Grammy nominee and Music Executive Bankuli has revealed agendas to commence a documentary titled ‘Chronicles of Afrobeats.’
Abisagboola Oluseun John, known professionally as “Bankulli”, born 24 December 1975, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in Lagos, his work as a talent manager has increased his influence across both Afrobeats and Afropop across the world.
He helped build Mo’hits Records, one of africa’s defunct record label with the co-founders Don Jazzy, D’banj, Wande Coal, D’Prince, Mystro, K Switch etc on its roster.
Bankulli subsequently managed D’banj’s solo career for a while. Bankulli is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and Grammy nominated actor via Beyoncé’s The Lion King 2019, the gift album project.
According to him, the documentary of Afrobeat will explain the traditions and origin of Afrobeats. It will also spotlight individuals that contributed to the globally acknowledged genre of music.
Bankuli made this known during an Instagram live talk with On-Air Personality, Adesope Olajide recently.
The music exec said “It is very important for us to document our story because people that came together to push the idea from the beginning are still alive.
“It makes more sense for us to document what happened then and we were able to pinpoint the story back then, we took it as far back as highlife, far back as mike Okri, and even when Ajegunle music was reigning, Daddy Showkey, Chris Okotie, even too as far back as Pretty and Junior which were the first Afrobeats artist that was signed to a premier music label in the world.
“They started investing in what we call Afrobeats. We also took it to as far back as 2baba, moments that happened during Oliver Twist Dbanj, Mohits, and of course, there are a lot of unsung heroes that are lying there and a lot of people do not see around the world.”
Bankuli who is currently in the United States of America filming the documentary revealed his meeting with renowned Nigerian music producer Femi Ojetunde who had worked with Sunny Ade, Onyeka Owenu, and top American hip-hop legends.
Bankulli has also worked with artists and producers from Nigeria, the US and the UK. In 2011, He worked on the collaborative studio project “Watch The Throne”, created by hip-hop moguls Kanye West and Jay-Z. The album was released by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. He also worked on Kanye’s sixth studio album ‘Yeezus’. Both projects are certified platinum
Bankulli was born in Surulere, a residential and commercial area of Lagos that is associated with famous celebrities like Wizkid, OJB Jezreel, Tade Ogidan, Bukky Ajayi, Desmond Elliot etc.
After graduating from the University, Bankulli joined R70, a UK-based entertainment company owned by two Nigerians, Ayo Shonaiya and DJ Abass for his internship. R70 developed content and creatives for BEN Television on Sky UK and was the first to put together a Nigerian Urban concert in the UK.