I’m Not Hiding Under Don Jazzy’s Shadow - D’Prince

                                
Call him the baby of Mavin Records and you are not far from the truth. He will gladly tell you he accepts the title. Amidst laughter, D’Prince, who is the youngest and most reserved of the Mavin Records crew, says he intends to remain that way for a long time to come.

Growing up, he was exposed to a lot of musical instruments around him; little wonder the singer – real name Charles Enebeli – developed a musical leaning at an early age.

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“My dad was into music production and my mum was a chorister in her younger days. So it was only natural that I was exposed to different sounds and genres at such a tender age. My dad is a musical encyclopaedia. Just test him; there is nothing he doesn’t know about the industry. So we all grew up singing, dancing or playing instruments. There has never been anything else that I have wanted to do except music.”

Beyond his songs, it is safe to say that D’Prince is best known as Don Jazzy’s kid brother. He attended King’s College, Lagos before choosing to focus on music. When his elder brother returned to Nigeria to promote the Mo’Hits label, he was asked to become one of the inaugural acts in 2005.

While the relationship would be readily regarded as a plus for the young singer, he says he has had cause to defend and react to criticism that he is simply riding on his brother’s (Don Jazzy) back as a launch pad to a successful career.

“It is never easy when you are related to a legend in any industry. All I can say is that the new album, which is my first, is coming out and hopefully it will be judged on its merits. I am first an individual and then an artiste, which makes me unique. Yes, being Don Jazzy’s brother is a plus. But it has not in any way robbed me of my talent or made me a lazy artiste. I am proud of who I am and as such not hiding under Don Jazzy’s shadow,” he adds.

He announced himself to the world in 2007 when he featured in the hit singles Close to You, Booty Call, and Igbe Mi. Two years later, his debut single, ‘Omoba’, was released to critical and commercial acclaim. He proved the initial success was no fluke by going on to record four songs – Jonzing world, I like What I see, Ooze, and Give It To Me.

Of all his singles, the most recent -Take Banana Till You Go Yo - a track off the Mavin Records Solar Plexus album, has been adjudged as being sexually suggestive lyrics wise.

To this assumption he says, “I think some people have very active imagination o! I had a lot of fun making Take Banana and I’m just happy that people really like the song, the way I see it.”

When pressed further about the inspiration behind the track, D’Prince says, “I have this friend that’s on a diet and every time she comes to my house she always asks me “Do you have Banana.?”The first two times she came to my house I didn’t have banana. But the third time I went to Park ‘n’ Shop and I bought a lot of bananas so when she asked for bananas I provided a lot of it and she was very happy and everybody was happy.”

At the peak of the Dbanj/ Don Jazzy crisis and eventual breakup, he was clearly on his brother’s side. Looking back, he says he has no regrets taking the stands he took at that time.

“There was not really a decision to be made at the time. Don Jazzy is my big brother. So once he discussed with me that he wanted to go in a new direction, I asked him when were we due to start,” he explains.

Blessed with boyish looks, the soft spoken singer is constantly flocked by ladies, all of whom are struggling to have a share of his heart. But his relationship status has been one of the industry’s logest-kept secret

However, a few months back, a major blogger uncovered the lady alleged to be in a romance with the artiste when it published the picture of budding model, Voke Petra. According to him, they are mere speculations. “Every day I am linked to someone different. If half of them were true I would not even have time for anything else. I’m focusing on my music right now. My private life I would prefer to keep for now.

“I have always had good influences. Don Jazzy, my parents, the Mavin family – everyone around me keeps me in check. The minute you start believing the hype is the minute you start to slide. I want to break new grounds. We have so much talent around right now and it is a good time to be in the business. I want to be a part of that history,” he says.