Prominent Nigerian music producers and DJs, including Sarz, Ozedikus and DJ Kaywise, have opened up about what they describe as long standing exploitation of producers and disc jockeys by some artistes in the Nigerian music industry.
The conversation was ignited after Sarz, a celebrated producer known for shaping numerous Afrobeats hits, revealed during a recent appearance on the Afropolitan podcast that several well-known artistes took advantage of him earlier in his career.
According to Sarz, some artistes recorded songs with him but failed to honour agreed payments.
“So many popular artists took advantage of me, they would make music with me and not pay me. There is one big artiste I made two songs with but he only paid for one. That day I said to anyone who doesn’t have what I’m charging, I’m not working with them. Then I started becoming a notorious person,” he said.
His comments quickly gained traction online, prompting other industry figures to share similar experiences.
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Reacting to a viral clip of Sarz’s interview on X (formerly Twitter), Ozedikus disclosed that he once encountered a comparable situation with an unnamed musician.
The producer claimed he created more than 30 songs within two months for the artist but was not paid for any of them. He further alleged that despite pleading for recognition, he was denied production credit when one of the songs was eventually released.
“After watching Sarz talk about artists taking advantage of him, I remembered 2016/17 when I produced 30+ songs in 2 months for someone. Got paid for none. They dropped one track and I was begging just to be tagged on IG for ‘exposure.’ Still didn’t happen lol,” he wrote.
Joining the discussion, DJ Kaywise recounted his own experience, this time naming veteran rapper Eldee, popularly known as Eldee The Don.
According to DJ Kaywise, Eldee promised to sign him to his record label in 2012 after he produced over 1,000 mixtapes for him and his affiliated artistes during his early days in Alaba. However, the promise allegedly did not materialise.
“After seeing your tweets, I remembered in 2012 @eLDeeTheDon promised to sign me to his label… after I made over 1,000 mixtapes for him and his artists in my Alaba days. Baba said NotJustOk would announce it after he signed Eva Alordiah to the label. That was the first major industry lamba I ever got and that’s why I haven’t signed with any label since,” he stated.
DJ Kaywise added that choosing to remain independent after the experience has proven beneficial, noting that the decision is beginning to yield positive results in his career.
As of the time of filing this report, Eldee The Don has not publicly responded to the allegations made by DJ Kaywise.
The revelations have sparked renewed debate within Nigeria’s music industry about fair compensation, recognition and contractual transparency for producers and DJs who contribute significantly to the success of artistes.