What is Don Jazzy Net Worth 2022?

For every detail one needs to fish out Don Jazzy net worth 2022, it is nothing shocking that Michael Collins Ajereh, a Nigerian singer, songwriter, performance artist, and entrepreneur, thrives in wealth today. What could be the source? Is there more than music? Tag along to find out!

Don Jazzy was born am 26, November 1982 in Umuahia, Abia State. Though he was raised in Ajegunle, Lagos, a native of Isoko in Delta State, after attaining his formal education at Federal Government College, Lagos.

Don Jazzy started his love for music at age 12. He started playing the guitar and piano and perfected his gift.

Jazzy’s Life as a Musician

Having been in the business desiring to run a store in Iyana Ipaja, where he was a barber prior to his amazing music journey, Don Jazzy has had a rather spectacular ride in the Nigerian music industry.

Flash forward to the current time, and he is one of Africa’s richest musicians and one of Nigeria’s richest artist, with an eye-popping net worth of $73 million.

Co-founded initially with D’Banj, Don Jazzy was the CEO of the erstwhile existing but widely popular record label MO-Hits, which was a favorite brand for media, businesses, and music lovers.

One of the gifted lineup of artists who were housed at MO-Hits was D’Banj, Dr. Sid, Wande Coal, D’Prince, Terry G, and Ikechukwu.

From 2004, when he got his initial complete production credit for Nigerian singer D’Banj’s hit single “Tongolo,” his career as a music producer was marked by important contributions to D’Banj’s career by producing his debut studio album, “No Long Thing,” released in 2005.

By 2011, Don Jazzy was already the best producer in Africa. With records for Dr. SID, D’Banj, Wande Coal, Emeka Infiniti, D’Prince, Darey, Naeto C, Olakunle Excel, and Zanga.

There was also Sauce Kid, Ikechukwu, and Tiwa Savage included in his impressive production list, Don Jazzy’s career in music has been characterized by several impressive collaborations and accomplishments.

2011 saw him involved in the production of Beyoncé’s “Lift Off” with two global stars, Jay-Z and Kanye West. The song dropped on August 8, 2011, and was included in the well-acclaimed album “Watch The Throne.”

His work on this track solidified his place as a world-leading music producer, and with JJC, he also collaborated in 2011 to record the record-breaking track “Ijoya” by Weird Mc, testifying to his success in the music world.

A few years prior, Don Jazzy had done another marvelous thing with Wande Coal’s first album, “Mushin 2 MO-Hits,” an album that went on to become one of the all-time best-selling Nigerian albums.

Wande Coal complimented Don Jazzy’s diversely talented abilities, calling him not only a master producer but a gifted writer. 

With a string of hit songs, including “You Bad,” “Bananas,” “Se Na Like This,” “Kiss Your Hands,” “Who Born The Maga,” and “Bumper to Bumper,” “Mushin 2 Mohits” was a standout success and one of the best albums out in the Nigerian music scene.

Is Don Jazzy Successful Today?

Of course! It all started when he broke new records in 2013 and became the richest Nigerian musician in Forbes’ top 10 African musicians. 

This achievement outdid music giants, P’Square and 2Baba. Not only did Forbes place him as Nigeria’s richest musician in 2013 but also put him at number two, just behind Senegalese singer Akon, among Africa’s bankable musicians.

Although Don Jazzy does not consider himself a recording artist, his input in the music industry goes beyond production. He frequently provides background vocals for the artists he works with and sometimes inserts whole verses into tracks.

D’banj and Don Jazzy found themselves involved in a bitter battle for ownership of the record label following their split from MO-Hits, with the latter claiming Mo Hits ownership in an interview with US magazine Ebony and the former addressing Don Jazzy as “my artist.”

There is contradicting evidence in the meantime regarding the origin of the label, with news on the Mo Hits Records website indicating that Don Jazzy established the label in 2004 with the inaugural recording artist being D’banj.

Available in Nigeria Music Movement in October 2009, a magazine on the Mo Hits label also identifies Don Jazzy as the founder of the label, highlighting his work as a UK music producer and choice to support the Nigerian music industry.

To further clarify the case, legal registration of Mo Hits Records Limited on May 12, 2006, revealed by checks at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The Nigerian government ministry in charge of registering businesses, shows that the corporation originally registered as a limited liability company with 100,000 ordinary shares.

Don Jazzy’s Business Line So Far

As indicated in the documents, Dapo Oyebanjo (D’banj) and Michael Ajereh (Don Jazzy) received 30,000 shares each, thus a fifty-fifty ownership between the two parties.

This CAC legal document refuted D’banj’s claim and verifies Don Jazzy’s claim of Mo Hits Records co-ownership.

After this conflict, Don Jazzy made a major career move in 2012 when he founded a new record label called “Mavin Records,” a new path in his career as a producer and businessman.

This is especially when he made the announcement to the Mavin family of signing one of Nigeria’s most familiar singers, Tiwa Savage. For the new record label, this signing was a major victory.

In a deal estimated to be between $125 million and $200 million, Universal Music Group (UMG) closed the acquisition of majority stake in Mavin Global last February 2024, where the independent investment bank Shot Tower Capital was heavily involved in negotiations.

With the “Calm Down” remix with Selena Gomez, Mavin Records broke a milestone in 2023 when it became the first African artist-driven track to gain a billion streams on a music streaming platform.

The original version of the song had already shown that Mavin Records had gone global, as over 480 million streams were on the Internet.

Mavin Records also became visible outside of the music scene with the release of the box-office hit movie “Introducing The Kujus,” followed by the TMPL Motion Pictures produced movie “The Kujus Again.”

Mavin Records CEO, Don Jazzy, made his first acting appearance in this production, which added more glamour to the movie and highlighted his multi-talented skills and contributions to the entertainment sector.

Don Jazzy’s Investments

The investments and revenue-generating businesses carried out by Don Jazzy outside of the music industry in 2013 said a lot about his love for high-end commodities because he bought himself an extravagant 18ct Yellow Gold iPhone 5 encrusted with diamonds.

Another showing of his economic strength outside music is diversifying his investments with him owning multiple petrol tankers in the petroleum business.

Subsequently the same year, Don Jazzy had a lifetime encounter with high-end fashion designer Alexander Amosu, who presented him with a bottle of the world’s most expensive champagne.

With a staggering worth of 1.8 million dollars (or roughly 3.06 billion naira at today’s exchange rates), this phenomenal champagne bottle is known as “Gouts de Diamants” or “Taste of Diamonds.”

Don Jazzy was openly made the first buyer to acquire a bottle of this high-class champagne in Nigeria. He is not only extravagant to taste but extremely generous, after giving Dr. Sid and his wife, Simi Osomo, a new 2014 Land Cruiser Prado on their white wedding ceremony in Lagos.

He also gave her a Prado SUV on the wedding day of Tiwa Savage, showing his support and generosity to the artists affiliated with Mavin Records.

In 2023, Nigerian music journalist Joey Akan dissected Mavin Records’ finances, with the label reportedly spending a total of $225,000 on song production and distribution for five of its artists in the first quarter of the year. 

The singers included Ayra Starr, Boy Spyce, Rema, Crayon, and Magixx, two of whom are the most streamed artists in the country. Then, there was a split of the expenditure, around N170 million, showed the cost of certain songs like Boy Spyce’s “Folake” and Ayra Starr’s “Sability.”

Away from the music scene, Don Jazzy, Mavin Records CEO and acclaimed producer, has had other business endeavors. He entered the nightlife scene in 2013 with the launch of Victoria Island’s nightclub, “PoP.”

Last Words

But after a few months since the club opened, it was closed reportedly because it was not generating the expected revenues. 

Some customers would consume drinks without settling their bills, while others would visit the club only to take photographs with him and then exit.  He then opted to close the club and concentrate his energy on his music label.

Venturing into the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) business, in 2021 he had the claim of successfully earning himself a total of $300,000 within a brief period of just ten minutes, as evidence of the capability of earning via the digital medium.

Apart from these other businesses, Don Jazzy went into the oil and gas industry, showing his willingness to go into different business opportunities. With “Jazzy Burger,” he entered the restaurant business too, showing his adaptability and aspirations beyond being a music mogul.