritative and informative documentary of the young rapper’s life. 

DAGRIN’S DEATH: A MUSIC REPORTERS PERSPECTIVE

DAGRIN

I had this conversation with Timaya a few days after DaGrin’s death.

Timaya: See as everybody no happy say DaGrin die and even all of una wey be pressmen follow dey vex say DaGrin die. I no know say una like us like this o! (He laughs).

Me: You been expect say we go happy?

Timaya: I know say una for happy if to say na me die.

Me: Why you go talk like that?

Timaya: With all the things wey una dey write about me una no go happy say make I die?

That got me thinking. Why would Timaya think such? Is there anybody that would take pleasure in the death of a fellow human being? And would any music reporter in Nigeria be happy that any of the musicians in the country at the moment, who have successfully evolved this genre of entertainment into a lucrative and respectable business venture, exit abruptly without completing his or her part in the industry? Who would be happy that a young man in his prime should die so suddenly and whose fault is it that Timaya should think like this?

One of the universal truths of journalism is that every paper or magazine is out to sell or promote a cause and if you won’t help in doing these, they won’t write about you. Timaya had earlier portrayed the image of a careless, carefree, no-respecter-of-persons kind of guy when he successfully entered the Nigerian music industry. He only spoke his mind or whatever he found in it and gave anyone that came close a dose of his conceited self. So while his music attracted him fans, his person repulsed them as he confused his lyrical militant persona with his person.

But would you blame him? Just checkout his background: He is one of the numerous children in a poor family from a highly wronged zone of the country; had very limited education and suddenly coming into instant wealth and fame. Who was there to control and direct him? He had everything he wanted and could do as he liked but he survived. He survived that dangerous period of initial wealth and fame and even when he is not on top of the music chain, he is still a very relevant Nigerian musician and has the chance of always reclaiming top spot depending on his subsequent musical outputs.

That being a given, we go back to DaGrin. Frenzy (Emmanuel Okafor), the producer of his now much talked about track, “If I Die,” took it further when he said that: “Most of us (musicians) are from the streets and our talents come from there. We are not all from well organized homes and if you take away the street in us, you also kill the talent. The white man knows this that’s why when he gets talented footballers from this part of the world, they watch over them carefully. We mostly don’t have that system here.” He went on to blame DaGrin’s management for not looking after him very well.

DaGrin was from the streets. You could hear this in his songs and his beautiful video for his single, “Pon Pon Pon,” and his life also reflected this. He is one of nine children. His father is a music records retailer and equipment hirer. His mother is a petty trader. He quit education after secondary school and everyone knows that the computer school is largely a skill acquisition centre rather that a formal school. He has struggled in the industry releasing his debut album, STILL ON THE MATTER, in 2006 without any commercial success but he stayed the course and when people termed him local, he stayed focused and now that his name is spreading like staphylococcus; just as his first whiff of success blew, he was whipped away by it. Who in this world would be happy at that?

Others had survived. 2face survived. When they weren’t shooting or robbing him, he was busy getting people’s daughters pregnant and today he has five children and counting. But he has survived. He is still there today and we happily call him 2baba and are expectantly waiting for his next album. Wande Coal survived it. In 2008, when the folks at the Hip Hop World Awards gave him a car, he immediately went on rampage and almost killed himself. But for the grace of God we would have been left without a young man of his unique vocal talent. Today, his management never lets him out of their sight and no matter what he smokes or drinks or who he sleeps with; we still have him with us and are eagerly awaiting his next album. Durella was literally placed under house arrest by TC Records, his parent record label, because immediately after he won the $50, 000 at the MTV Base/ Zain Advance Warning in 2006, he went haywire. He began “Shayoing” everywhere according to his hit track “Shayo” until his management recognized the dangers and placed an outing embargo on him. He now drinks at home and is almost ready with his next album. Terry G the Intellectual Madman was also a big case. He was at the club every weekend and enmeshed in one controversy or the other (he is still in most of them) when he first saw money. But he has survived and we are happily writing him into maturity and he will one day be a very strong reference point in the development of contemporary Nigerian musical sounds. We don’t really want to go far back, but while Majek Fashek is now a ghost of his “Rainmaking” self, he is still alive and still bears his name.

This is DaGrin’s turn to shine. The streets, the majority shareholders of the Nigerian musical Stock
 Market are feeling him. His language was low but epic and his rhyme scheme in Yoruba would standout in any language of the world. He has just joined the A-List of Nigerian musicians. No big show takes place in the country now without his name among the headliners. But his stay was very short, hence the amount of grief at his death.

The music reporter in this era would feel no little grief in losing such a talent a DaGrin’s. This is a period when the music bug has bitten all (both young and old) and we are at crossroads trying to sift the wheat from the chaff among the rough music mass presented us in Nigeria. There are so many musical nonentities on the scene that we should have no business writing about so when we lose a genuine musical subject, we are sad. We grieve because we have lost someone we would rather write about than so many other pretenders scattered all over the Nigerian musical terrain.

As mentioned earlier, all publications are out to sell or attract readers and customers. To this we write about people that other people would love to read about and when you only portray yourself in the negative light while in the public eye, we have no other choice than to embellish and make you juicier to our readers. If you are in the public eye and carry yourself honourably, we shall promote you but if you make a fool of yourself, we shall only present you in more attractive motley.

POSTSCRIPT: As music has become a respectable and lucrative profession in Nigeria, our music stars should control themselves. If not, you will only have a big black carnival escort you home and in the process, give we music and entertainment reporters sleepless nights as against a lifetime of wealth, fame and popularity. We are not happy when a good musician dies or sends away his wife and young son anytime near the weekend because by then, we would have submitted all our columns and stories and on our way to a weekend of fun only for our various editors to call us back to the office to write a befitting farewell to your marriage or musical careers. All those managing a musician should look to them and those who don’t have managers should go find one. Every musician should be careful about what he or she does and should always take their fans and the reporters who write about them into consideration in whatever they do.

NIGERIAN YOUTHS PAY HOMAGE TO DAGRIN

THE C.E.O

For two days, Thursday, April 22, 2010 and Friday, April 23, 2010, the premises of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), played host to the large number of youths who thronged the compound seeking for information about their own, Olaitan Oladapo Olanipekun, aka, Dagrin. They neither got to see him on the Thursday that he died, nor did they get any information. They just waited and far into the night, around 12 midnight, the authorities at LUTH fearing a breakdown in law and order had to call for reinforcements and a Police Armoured Truck was sent in.

It didn't come in to disperse the crowd, but to watch over things. The crowd themselves were also in no mood to make trouble, because they were mourning. So, getting no concrete information about any arrangements being made for the transfer of DaGrin's body or his burial, they had to leave. But by 7am the next morning, they had already started reconvening and in no time, the crowd was back. This time, something must give.

Most of those present included music personalities who had lost one of their own. YQ, DaGrin's close pal, Sossick, his producer, Bigiano, K-Solo, Lexy Doo, DJ Jimmy Jatt, DJ Bombastic, DJ Rexy, Klever J, Dekunle Fuji, Mr. Kool, Muma Gee and so many others were present. Sunday Are, a respected music personality, had been on ground since Thursday helping to keep things in shape. Around noon, DaGrin's father, Comrade Olaniyi Olaonipekun came in and in the company of the Lagos State Police Command's P.R.O, Mr. Frank Mba delivered a heart rending speech. He said, despite his strained look, that he was not mourning. "I only had the privilege of being DaGrin's father, but he belonged to all of us, so we are all mourning. But let no one use what has happened to my son as an excuse to cause havoc. You cannot miss my son more than me and you cannot mourn him more than me. So we should all stay calm and by Monday, April 27, 2010, we would have information on the burial arrangements of my son, Olaitan Oladapo Olaonipekun. Please you can all go home and await that information. Thank you."

Mr. Frank Mba also charged all to respect law and other and requested that anyone that had any extra information about the circumstances that led to DaGrin's death to come forward in private to him or the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Akpoyibo and they would act on it in strict confidence. Many of the musicians present also had one or more things to say but the likes of Sossick and YQ were too shocked for words. Sossick just sat unobtrusively in one corner and looked lost while YQ was disconsolate. They had to put two guys on him to prevent him from totally losing control.

Here are some of the pictures from the second day at LUTH.

"I am not mourning." - DaGrin's father, Comrade Olaniyi Olaonipekun.

DaGrin's Father and Mr. Frank Mba

DaGrin's Manager, Tunde Peters, pointing the way home

Dekunle Fuji, Dude Tetsola, DJ Bombastic and Lexy Doo

DJ JIMMY JATT was really pained

THE LADIES WEREN'T LEFT OUT

MUMA GEE cried

The Police almost arrested this guy for taking it too personal

POLICEMEN FROM ALAKARA POLICE DIVISION

MOURNFUL MUSHIANS

SOME HAD TO SIT

"Our C.E.O is gone"

This is LUTH!

DAGRIN SURVIVES GHASTLY CAR ACCIDENT

DAGRIN 03

Just as his star was rising high, his light was almost extinguished prematurely. Nigeria, in fact, would have been robbed of one of its newest music stars, but for the grace of God. Dagrin drove his newly bought Nissan Maxima 3.5 SE under a stationary cement truck in front of the Alakara Police Station, Mushin (Lagos) at about 3am on Wednesday, April 7, 2010.

He had gone to visit a friend and stayed till the early hours of the morning. It was on his way back that he ran into the truck. He was immediately rescued by nearby policemen who rushed him to Tai Solarin Private Hospital, Mushin. There, they administered first aid on him and then advised his manager and some of his friends who had arrived by then to move him to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. Dagrin was unconscious all this while and had to be admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at LUTH.

The doctors at LUTH did their best for him. His parents, manager, Tunde and friends all kept vigil at the hospital while he remained unconscious. A number of Nigerian artists have been visiting LUTH since, but none has been able to see him. However, on Friday, April 16, 2010, the crooner was reported to have regained consciousness. His manager, Tunde, later told us that he was out of danger and responding very well to treatment.

A couple of weeks back when the news of his new car got to me, I had visited him at his new place at Sunshine Housing Estate, Agege. And he had happily posed beside his ride for me. He told me then that he numbered the car, DAGRIN 03, because he had ordered a couple of bigger cars and he preferred them to bear DAGRIN 01 and DAGRIN 02, while the Maxima remains number 3. He had also explained to me that his arrangement with Edylne Records was just for management. “I am carrying on with my Misofuyin Entertainment and very soon, we would unveil a number of artists to the public,” he had revealed happily.

For an artist who rose from obscurity, overcoming the impediment of limited education by rapping in his mother tongue to get to where he is today, it was a great achievement and the news that he is gradually coming back to himself is a very welcome one. The pictures here were taken by me a week before his accident.

DAGRIN 03

DAGRIN 03