I was inspired by Daddy Showkey, Baba Fryo, started music in church cause I couldn’t afford studio sessions – Don Jazzy

Music producer and singer, Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy recently shared that he looked up to the legendary musician Daddy Showkey during his formative years in Ajegunle, Lagos.

He expressed how Daddy Showkey and Baba Fryo served as his sources of inspiration for pursuing a career in music.

Don Jazzy also revealed that he initially began his musical journey as an instrumentalist in the church due to financial constraints that prevented him from affording studio sessions.

This disclosure came during his appearance as a guest on the latest episode of the Leaderboard podcast, hosted by Fisayo Fosudo.

He said, “My music inspiration started from Ajegunle because dem Daddy Showkey, dem Baba Fryo, a lot of all these Ajegunle musicians that we looked up to.

“I used to tell my guys that when I started making music, I pretty much just wanted to blow and be Daddy Showkey because anywhere you went to in the country, you will hear, ‘If you see my mama, hosanna’ or ‘Somebody call my name, Showkey.’

“Trust me, the lyrics are national anthems. I pretty much wanted to do that. So, I used to go to church and play instruments. It was the only place that you can…Unless you want to go to studios which would cost money. At that time, we couldn’t afford to have sessions. So, the best place that you can get free equipment is the church. Instead of doing the ragga, the reggae, you go and do gospel first.”