Last Wednesday, Lifesize Teddy was activated as a Mavin, and she joins a long list of artists to feature on the roster of Don Jazzy’s eleven year old record imprint. There have been ups and downs, but the 40-year-old producer turned music executive has grown in experience and ingenuity over the years, so that some of the finer details of artist development are no longer experimental but can follow laid down formulas, already tested with a number of artists and guaranteed to bring desirable results.
One of these is the eponymous debut EP. Since Rema’s unveiling as a Mavin in 2019, each new Mavin act has arrived with a debut project in tow, containing about five songs that showcase not only the quality they possess but the range of sounds they can draw from. They serve these EPs like a buffet, offering multiple options and genres that the audience can connect with. Here, we revisit five debut EPs from the stables of Mavin music, recalling their impacts in the Nigerian scene and how they set up those artists to be who they are today.
Rema – Rema EP (2019)
Rema’s arrival was sensational. The biggest tools in his arsenal today, his star power, his incredible vocal prowess, his dexterity in approaching both Trap and Afropop, were evident as early as nineteen years of age, which was how old he was at his debut. Admittedly, his raw melodies could not be matched with proper lyricism, which could be excused by his age. Of the four songs he offered, Dumebi made the biggest national and global runs, as is to be expected when a beautiful voice meets bustling Afropop beats. Other tracks also made significant strides, like Iron Man getting into Obama’s year-end playlist.
This debut in its quality and reception immediately inserted Rema into Nigeria’s top level, promising that he would be held to higher standards in future, but even as a teenager, Rema had the mind of a star. Never to shirk from a challenge, he followed up with the Rema Freestyle EP and Bad Commando EP the same year, effectively cancelling all doubts over his ability, and ushering himself as Nigeria’s next great star.
Ayra Starr – Ayra Starr EP (2021)
Two years later, it was time for Ayra Starr to approach the limelight. Until then she had been incubating at Mavin’s academy, polishing her writing and voice and especially learning to harness it in Afropop. In January she was ready to make her entrance.
The Ayra Starr EP was a clear reflection of prodigious talent. She was only eighteen at its release, but after finishing secondary school at fourteen and getting into university the same year, she was accustomed to life on the fast lane. The EP chronicled this youthful exuberance, fashioning both the angst and the triumphs of her own lived experiences into a body of work that people twice her age easily resonated with. Her debut album was an expansion of this, but it was a little less unsure, a little more brazen, showing she was maturing into a woman who could take the mantle at the head of Afropop’s next vanguard. Every move she has made since then has been a confirmation of these credentials.
Boy Spyce – Boy Spyce EP (2022)
Boy Spyce spent two years learning the ropes at Mavin, so even before he went viral for a series of clips showcasing his talent in recording some covers, Don Jazzy had already spotted him and was grooming him to be his next activated Mavin. His debut EP, in six songs, showed us this raw talent that earned him a place at Mavin and the maturity they had drilled into him.
He tackled love and relationships, growing up, and the concepts of destiny and life’s purpose, all topics his 20 year old self was probably interacting with at the time. Channelling these feelings into songs helped forge a connection to those who could relate with the scenarios he painted, and the honeyed delivery he fastens over bouncy beats should entertain any party in which it is played.
Magixx – Magixx EP (2022)
Magixx’s debut EP, released in September 2022, closed a busy year for Mavin. He was the second of two unveiled artists of the year, so his work had to be cut out for him if he wanted to make a dent in the label and industry. His self-titled EP contained five tracks, detailing stories from the romantic to the practical, but mostly speaking on lowly beginnings and his journey to get here—“I remember when I was so low like the currency/ All these people never showed me love, now them rushing me”, he sings on Gratitude.
But the Nigerian audience snubbed these in favour of Love Don’t Cost A Dime, choosing lucid romance over grim storytelling, and Magixx and his team quickly took advantage of this, releasing a new version featuring Ayra Starr that fared much better than his debut EP. He has since released a follow-up EP, Atom, bringing his timbered vocals to another project, and will be looking to score another hit and announce himself properly in Nigerian music.
Bayanni – Bayanni EP (2022)
Bayanni, for his four-song debut, also delved into matters from family to sex, and as expected Nigerians overwhelmingly voted with their streams in favour of the latter. As a result, Ta Ta Ta, brimming with sexual innuendos and luscious material, has gone on to pull fifty million streams on spotify alone, earning a remix with RnB star, Jason Derulo.
Bayanni made his appearance in August 2022, only a year ago, so it is still early days for the singer, but his slinky Afropop cadence and relatable material should make for an easy integration into mainstream Nigerian music.