Welcome to our latest Artist Focus guys and today we’ll be focusing our lens on Mavin artist, sound engineer, and producer Johnny Drille. John Vincent Ighodaro is one of 5 children born to Edo parents. JD has established himself as one of the finest songwriters in Nigeria and we take a look at his journey so far.
He was born and bred in Benin City and he graduated from Uniben in 2012 where he earned a BSc in English and Literature. The 31-year-old learned the keyboard early as 2001 as a member of the junior choir. In 2006, he began to teach himself music production.
JD started making music in his parents’ church singing in the choir before joining Soul Awakening Signers’. Johnny Drille’s first appearance on the scene was as a fresh-faced contestant on MTN Project Fame.
JD is one of many artists like Chidinma, Niniola, Timi Dakolo, Yemi Alade, Omawunmi, Iyanya, Praiz, etc who found fame on the show. Johnny Drille and Niniola competed on season 6 of project fame. The multi-instrumentalist finished 10th on the show.
After leaving project fame he released a lot of covers and worked with artists from around Benin and Delta State. He released songs like “Love don’t lie”, his first venture into folk music. He would cover Dija’s hit single “Awwww” in 2015 and it brought him to Don Jazzy’s attention.
Don Jazzy messaged him on Twitter to ask him questions about his personal life to which he responded enthusiastically. He thought he would get signed by Don Jazzy who had just signed Korede Bello & Reekado Banks the year before but it did not happen. JD kept sending his songs to Don Jazzy though.
In 2015, he released his emotional heart-wrencher “Wait for me”. It told the story of a man that went to war and came back to find that his love interest was dead. The storytelling and the emotions behind the song began to make it popular. Slowly but surely.
“As I stayed up all night in my bedroom studio listening to the finished ‘Wait For Me’, I soon realized it was my most emotional song yet. It meant much more to me, it was an experience.”
“For those of us who have had to leave loved ones behind, not sure of what the future was going to bring, ‘Wait For Me’ tells that story. It is my dedication to love.” JD said. He released “My beautiful love” a few days before valentine’s 2016 and dedicated it to his parents.
“Every day for years I watched a love story play out right in front of me starring well, my amazing dad and mum. When I think about that perfect kind of story, I think of them. I do hope I get one as intriguing and beautiful as theirs” he said
He wrote and released “Start all over” with Project Fame colleague Niniola.“Wait for me” was nominated for Best Alternative Song at the 2016 Headies. He was nominated alongside his friend Ric Hassani, Brymo, Adekunle Gold, and Bez. Bez won the award for his single “You suppose know”.
JD eventually got his record deal as he signed to Mavin Records in early 2017. His new phase was launched with a video for “Wait for me” which contributed immensely to the song’s popularity. He followed it up with “Romeo & Juliet”.
He started 2018 by releasing “Awa Love” in February. In August, he teamed up with Simi for the single “Halleluya”.
At the 2018 Headies held in May, JD was truly born as a superstar. He was nominated for Best R&B Single for “Romeo & Juliet”, Best Vocal Performance (male) for the same song, and Best Alternative Song. To crown it all, he was nominated for the prestigious Next Rated award.
In 2019, he released “Shine”, “Forever”, “Dear future wife”, “Papa”, “Count on you”, and “Finding Efe”. The latter earned him 2 more Headies nominations winning 1 for Best Alternative Song at the 2019 event. In 2020, he released “Something Better” and “Mystery Girl”.
In 2021, he released “Bad Dancer” in February.. Despite being a musician professionally for 5 years, JD had not released an album. He announced his first project. The title of the album was announced as “Before we fall asleep”. He released “Loving is harder” as the lead single from the album. https://link.medium.com/At3hVm2Tljb
He featured label boss Don Jazzy, label colleagues Ayra Starr, and Ladipoe on the album. There were vocals from the legendary Styl-Plus group.
Johnny Drille’s sound is folksy and country and distinguishes him from every other sound around. His penchant for telling stories of love mark his music. He is a terrific artist, a great storyteller with a beautiful style that resonates with his fans. JD is a wonderful performer with limitless potential!!
