Bankulli
Nigerian music executive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abisagboola Oluseun John popularly known as Bankulli or Osha, is a Nigerian music executive, A&R, talent manager, singer, and songwriter, pioneering the African pop culture.[1][2] He is the founder and CEO of Bankulli Entertainment, known for housing recording acts, such as Basiil,[3] and Konstance.[4] He formerly served as the artiste manager of Mo' Hits Records,[5] one of Africa's defunct recording companies owned by Don Jazzy, and D’banj. As a talent manager, he managed D'banj's solo career after Mo' Hits.
24 December 1975
- Talent manager
- A&R executive
- Promoter
- Music executive
- Singer
- Songwriter
Bankulli | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abisagboola Oluseun John 24 December 1975 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | Bankulli Entertainment |
Bankulli has also worked with artists and producers around the world from Nigeria, the US, and the UK. In 2011, he worked on the collaborative studio project Watch The Throne, a 5× Platinum album created by Kanye West and Jay-Z. He went on to work with Kanye West on his sixth studio album Yeezus. In 2020, Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift[6] soundtrack album, was nominated at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and earned him, a special recognition from The Recording Academy.[7][8]
Career
Bankulli began his music career at R70, a UK-based entertainment company owned by Ayo Shonaiya, and DJ Abass, where he worked as an internship.[9] In 2019, Beyoncé released a soundtrack album titled The Lion King: The Gift, which Bankulli co-wrote two songs on the project alongside Beyoncé.[10] The album also earned him his first Grammy nomination for his songwriting credit on "Find Your Way Back", and "Otherside".[11] On 9 August 2019, Bankulli announced in a series of tweets about his documentary titled "Chronicles of Afrobeats" to be released soon, in the tweet he narrated how Don Jazzy became the first Afrobeats Music producer to represent the genre in the mainstream music scene in the U.S in 2011, to two greatest music genius of our time Kanye West, and Jay-Z, to how he ended doing vocals on two songs on Watch The Throne album.[12]
Discography
Collaborative eps
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG |
NG Afropop[14] |
SA |
UK |
UK Afrobeats |
US Afrobeats | ||||
| "Gbemiro" (feat. Wurld)[15] | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Gbemiro (Remix)" (feat. Hiro)[16] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Foreign" (feat. Not3s)[17] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | ||
| "Ekorin" | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Last Ship | ||
| "Iye" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "All My Life" (feat. MohBad, Basiil, & Konstance)[18] | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA | |
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG |
NG Afropop[14] |
SA |
UK |
UK Afrobeats |
US Afrobeats |
US R&B/HH | |||||||
| "Iyawo" (Thutmose featuring Bankulli) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Best of Both Worlds: Side B | ||||
| "Wedding Song" (Machel Montano featuring Bankulli) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Wedding Album | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Production discography
Selected songs produced and songwriting credit
| Artist | Song | Album | Release date | Certifications | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay-Z and Kanye West | "Lift Off" (feat. Beyoncé) | Watch the Throne | 8 August 2011 | Def Jam / Roc Nation \ Roc-A-Fella |
| |
| "Illest Motherfucker Alive" | ||||||
| Shatta Wale | "Dancehall King" | Answers (The Hybrid) | 14 March 2014 | SM4LYF Records |
| |
| After the Storm | 29 April 2016 | Shatta Movement Music Production | ||||
| Beyoncé | "Find Your Way Back" | The Lion King: The Gift | 19 July 2019 | Parkwood / Columbia |
| |
| "Otherside" | ||||||
| Davido | "Stand Strong" (feat. Sunday Service Choir) | Non-album single | 13 May 2022 | DMW / Sony |
| |
| Basiil | "Vibration" | I Know I Am | 2 June 2023 | Bankulli Entertainment |
| |
| "Come Alive" (feat. 4Korners) | 7 July 2023 | |||||
| Konstance | "Melo" | TBA | 31 August 2023 | |||
| "For You" | 1 December 2023 | |||||
| Basiil | "Falling" (feat. Camidoh) | Falling with My Idols | 1 December 2023 | |||
| "Falling" (feat. Nonso Amadi) | 1 December 2023 | |||||
| "Falling" (feat. Ladipoe) | 1 December 2023 |
Selected albums produced
| Artist | Album | Release date | Certifications | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay-Z and Kanye West | Watch the Throne | 8 August 2011 | Def Jam / Roc Nation / Roc-A-Fella |
| |
| Kanye West | Yeezus | 18 June 2013 | Def Jam / Roc-A-Fella | ||
| Beyoncé | The Lion King: The Gift | 19 July 2019 | Parkwood / Columbia |
| |
| Bankulli and Töme | Journey Back Home | 26 November 2021 | Bankulli Entertainment |
| |
| Basil | I Know I Am | 21 July 2023 | |||
| Shatta Wale | Konekt[19] | TBA | TBA |