The Nigerian musician Bigiano, whose real name is Oluwagbemiga Babalola, has spoken up about his regrets regarding his career.
The “Shayo” hitmaker recently told Cool FM that he turned down a chance to sign with Mo’Hits Records, the now-defunct label that D’banj and Don Jazzy co-founded.
The singer claimed to have been invited to the Mo’Hits residence during the height of his popularity and to have had a close relationship with D’banj.
Bigiano claims that he was directly asked by Don Jazzy whether he would like to join the label, but he declined.
Reflecting on the decision, the 44-year-old admitted that joining Mo’Hits could have transformed his career.
“When ‘Shayo’ was at its prime, D’banj is my brother and friend, he introduced me and handed me over to Sunday Are in 2010. And then they invited me to the house. Bankulli took me to the house,” he said.
“We got to the house and Don Jazzy asked me, ‘would you want to join the Mo’Hits’? Instead of me to say yes, the little young man felt like I have made music that was going viral and becoming popular, had independence, invited to many shows.
“In my head, I was like if I said yes I will now be in the house with Wande Coal, Dr. Sid and I will not be able to go to shows on my own again. I said no but they should push me out as their artiste as we have been.
“That would have been a big turnaround for my career because at that point, everybody in that house showed me love. Don Jazzy likes me and shows me love all the time. D’banj was the same thing. That one is my brother.
“I should have just said yes. It should have just been Wande Coal and Bigiano under Mo’Hits. You know, something like that would be a serious problem for this world.
“…because after that year that Wande Coal dropped ‘Mushin’ album I said I now have the biggest competitor. I asked myself how I was going to tackle the album then.
“Me that I have been struggling since. They gave me blank cheque instead of me to say yes, I said no.
“I will not lie to you, if I can fix that I would rewind time and go back and say yes, even three times.”
Bigiano rose to fame with ‘Shayo’ in 2009. In the same year, he was nominated for multiple awards, including the MTV Africa Music Awards and Nigeria Entertainment Awards’ under the Best New Act category.
