YBNL and MAVIN Records: The Powerhouse of New Generation Artists In Africa

The history of the Nigerian Music Industry, and in Africa, will remain incomplete without a worthy mention of some entertainment companies in the very competitive music industry like Nigeria, where different kinds of entertainment companies erupt daily to become huge organizations in the music industry.

While highlighting some of the great new generation artists these two Labels have unveiled, we also discussed the label’s great catalogue of hit songs, coupled with mass appeals and international recognition. Don’t forget to tell us which other Labels you think deserve to stand a chance with the two Labels in the comments or poll section!

MAVIN And YBNL: How Two Giant Labels Co-Exist Over The Years



Undoubtedly, only a few of the Best Record Labels in Nigeria and Africa currently can stand Mavin Records and YBNL Nation. Over the years, these two amazing record labels have shown excellence, exuded mastery, and showcased talents and superstars who are currently leading the African music industry.



Nothing much to be surprised about. These two labels are owned and run by two unbelievable music craftsmen in Nigeria. The singer Michael Collins Ajereh is popularly known as Don Jazzy, and the versatile rapper and singer Olamide Adedeji is popularly known as Baddoo. Albeit, The last time Don Jazzy scored a personal hit song, the man in Aso Rock was still in Daura herding his cow, the other boss, Olamide, remains one of the hit-maker musicians, sitting on the echelon as one of the consistent best rappers in Nigeria who releases Projects almost every year.



Unfortunately, this piece isn’t curated to compare and contrast their current personal feats in the industry, it’s also noteworthy to compose some glaring points to shed more light on this.

Recall that these two record label owners once had a feud in 2015 when things became controversial after Reekado Banks won the Next Rated category Award — which comes with a car prize while the YBNL Boss Olamide was unhappy about it. The rapper, with a cup presumably containing alcohol, expressed dissatisfaction with the Next Rated category.

He claimed Lil Kesh, his protégé, deserved the award based on a steady release of hits. That year He was cheered off stage as he slammed both mic and cup onstage. Cameras showed him with both middle fingers raised.



Thereafter, we saw the video of Don Jazzy, receiving a Special Recognition Award, saying to Olamide, “If you want the car, come and take it.” However, this particular feud has long been settled. Let’s dive into the records of the two giant labels.

Mavin Records: A Colony of Superstars



Ever since the emergence of Mavin Records in 2012, the label has remained the force to reckon with, the platform for many artists’ successes, and has strongly held on to its consistency game, and presently it’s still very much intact to date. The label started to gain massive recognition in 2014 when the likes of superstars like Korede Bello, Dija, and Reekado Banks gave birth to a reformed Supreme Mavin Dynasty.



These guys were undoubtedly the real new generation artists back then in that they gave much of their energy, talents, and relevance to the Mavin Record Label. Under their reign, the Mavin scored nationwide hits and released several Joint singles, which included Dorobucci, Adaobi, Jantamanta, and several other major hits.



In 2017, the label experienced a breath of fresh air into the label with new young promising artists recruits like; LadiPoe, DNA, and Johnny Drille. Unfortunately, their addition wasn’t impacting as expected, but it gave them relevance as these acts are wonderfully talented in their respective specialities. LadiPoe, who was a rapper, and DNA, Clinto and Blair, the amazing duo singer; and Johnny Drille, the lover boy singer.



That season, Tiwa Savage was on the zenith of the label as the only Queen amidst other queens making a buzz in the industry. The energy of Reekado, the reticence of Korede Bello, the mystique of Rema, the versatility of Ayra Starr, Boy Spyce, Magixx, and Crayon. These are the leading young artists that Mavin Records has blessed us with and still got great ambience recognition as one of the major outstanding Labels in Nigeria.

YBNL: The Journey of A Kingmaker



For over a decade now, the YBNL Record label, with the full meaning “Yahoo Boy No Laptop”, has never stopped creating a buzz in the music industry. Year in, year out, serial hit songs emanate from this record to the mainstream. Without mincing words, YBNL record Label holds the highest amount of hit songs in Nigeria. It’s also worth mentioning that the label got its name from one of Olamide’s albums.



Although at some point, the label experienced a few setbacks after refined superstars like Lil Kesh, Adekunle Gold, Viktoh, and Chinko Ekun left the industry due to record label deal elapsed time. But all of a sudden, the label came back to life with an upgraded version which was called YBNL Mafia Family, a strategy deployed by the label to re-energize the spirits of fans that YBNL is back and here to stay as one big family.



This period of the updated YBNL Mafia Family version experienced young talented rappers like Picazo Rhap, Yomi Blaze, Limerick, Davolee, and talented afrobeat singers like Fireboy DML, Lyta, and Temmie Ovwasa.

During this period, the label released joint projects that garnered massive acceptance by the fans who claimed Olamide had been starving them of that vibe for a long time. After that period, the label disposed of Picazo Rhap, Yomi Blaze, Limerick, Davolee, Temmie Ovwasa, and even Lyta. Rumours had it that there was no paperwork that these artists were officially signed by YBNL, Olamide, who’s always known to showcase unknown artists and give them platforms to shine without charging them.



In February 2020, Nigerian rapper and YBNL head Olamide announced that he signed a venture deal with American music distribution and record label Empire Distribution. Ever since then, the label has been on the top of its game.



Presently, the label has Fireboy, Asake, and the boss himself, releasing hits back to back and disturbing the music industry with buzz and vibes. For instance, Asake has already scored four number one hits this year, and Fireboy and Olamide have one each. That’s six hits, and to be honest, no other record label is touching that.



With all the successes the two giant record labels have recorded over the years, it’s very hard to pick which of the labels is the best. Why? If we are pitching the two labels and using hitmaking as the criteria, YBNL and Mavin both got serial hit songs. If we are to judge based on talented artists, both labels got arrays of stars and have housed a lot of young generation artists killing it in the afrobeat scenes.



As much as it’s hard to take a side, everyone always has a different opinion on which label they think is the best. We will let you all decide.



Which other Labels, aside from YBNL and MAVIN, have given more platforms for young artists to shine in Nigeria?