It was vibes and fun as Nigerian singer and rapper, Oladapo Oyebanji, popularly known as D’banj, entertained his fans at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos on Tuesday night.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that D’banj performed to the excitement of the crowd, as part of celebrations to mark his 20 years of musical excellence in the entertainment industry.
D’banj had earlier announced saying “I will be celebrating my 20th anniversary on June 11 at the Shrine. It is free of charge for everybody, as I’m going to be giving back to you (fans) for all that you’ve given to me.”
The 43-year-old performer also announced plans to host 20 shows in 20 cities in Nigeria before touring other African countries, then America, and Europe.
He will then return to Nigeria in December for the Koko Festival.
‘Mobolowowon’, ‘Why me’, ‘Tongolo’, ‘Mr Endowed’ and ‘Oliver Twist’ were among several of his hits he performed for the enthralling crowd.
The event also witnessed brilliant performances from Peruzzi and Made Kuti, with the latter having a joint performance with D’banj.
The stage was also a platform for some up-and-coming artistes to showcase their talents as D’banj brought up some fans to the stage to perform their acts.
Some of the fun seekers expressed excitement about the event while speaking with NAN.
Leke Adesesan, who was there with his girlfriend, said he was excited about the event and commended the organisers for the initiative.
“I have never really had the opportunity to see D’banj perform live before, so, as soon as I heard about it, I registered for the event and ensured that I was here.
“His performance has been so great, I’m enjoying every moment of this and I wish the end wouldn’t end so I can have more of this,” he said.
Nnamdi Nwachukwu, who came in the company of his friends, said he was thrilled and had been entertained with the performance all through the night.
“I have been dancing since when I came into here, as you can see it has been a great performance from D’banj and the other performers.
“I have also been waiting for the day to see Made Kuti perform. So, you can imagine my excitement when that happens and I got to witness such great performance for free,”he said.
Also, Sandra Okafor who attended the event with her female friends, advised that new artistes should learn the act of performance instead of miming when performing.
“The new generation of artistes must learn how to perform live whenever they want to entertain their fans instead of miming when they are on stage.
“There is a unique difference when performing live as D’banj as shown this, and we have been dancing all night long because live performances come with a different vibe.”
For Joseph Atah, who said he is single and lives in Igando, he expressed gladness to have witnessed the performance, noting that it was uplifting for his mental health.
“This performance has been so great and uplifting for me mentally because it has been a tough couple of days for me. So, this has really helped to calm my spirits.
“Performances like this have a way of changing one’s mood and I’m so glad I could make it here because I was kind of reluctant coming due to the distance,” he said.
On her part, Nike Adebayo said that the performance was elevating, urging organisers to come up often with such free events.
“Having such shows can be great for networking which in turn helps people in creating a bond that can lead to opportunities,” she said. (NAN)
