BN Bytes: “I Got Hacked” – D’banj disclaims “Daniel Banjo” Name Change via Publicist
Posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 at 8:58 AMBy BellaNaija.com
This story has 3 parts!
The Name Change
The Fan Response – A D’banj Fan’s Open Letter - 1976ad.com
Dear D’Banj,
I love your work, I really do, I think you’re one of the greatest musicians of your generation, but I must say, your new affiliation with G.O.O.D music seems to be getting to your head.
For years you’ve been known by your official name, Dapo Oyebanjo, even using it as part of your twitter handle. Well all good things come to an end, and your affiliation with your new label seems to have brought that particular chapter of your life to an untimely conclusion.
D’Banj you’ve now gone from ‘Dapo Oyebanjo’ to ‘Daniel Banjo’. All I can do is laugh, I mean, Daniel ‘Banjo‘ ? What are you, a country music star from Nashville?
I mean, I get it, Daniel provides the ‘D’ and Banjo provides the ‘Banj’, but negro please, you’re hustlin’ backwards. Why abandon the successful person you are to become a less successful version of what you’re not? You’re a Nigerian, not an American, and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be one, so be yourself and have faith.
Plus, truth be told, based on a fan base, you’re the BIGGEST artist in the entire G.O.O.D music family other than ‘Ye himself. You don’t need to become an Americanized version of yourself to fit in. Not to knock their hustle, but I promise you, John Legend, Pusha T, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Common and your other label mates wish they had as many rabid long-time fans as you do, they don’t. You’ve accomplished something most of them will never get to do, they should be insecure around you, not vice versa.
Either way, Dapo Daniel I’m sure you still have people who can advice you. I’d suggest they step up and help you get your mind right. Truth be told, your music is what people are interested in, not the un-africanization / westernization of your name, heck, just go study the life of Tupac Amaru Shakur to see how having an ethnic name is immaterial to one’s success. Or go further back and study the work of one of your mentors, the late, great Fela Anikulapo-Kuti who actually went from his westernized “Ransome-Kuti” to the very Nigerianized ”Anikulapo”. Till today his name still rings out in all corners of the world, heck he was even immortalized with a show on Broadway.
Anyway, all I’m trying to say is people love those who keep it 100, please get back to that.
I’ve spoken my piece.
Deuces.
Spirit of ’76
The Official Response – Press Release by VA:PR
Over the past few weeks Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo aka D’Banj has experienced a series of vicious hacks on several of his social networking sites including his Facebook page and more recently, his Twitter of which his account name was wrongfully changed.
Unfortunately the hackers managed to carry out a number of hurtful, damaging activities directly aimed to deceive D’Banj’s fans with false information.
With the help of the security teams at both Twitter and Facebook, we have managed to regain full control of the said sites which are currently being operated personally by D’Banj.
Fans can continue to interact with D’Banj at his official Twitter handle @IamDbanj and his official Facebook page. Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo is known and celebrated worldwide for his originality and distinctive sound and is committed to staying true to that foundation.
D’Banj apologies for any inconvenience caused by the hacking and thanks his beloved fans for their continued support.
Your thoughts?
Duh!
I laff in ikwerri…………..
The person that wrote that letter is not serious.so you are saying Dbanj is bigger than John Legend? Please stop dreaming Abeg..do you really know John Legend? You even went are ahead to say they are envious of him..Lol.pls!
I understand where this fan is coming from,but the whole John legend thing and other label mates?pls calm down.
That been said,I don’t buy this ‘ i was hacked’story! Next pls.
I tire oh. How can he be bigger than John Legend and Common? Between those two, their number of Grammy records plus Common’s budding, but already major acting career, he is bigger than all the other label mates? I won’t even go into this mockery of a publicist’s press release. I studied communication and journalism, with a master’s in broadcast journalism. So I guess I have an affinity for pointing out the media/public relations/videography/TV hosting and interviewing issues we struggle with in Nigeria. I laugh at this sorry attempt.
The 3rd part nko?
Too late! Lying-ass fool.
Yeah right!
http://personalstuvs.blogspot.com
Hahahah! Why don’t I believe this story?
mayb someone opened another account with his name just to cause confusion just like the cases of tonto dikeh, but the people get time sha just to run people down, all da same, we have heard…dapo, daniel, both have one thing in common…”D” , lol
I dont believe this story.lie lie Dbanj.
Ever suspicious Naijan.. But we can’t blame ourselves, we all know what we are capable of..
I’m sure he just noticed his account was hacked after different yabs…yeah right! His publicist shouldn have just kept quiet instead of this lame excuse!
You are already great I did’t suport what you did bt we still luv you.
Na so! People have found who to blame for their acts now abi! Before it was the devil now its hackers!
Firstly, I have always known dbanj to be dapo Daniel oyebanjo. If he chooses to now use only Daniel banjo, that’s totally fine. He has also changed group/record label so he changed those details. What irks me is that this press release is a lie, if his account was truly, hacked, why didn’t they change the name back to dapo and change the group details back to mohits. Obviously, due to the uproar from fans, they felt like they were wrong and decided to blame it on a “hacker”. And have now settled on using dbanj kokomaster. Totally shameless, these are the people that give the PR profession a bad name.
lol this dbanj’s publicist is funny first was the incident with ebony magazine,now its twitter,nawaoo, of aall the things to do on dbanj’s twitter, the hacker only changed his name, no single crazy tweets to people. This publicist is a bad liar aka story teller..lol. Dbanj its okay if you feel stupid for changing ur name after ur fans reacted, but dont blame no hacker i take God beg u
i laugh in Kalabari jor…. but i still love D’banj….
Dbanj ve it in mind dat no 1 can press pause wen d lord has automatically set play u are 2 hot 2 b toy wit. D truth is dat na story dm day find but na aproko dem go get, i clear way 4 u2 gbaski
wow even the link for the facebook is false.it so pathetic
Story 4 tortoise
smh!!!!!!!
Dbanj abeg stop taking the initiative, cos you seen to end up with your “foot in your mouth” and keep creating sticky positions for your management to wade through.
“You were hacked”? Guy abeg park well!
HIAN!
D’banj is hilarious! If he was a sharp guy, even if your publicist no get sense, you no suppose follow am mumu na. Where in the hell do they do that at? You were hacked. Really. And Ebony misquoted you. Really. I don’t care about the name change ’cause it is his name afterall. But as someone said, he does have a larger…and more diehard fanbase than John Legend…record numbers prove that. However, if he feels all this westernization is necessary to be accepted, he is grossly misinformed; there’s a reason westerners chase after cocoa butter, shea butter, and the likes. It’s because when something is good, it’s good. If him and his “team” (who are acting like they’re terrified because they don’t know how to handle this new opportunity) don’t see that, it’s cool…we go dey here when yawa gas. But I wish him and his publicist would stop with the stories…it’s insulting.
File! D lie is so hot lyk amala to jenor dundun..lol
Dbanj biko stop lying to urself! This is such a poor damage control attempt. This ur good music signing has eaten deep into ur brain and u need to snap back into reality! There are almost ten artists signed to good music and only 2 of them are doing relatively well….most of them are barely making it or not even known! What makes u think ur own success is guaranteed? Omo its a 50/50 chance o…so for u to stroll away in ur little la-la landing, dumping those that made u, and tryn to fashi ur identity just to belong is just laughable! I don see ur mtv and bet interviews where ur horrid fone wan hurt my ears. I have no problem with people changing names…but in ur case, it is obvious tht u changed urs to ur english name, and then tried to funkify ur last name, to be accepted in ur new found world. I laff o!…I really really laff because the way i see this ending ehn?! For ur sake, i really hope u make it…bcos if u don’t; u already know ur naija brothers and sisters and how they will demolish u.
This is funny. Paraps we have “mumu” written on our foreheads? Why did they even feel the need to release a statement? This is a time when every Tom, Dick and Iyabo is going to have an opinion on his every move and they can’t constantly release a statement to attempt to make him seem “innocent”.
D’bang changing name or mutilating his id is none of social wahala. i guess his entertaining skill should be of interest. names can be changed anytime anywhere
ifechaa kpi gwooo the power of social media i hope we young people are learming about the downside of SMN
@some of u!Mehnnn,u lot are sadists…Believe wot u wanna believe,thats u lots problem.
More importantly,the person who wrote abt John Legend was not his publicist,u morons!That was an open letter which was written without benefit of the doubt.U don’t av to like or love D’banj.Leave him the hell alone…Fools!!!
Dbanj i believe why most people are angry or disappointed in these lies you attempt to pass as truths is the fact that to some you were a hero, a role model. Politicians have disappointed us, and other public figures are not trusted, but this generation look to the likes(entertainers, especially musicians) of you to help give them voice, to help speak for them,so it becomes a problem when you chose to westernize your name.To your fans it is seen as betrayal, like your aspiration to be part of American music scene have blinded you from your true fans. By changing your name,it makes most of your fans especially the young ones feel ashamed of their native names. You have to remember you no longer own yourself. You belong to the people, for they have made you, and if you are not careful they will unmake you. I know you will say God forbid, but God helps those who help themselves. Also I am disappointed, in a way i dont blame you, i blame most of our parents that believe giving their children western names is the best thing. To each their own, but we forget we lose part of us in doing so.We have cultures so rich and envied by most people,starting from our names. My name is Jideofor, and in the igbo language it means that ” I am justified in what ever i do, basically i hold the truth.” I have tried to live up to it, and that is why I feel as your fellow country man that i must tell you the truth. First please stop lying and be straight forward,real with all your flaws,after all you are human, and third find a better publicist. Our names hold blessings,and powers we could only fathom.We have cultures that Americans,Especially our African American brothers wish they had. Look at Indians, Asians straight from their home country, they maintain their native name and makes sure that people learn to pronounce it. They give their names respect, which in turn people attribute to them by learning their names.They were colonized by the english as much as we were,though their history is different,but they maintained their native names with pride. I see that some of our parents were trying so hard to fit into the white man’s schema of what was civilized, that they forgot that by giving us english names they help rob us of parts of our identity. So my brother Dbanj,no matter what you choose to call yourself, just know,that for us,our name have so much more meaning and power behind it,than appearant to the naked eye. Be wise, and know that as a public figure you no longer speak or act for yourself , you respresent a whole group of people.We Nigerians will praise you when you have done good,and will at the same time scold you when you have done wrong. We Nigerians are the most proud Africans i know, because we celebrate eachothers achievements as if it was our own personal accomplishments, and we cry for eachother as if it was our own personal loss. We believes it takes a village to raise a child, just because your mama born you,dont mean your neighbor no fit punish you when you do bad. Only those who care for your well being will tell you the truth always, no matter how big or small you are or become. So Dbanj and other upcoming acts or current, know that since you chose a life of celebredom, you are accountable to every child that your inspire when it comes to morals. So with that said, To thy own self be true,and Originals are always worth more than fakes.
Yawn!!
Dude needs to take a chill pill. He is not that important.
Pls BN when are the tickets for the 2face going on sale and info on sale points,i beg?
Make we go rock proper music.
Y ds undue publicity 2 ds talentless dude?
NNAA MEN DUH! D’BANJ WARRIS DIS? DO U TINK WE BE TODDLERS? MEANWHILE I HAIL MA IBO SIS VANESSA AMADI FOR DOIN WAT SHE IS BEIN FOR!LMAO WETIN CONCERN D GIRL NAA,NA HER SALARY SHE DEY FIGHT FOR !! D”BANJ I NO GET TIME TIME TO WRITE U LETTER COS DATS WASTING MA INK,BUH MA OWN BE SAY DIS KANYE WEST MONEY WEY U DEY BLOW UP AND DOWN DEY SHINE TEETH ,U GO SOON PAY OO!! NOTIN GOES FORNOTIN O KANYE NA IGBO MAN IN AMERICAN SKIN .HE IS SHREWD! BUH IF U NEED HELP,MAIL ME ON LIKE_I_CARE@URHEADACHE.COM #SIPPIN MA MOJITO HAHAHAHAHA!
dbanj, pele….u don suffer from lots of comments on all blogs n social networks….oga o!
Ok, I don’t care much for the guy’s music, but with all the comments on ‘westernizing’ his name and all that I just had to comment. For pete’s sake his parents gave him that name! so all of you with the headache can please redirect your complaints to the appropriate quarters! And even if they didn’t, wats all the fuss about adopting an English name? Please, please and please let’s get our priorities straight. If you like be named Omoibileeminkosi or its igbo or hausa equivalent, that does not automatically impute on you a high level of patriotism or africanness. Come to think of it, a good number of the heroes of progress and development in Nigeria and Africa had English names – NELSON Mandela, HERBERT Macaulay, SAMUEL Ajayi Crowther to name a few. So let’s stop making mountains out of molehills and keep our focus on the real issues. That being said, I still have to admit that this reeks of a publicity stunt, and coming from D’banj in recent times it is one too many.
yes…yes…because when hackers hack into your stuff they are more concerned about changing your name than causing proper damage. dude should take a seat abeg. he tried to westernize himself and it went wrong.