Bankulli
Bankulli | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abisagboola Oluseun John 24 December 1975 |
| Nationality | Nigeria |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | Bankulli Entertainment |
Abisagboola Oluseun John popularly known as Bankulli or Osha, is a Nigerian music executive, A&R, talent manager, singer, and songwriter, pioneering the African pop culture.[1][2] He is the founder and CEO of Bankulli Entertainment, known for housing recording acts, such as Basiil,[3] and Konstance.[4] He formerly served as the artiste manager of Mo' Hits Records,[5] one of Africa's defuncted recording companies owned by Don Jazzy, and D’banj. As a talent manager, he managed D'banj's solo career after Mo' Hits.
Bankulli has also worked with artists and producers around the world from Nigeria, the US, and the UK. In 2011, he worked on the collaborative studio project Watch The Throne, a 5× Platinum album created by Kanye West and Jay-Z. He went on to work with Kanye West on his sixth studio album Yeezus. In 2020, Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift[6] soundtrack album, was nominated at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and earned him, a special recognition from The Recording Academy.[7][8]
Career[edit]
Bankulli began his music career at R70, a UK-based entertainment company owned by Ayo Shonaiya, and DJ Abass, where he worked as an internship.[9] In 2019, Beyoncé released a soundtrack album titled The Lion King: The Gift, which Bankulli co-wrote two songs on the project alongside Beyoncé.[10] The album also earned him his first Grammy nomination for his songwriting credit on "Find Your Way Back", and "Otherside".[11] On 9 August 2019, Bankulli announced in a series of tweets about his documentary titled "Chronicles of Afrobeats" to be released soon, in the tweet he narrated how Don Jazzy became the first Afrobeats Music producer to represent the genre in the mainstream music scene in the U.S in 2011, to two greatest music genius of our time Kanye West, and Jay-Z, to how he ended doing vocals on two songs on Watch The Throne album.[12]
Discography[edit]
Collaborative eps[edit]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| NG | ||
| Journey Back Home[13]
(with. Töme) |
|
Singles[edit]
As lead artist[edit]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG |
NG Afropop[14] |
SA |
UK |
UK Afrobeats |
US Afrobeats | ||||
| "Gbemiro" (feat. Wurld)[15] | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Gbemiro (Remix)" (feat. Hiro)[16] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Foreign" (feat. Not3s)[17] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | ||
| "Ekorin" | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Last Ship | ||
| "Iye" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "All My Life" (feat. MohBad, Basiil, & Konstance)[18] | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | |
As featured artist[edit]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG |
NG Afropop[14] |
SA |
UK |
UK Afrobeats |
US Afrobeats |
US R&B/HH | |||||||
| "Iyawo" (Thutmose featuring Bankulli) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Best of Both Worlds: Side B | ||||
| "Wedding Song" (Machel Montano featuring Bankulli) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Wedding Album | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Production discography[edit]
Selected songs produced and songwriting credit[edit]
| Artist | Song | Album | Release date | Certifications | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay-Z and Kanye West | "Lift Off" (feat. Beyoncé) | Watch the Throne | 8 August 2011 | Def Jam / Roc Nation \ Roc-A-Fella |
| |
| "Illest Motherfucker Alive" | ||||||
| Shatta Wale | "Dancehall King" | Answers (The Hybrid) | 14 March 2014 | SM4LYF Records |
| |
| After the Storm | 29 April 2016 | Shatta Movement Music Production | ||||
| Beyoncé | "Find Your Way Back" | The Lion King: The Gift | 19 July 2019 | Parkwood / Columbia |
| |
| "Otherside" | ||||||
| Davido | "Stand Strong" (feat. Sunday Service Choir) | Non-album single | 13 May 2022 | DMW / Sony |
| |
| Basiil | "Vibration" | I Know I Am | 2 June 2023 | Bankulli Entertainment |
| |
| "Come Alive" (feat. 4Korners) | 7 July 2023 | |||||
| Konstance | "Melo" | TBA | 31 August 2023 | |||
| "For You" | 1 December 2023 | |||||
| Basiil | "Falling" (feat. Camidoh) | Falling with My Idols | 1 December 2023 | |||
| "Falling" (feat. Nonso Amadi) | 1 December 2023 | |||||
| "Falling" (feat. Ladipoe) | 1 December 2023 |
Selected albums produced[edit]
| Artist | Album | Release date | Certifications | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay-Z and Kanye West | Watch the Throne | 8 August 2011 | Def Jam / Roc Nation / Roc-A-Fella |
| |
| Kanye West | Yeezus | 18 June 2013 | Def Jam / Roc-A-Fella | ||
| Beyoncé | The Lion King: The Gift | 19 July 2019 | Parkwood / Columbia |
| |
| Bankulli and Töme | Journey Back Home | 26 November 2021 | Bankulli Entertainment |
| |
| Basil | I Know I Am | 21 July 2023 | |||
| Shatta Wale | Konekt[19] | TBA | TBA |
References[edit]
- ^ Itodo, Sunny Green (28 April 2023). "International collaboration is the new crude oil – Music executive, Bankulli". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "African youths should be involved in Politics full-time, says Bankuli". The Nation. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Eze, Chinelo (22 June 2023). "Basiil Steps Out With Vibration". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Charts, TurnTable. "KONSTANCE DEBUTS HER EXCITING NEW CHAPTER AS SHE SHARES NEW SINGLE "MELO"". www.turntablecharts.com. TurnTable. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Nigeria, Guardian (22 December 2019). "Bankulli: The Star Plug". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Soupamodel, D. J. (25 July 2019). "Meet the African Artists Beyonce Collaborated With For 'The Lion King: The Gift'". Billboard. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Bankulli, Juls Baby, Lil Nas X – Meet the Recording Academy Member Class of 2020". BellaNaija. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Bankuli: Music, Grammy, and me". The Nation. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Why I Left D'Banj —Bankuli". P.M. News. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Report, Agency (16 September 2019). "Nigerian artiste, Bankulli speaks on writing for Beyoncé". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Tayo, Ayomide O. (19 July 2019). "Review of The Lion King: The Gift album by Beyonce". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Bankulli set to Release "Chronicles of Afrobeats" Documentary". BellaNaija. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Alake, Motolani (29 November 2021). "Sound Sultan is immortalized on 'Journey Back Home,' by Bankulli and Tome". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Top Afro-POP Songs". TurnTable Charts. TurnTable. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "New Music: Bankulli feat. WurlD – Gbemiro". BellaNaija. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "New Music: Bankulli feat. Hiro – Gbemiro (Remix)". BellaNaija. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Alake, Motolani (22 January 2021). "TolaniBaj of BBNaija and Bad Boy Timz feature in Bankulli and Not3s's new video for, 'Foreign'". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "All My Life Lyrics by Bankulli Feat. Mohbad, Basil & Konstance". NotjustOk. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Bankulli produces Shatta Wale's new album – Starr Fm". Starr Fm. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.