- published: 16 Feb 2016
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Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo (popularly known as D'banj, born June 9, 1980), is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player. He has won several music awards including the awards for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007,Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009. and BET Awards of 2011 for Best International Act; Africa. He adopted the stage name D'banj, a combination of his first name Dapo and his surname Oyebanjo.. D'banj is currently best known internationally for his 2012 summer hit Oliver Twist, an uptempo dance fusion of Afro-Beats, R&B and electronic dance music that topped the African charts 2011 and was a top 10 hit in the UK singles chart in 2012 reaching #2 on the UK R&B chart.
D'banj was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a church dignitary mother who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State. Due to his father's profession he moved several times within Nigeria and later moved to England. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. However, D'banj resisted the system and disenrolled from the school after three years. While at the Military school he was a member of the elite drum corp of the Nigerian Army. From the Nigerian Military School he proceeded to another military owned institution Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ibara, Abeokuta where he completed his secondary school education.