The 2018 edition of popular reality show; Big Brother Naija has just come to an explosive end and viewers who closely followed the show may have taken into account the reggaeton record “Way Up” that was played as a soundtrack during the Sunday live shows and intermittently on weekdays.
Although Way Up has grown to become popular amongst millions of viewers who watched the show, only little is known about 1Da Banton the voice behind the record.
Born and raised in the old city of Port Harcourt, Rivers state, 1Da started his professional music career in 2016 (which he describes as the time when he officially began to release singles) after inking a deal with Square Ball Records – run by popular Nigerian music video director; Adasa Cookey.
The singer has worked with a number of industry heavyweights including; Skales, Solidstar, Harrysong and Timaya who featured on his 2017 Extended Play dubbed “The Banton EP”.
Although he enjoys to experiment in dancehall terrain, 1Da describes his sonic range as versatile. “I make music: that’s what I always tell people because I don’t have a particular genre. I make all kinds of music but I’m more comfortable or more connected when I do reggae dancehall’, He told NET over a phone call.
1Da’s musical versatility can be traced on his 10-track Banton EP which saw him explore varieties of sounds including; highlife, dancehall, and Nigerian pop rhythms.
Whilst he enjoyed some sort of mainstream success with his 2016 single “Joy” which enlisted singer Harrysong on its remix, 1Da explained that the Big Brother Naija platform has served as a major catalyst as his streaming figures have organically taken a plunge. “Way Up was actually number one on Zimbabwean iTunes for about two weeks and my Spotify streams have gone higher. The show actually helped me a lot”, He disclosed.
Way Up is the second track on the said EP and on how it landed the Big Brother Naija opportunity, the singer revealed that it was a case of favour as him and his management had no connections with the organizers of the show. “It was just a normal submission. I really don’t know what happened but they just picked it. Even from when they started playing and how often they played, came as a surprise to me”, he explained.
Although the show is now over, 1Da is just getting started as he has now released a new single titled “Jowo”. Take a listen below.