Reekado Banks Calls Out Industry Figures Stifling Talent

Nigerian music star Reekado Banks has stirred conversation with a post on X, where he claims some individuals within the Nigerian music industry are hindering the growth of talented artists.

In his March 25 post, Reekado suggested that these individuals, whom he described as either “clueless or demonic,” seem to consistently find the most promising talents, only to stifle their progress with poor decisions. He wrote, “One day, I’ll take an interview to talk about someone in the corners of the entertainment industry, who’s either absolutely CLUELESS or plain DEMONIC. Somehow, the brightest budding talents fall in their lap and either through cluelessness or pure demonic activities, they agree to policies that effectively slow these talents down and for some other talents, frustrate them out of pursuing their dreams.”

His statement isn’t surprising to many who have followed the ongoing trend of artist-label disputes in Nigeria, where several talents have voiced their frustrations about harmful management practices. While fans speculate who the post might be referring to, it’s unlikely to be about Reekado’s former label, Mavins Music, under which he rose to fame.

In a past interview, Reekado explained that his departure from Mavins Records was on good terms, praising Don Jazzy for taking him from obscurity. “That man took me from absolutely nothing. I wonder why anyone would think it wasn’t amicable. The end of the contract came, I wanted to leave and he (Don Jazzy) gave me his blessings,” Reekado said.

However, despite Reekado Banks’ amicable exit, the Nigerian music scene is filled with numerous high-profile artist-label disputes. Notable examples include Brymo’s legal battle with Chocolate City, Skales’ court clash with Baseline, and Runtown’s public dispute with Eric Many. The music industry was also shaken in 2022 by the very public fallout between Marlian Records and the late Mohbad, which drew widespread attention after his tragic death. More recently, tensions between Dapper Music and artists like Seyi Vibez, Shallipopi, and Muyeez have added to the ongoing drama surrounding Nigerian music labels.