Agents Of Change

By Blessing Ogunli

No account of the positive transformation witnessed in Nigeria’s music industry in the past 15 years can be considered valid without ample mention of the contributions of Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo Adeneye.

• Kenny Ogungbe.

The duo, joint owners of Kennis Music, have through the music label, their debonair demeanour and innovative management style, brought vitality to the music scene.

Before their entry to the scene in the early 1990s, it was fast becoming impossible to make money from music in the country. Players in the industry were deserting it for other sectors of the economy and the works of the few that braved the odds rarely got air play on radio stations across the country.

The reverse is the case today. Not only do the works of Nigerian musical acts get regular air play in local and international broadcast media, some youthful Nigerian musicians based abroad are returning home to be part of the growing industry. And music talents are clinching international award with impressive regularity.

As presenters on RayPower 100.5 FM, Nigeria’s first private radio station, ‘Keke’ Ogungbe and ‘D1’ Adeneye, as they are fondly called, were catalysts for all that to happen. They brought significant attention to the works of the country’s musical talents, via RayPower Jamz, a musical show that gave ample air play to music of potential stars. They also brought the musicians to the studio for live interviews and interaction with listeners.

With the coming of Africa Independent Television, AIT, few years later, the soul mates took their act a notch higher with the introduction of Prime Time Jamz, a weekly one-hour live musical show aired on Friday nights. Just as they did on radio, Keke and D1 regularly brought artistes to the studio for live interviews and performance. This greatly helped them in their quest for local and international visibility, as their fans had the opportunity to call in and interact with them.

Not satisfied with the publicity the live programme was offering, the duo went on to organise gigs at different night clubs across Lagos, which tremendously promoted their music. Ogungbe and Adeneye upped the ante by founding their own music label at a time the industry needed a vibrant and proactive company.

In 1998, Keke and D1 started the annual Kennis Music Easter Fiesta, a concert that paraded stars and promising acts in the country. This year’s edition, the tenth, will be broadcast live on AIT, Nigerian Television Authority and RayPower FM.

Adekunle Ayeni, an Entertainment journalist and consultant, describing Kennis as a saving grace for the music industry which had failed to attract investors after the death of the second generation labels, said: “The coming of Kennis Music – Keke and D1 – proved that labels can still survive in the country and that music is a serious business.”

He added that other benefits derivable from the pioneering efforts of the duo were the explosion of song writers, managers, publicists, agents and providers of auxiliary services. The pioneers also smiled to the bank. “By their success, Keke and D1 have been able to show us that if you keep doing what you are doing consistently and you believe in it, you will succeed,” Ayeni said.

The label’s first artist was Tony Tetulia, following the break-up of Remedies group, the pioneer hip hop group in the country. Kennis Music took Tetuila on a tour of the UK, opening the way for other Nigerian acts to travel abroad to do shows.

The label later signed on as solo artistes, Edward Ashiedu-Brown and Eedris Abdulkareem, the two other members of the Remedies group. Noticing the talent in Innocent ‘Tuface’ Idibia, Kennis snapped him up following the death of Plantashun Boiz. The label released Tuface’s debut titled Grass to Grace, which became an instant hit. Kennis Music projected Tuface’s image and arranged shows for him in major cities in the world. Indeed, the MTV Europe Award won by Tuface and the cult-like status he is enjoying today would not have been possible without the input of Keke and D1.

Artists that have worked with Kennis Music include Tuface, Baba Dee, Sound Sultan, Marvelous Benji, Kenny Saint Brown and Essence. Others are VIP, Mzbel, Sir Shina Peters, Wale Thompson and Paul Play.

The relationship between Keke and D1 started in their days at the University of New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States of America.  Dr. Raymond Dokpesi invited him and Kenny Ogungbe to be part of the founding team of RayPower and AIT in 1993. Seven years after, the duo bade goodbye to RayPower and AIT.

Adeneye stressed that he had always tried to do things that he enjoys, something that he has a passion for. “Be it teaching, be it management, I like leadership. I like imparting knowledge, which I did with teaching. Now that I am on radio and television, I like educating people, informing people and entertaining people. So, all that comes together in what we do now in Prime Time and Kennis Music. I thank God I am able to make a living out of it,” he enthused.

Going by their antecedents, for Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo Adeneye, only change is constant.