London (record producer)

Last updated

Thisizlondon
Lndn.jpg
Hunter in 2023
Background information
Birth nameMichael Ovie Hunter
Born (1999-10-21) October 21, 1999 (age 24) [1]
Kaduna, Nigeria
OriginEngland
Genres Afrobeats, Afropop
OccupationRecord producer
Instruments FL Studio, Ableton Live
Years active2018–present
Labels
  • LVRN
  • Blow Time Entertainment
  • Sony Music Publishing France
  • Bluesky Music Publishing

Michael Ovie Hunter (born October 21, 1999), [2] known professionally as Thisizlondon [3] (pronounced as London and stylised as LONDON), is a Nigerian-British record producer and DJ. He is best known for producing the fire 2022 hit single, "Calm Down" for Rema before Selena Gomez hoped on the remix. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked atop the IMI International (becoming the second song by a Nigerian artist to do so) and remains the most internationally successful Afrobeats song.

Contents

Signing with Blowtime Entertainment in 2019, he's produced for other notable artists including Crayon, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, Selena Gomez, 6lack, Yseult, and Ladipoe. His other successful productions include Rema's: "Soundgasm" and "Bad Commando", Ayra Starr's "Fashion Killa" and "Bloody Samaritan", Tiwa Savage's "Koroba", and Johnny Drille's "Mystery Girl". In 2022, he signed a publishing deal in a joint venture with Sony Music Publishing France and Bluesky Music Publishing. [4]

Early life

Michael Ovie Hunter was born in Kaduna, to a Nigerian Mom, from Isoko and a British Dad. [5] [6] Michael grew up in the sub-division of the Northern Nigeria state, Kaduna, where he rounded up his high school named Christ Ambassadors College, Kaduna in 2016. [6] Michael's musical career began in the church as a drummer and soon took personal lessons on beat making. He tells Tush Magazine, “I when, out of curiosity, I discovered the FL Studio software From a close friend in the company I worked for in Kaduna as a graphics designer.” [6]

Career

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In 2018, he produced "Turn Up" for DJ Tunez featuring Wizkid and Reekado Banks. In 2019, he decided to move to Lagos, to stay with Mavin's in-house producer BabyFresh, [6] who eventually signed him to Blowtime Entertainment, a division of Mavin. His production tag was first introduced to the public on 12 July 2019, following the release of Crayon debut EP "Cray Cray", on the opening track "So Fine", produced by London, and BabyFresh. In October 2019, he had his solo production breakthrough with Rema's debut EP Bad Commando, named after the opening track "Bad Commando", [7] which he produced. Then went on to work on Wizkid project Soundman Vol. 1, on the track "Electric", in which he was featured.

London served as the executive producer on Rema's debut studio album Rave & Roses , producing 14 songs out of 16 tracks on the album. On 22 April 2022, while speaking with Notion magazine, he disclosed being the primary producer of the studio album Rave & Roses , and almost gave up on working on the album because he got scared at some point following the deadline date to meet up with, he says. [4] On 14 July 2022, he tells Mixmag writer Shirley Ahura, “Working on Rema’s album is one of my proudest achievements, honestly. To see how people are accepting it and vibing to it gives me more motivation to keep going, to keep doing what I know how to do best.”, he says. [8]

On 5 March 2021, following the release of Coming 2 America soundtrack album, he did a re-make of the song "Koroba" by Tiwa Savage for Amazon Studios, and Def Jam Recordings. [9] On 17 September 2024, London signs with LVRN. [3] Billboard journalist Heran Mamo says London is currently working on his debut project to be released under LVRN. Following the announcement, London went by Thisizlondon. [3]

Artisty

Notion described his sound as a blend of “weaving church influences and R&B elements”. [4] He cited Sarz, OVO 40, Bursbrain, Killatunez, and Don Jazzy, as his musical influence. [10]

Production discography

Albums/EPs

ArtistAlbum/EPRelease dateCertificationsLabelNotes
Crayon Cray Cray12 July 2019
Co-producer
Twelve A.M26 March 2021
Co-producer
Rema Bad Commando27 September 2019 Mavin Records Co-producer
Rave & Roses 25 March 2022Lead producer
Alpha P King of the Wolves 15 November 2019 Universal Music Group Nigeria Co-producer
Dr SID The Interesting7 May 2020 Mavin Records Co-producer
Ceeza Milli Diamond in the Rough29 May 2020 Aristokrat Records Co-producer
Ricky TylerSmall World17 July 2020 Universal Music South Africa Co-producer
Tiwa Savage Celia 27 August 2020
Co-producer
Wizkid Made in Lagos 30 October 2020
Co-producer
DJ Tunez & J. Anthoni All You Need23 March 2021BT Music WorldwideCo-producer
Ayra Starr 19 & Dangerous 6 August 2021 Mavin Records Co-producer
Johnny Drille Before We Fall Asleep 3 September 2021
Ladipoe Providence4 November 2021Co-producer
Black Sherif The Villain I Never Was 6 October 2022
Co-producer
Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music from and Inspired By 4 November 2022
Co-producer
Kel-P Bully Season Vol.1 24 February 2023
Co-producer
Ayra Starr The Year I Turned 21 31 May 2024 Mavin Records Co-producer

Singles produced

TitleYearAlbumRelease date
"Turn Up"
(DJ Tunez)		2018Non-album single
"Shima" [11]
(Crayon)		2020
"Sometime"
(Crayon)
"On Code"
(Crayon)
"Do Me"
(Crayon)
"Koroba"
(Tiwa Savage)		 Celia 27 August 2020
"Temptation"
(Tiwa Savage)
"Mystery Girl"
(Johnny Drille)		Non-album single
"River"
(DJ Tunez & J. Anthoni)		2021 All You Need23 March 2021
"Soundgasm"
(Rema)		 Rave & Roses 25 March 2022
"Bloody Samaritan" [12]
(Ayra Starr)		 19 & Dangerous 6 August 2021
"Afro Jigga"
(Ladipoe)		Providence4 November 2021
"Calm Down"
(Rema)		2022 Rave & Roses 25 March 2022
"late4dinner"
(Azanti)		TBA

Awards and nominations

YearAwards ceremonyAward description(s)Results
2021 AFRIMMA Music Producer of the YearNominated
The Beatz Awards Producer of the YearNominated
Afro-Pop Producer of the YearNominated
Afro Dancehall Producer of the YearNominated
Don Jazzy New Discovery Producer of the YearNominated
2022 Grammy Awards Best Global Music Album for Made in Lagos (Deluxe Edition) by Wizkid Nominated
2023 The Headies Producer of the Year for "Calm Down" by Rema Nominated

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References

  1. ↑ "London". 1883 Magazine. May 30, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  2. ↑ "LONDON". The NATIVE. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Mamo, Heran (September 17, 2024). "Afrobeats Producer Thisizlondon Signs With LVRN". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Firsts With London". Notion. April 22, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Storm, Camille. "Nigeria's LONDON Is Producing Afro Sounds of the Future - OkayAfrica". www.okayafrica.com. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "London: Meet The Wave-Making Producer". Tush Magazine. June 28, 2022. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Orubo, Daniel (December 10, 2019). "#Beatsmith: London On Producing Rema's "Bad Commando"". Zikoko!. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  8. ↑ Ahura, Shirley. "Creating masterpieces: London is the Nigerian producer making unique bangers". Mixmag. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Gatera, Emmanuel (November 23, 2021). "Music production has no rules, says top African producer London". The New Times. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  10. ↑ "London Wants It All: In Conversation With Grammy-Nominated Producer and DJ, London". MoreBranches. June 17, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  11. ↑ Onabanjo, Adedamola (March 24, 2020). "Crayon Picks Up Single Run With Rhythmic London-Produced Single 'Shima'". The Culture Custodian. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  12. ↑ Peter, Dennis Ade (November 30, 2021). "Bruk It Down: London on the making of "Bloody Samaritan" by Ayra Starr". The NATIVE. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
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