London (record producer)

LONDON
LONDON
	Hunter in 2023
Background information
Birth name	Michael Ovie Hunter
Born	October 21, 1999; Kaduna, Nigeria
Origin	England
Genres	Afrobeats, Afropop
Occupation(s)	Record producer
Instruments	FL Studio, Ableton Live
Years active	2018–present
Labels	Sony Music Publishing France; Bluesky Music Publishing; Blowtime;

Last updated July 23, 2024

Michael Ovie Hunter (born October 21, 1999),^[2] known professionally as London (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.

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.^[3]

Early life

Michael Ovie Hunter was born in Kaduna, to a Nigerian Mom, from Isoko and a British Dad.^[4]^[5] 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.^[5] 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.”^[5]

Career

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,^[5] 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",^[6] 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.^[3] 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

Artisty

Notion described his sound as a blend of “weaving church influences and R&B elements”.^[3] He cited Sarz, OVO 40, Bursbrain, Killatunez, and Don Jazzy, as his musical influence.^[9]

Production discography

Albums/EPs

Artist	Album/EP	Release date	Certifications	Label	Notes
Crayon	Cray Cray	12 July 2019		Mavin Records Blowtime Entertainment	Co-producer
Crayon	Twelve A.M	26 March 2021		Mavin Records Blowtime Entertainment	Co-producer
Rema	Bad Commando	27 September 2019		Mavin Records	Co-producer
Rema	Rave & Roses	25 March 2022		Mavin Records	Lead producer
Alpha P	King of the Wolves	15 November 2019		Universal Music Group Nigeria	Co-producer
Dr SID	The Interesting	7 May 2020		Mavin Records	Co-producer
Ceeza Milli	Diamond in the Rough	29 May 2020		Aristokrat Records	Co-producer
Ricky Tyler	Small World	17 July 2020		Universal Music South Africa	Co-producer
Tiwa Savage	Celia	27 August 2020		Motown Island Universal Capitol	Co-producer
Wizkid	Made in Lagos	30 October 2020	BPI: Silver MC: Gold RIAA: Gold	Starboy Entertainment RCA Records	Co-producer
DJ Tunez & J. Anthoni	All You Need	23 March 2021		BT Music Worldwide	Co-producer
Ayra Starr	19 & Dangerous	6 August 2021		Mavin Records	Co-producer
Johnny Drille	Before We Fall Asleep	3 September 2021
Ladipoe	Providence	4 November 2021			Co-producer
Black Sherif	The Villain I Never Was	6 October 2022		Blacko Management Empire	Co-producer
Marvel Studios	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music from and Inspired By	4 November 2022		Roc Nation Def Jam Hollywood	Co-producer
Kel-P	Bully Season Vol.1	24 February 2023		Jones Worldwide Virgin Music France Universal Music France	Co-producer

Singles produced

Title	Year	Album	Release date
"Turn Up" (DJ Tunez)	2018	Non-album single
"Shima"^[10] (Crayon)	2020
"Sometime" (Crayon)
"On Code" (Crayon)
"Do Me" (Crayon)
"Koroba" (Tiwa Savage)		Celia	27 August 2020
"Temptation" (Tiwa Savage)		Celia	27 August 2020
"Mystery Girl" (Johnny Drille)		Non-album single
"River" (DJ Tunez & J. Anthoni)	2021	All You Need	23 March 2021
"Soundgasm" (Rema)		Rave & Roses	25 March 2022
"Bloody Samaritan"^[11] (Ayra Starr)		19 & Dangerous	6 August 2021
"Afro Jigga" (Ladipoe)		Providence	4 November 2021
"Calm Down" (Rema)	2022	Rave & Roses	25 March 2022
"late4dinner" (Azanti)	2022	TBA

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards ceremony	Award description(s)	Results
2021	AFRIMMA	Music Producer of the Year	Nominated
	The Beatz Awards	Producer of the Year	Nominated
		Afro-Pop Producer of the Year	Nominated
		Afro Dancehall Producer of the Year	Nominated
		Don Jazzy New Discovery Producer of the Year	Nominated
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	Pending

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Jazzy</span> Nigerian record producer (born 1982)

Michael Collins Ajereh, known professionally as Don Jazzy, is a Nigerian record producer. He founded the record label Mavin Records in 2012, for which he is chief executive officer (CEO) and has signed artists including D'Prince. Prior, he co-founded Mo' Hits Records with D'banj in 2004, and was an in-house producer for Kanye West's GOOD Music from 2011 to 2015.

Mavin Records is a Nigerian corporation and record label founded by record producer and recording artist Don Jazzy on 8 May 2012. The label's inception came to fruition following the closure of Mo' Hits Records, a record label owned by the aforementioned producer and D'banj. The label is home to recording artists such as Rema, Ayra Starr, Crayon, Johnny Drille, Ladipoe, Magixx, Boy Spyce, Bayanni, and Lifesize Teddy. It also houses producers such as Jazzy himself, Altims, London, Baby Fresh, and Andre Vibez. In 2014, DJ Big N became the label's official disc jockey. Tiwa Savage, Wande Coal, Reekado Banks and Iyanya were all formerly signed to the label. On 8 May 2012, the label released its compilation album Solar Plexus. In January 2019, Mavin Records secured a multi-million dollars investment from Kupanda Holdings, a subsidiary of Kupanda Capital and TPG Growth.

Tiwatope Omolara Savage, known professionally as Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, pop and hip-hop. Savage's contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several achievements.

The discography of Tiwa Savage, a Nigerian singer consists of three studio albums, one compilation album, 23 singles, ten music videos, four promotional single, five guest appearances, and one cameo appearance.

Nonso Temisan Ajufo known professionally as DJ Big N is a Nigerian DJ. As part of Mavin Records, DJ Big N has supported several of the label's top-billed acts, including supporting Tiwa Savage on her first American tour. He has released several Mavin themed mixtapes, including the "Mavin All Stars" mixtape, the ‘Surulere Mixtape Volume 1’, the "ENERGY Mixtape", and several Afro session Mixtapes with “Alternate Sound” band.

Oluseye Desmond Sodamola, professionally known as Spinall, is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer, and songwriter. He has released six studio albums and collaborated with artists that have included Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Asake among others. He has won numerous awards for his work, including All Africa Music Awards and The Beatz Awards. He is also the first Nigerian disc jockey to play at festivals such as Coachella, SXSW, and Glastonbury.

Charles Enebeli, better known by his stage name D'Prince, is a Nigerian Afropop singer, record executive, and entrepreneur. He founded the entertainment company and record label Jonzing World in 2019, through which he has signed singer Rema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WizzyPro</span> Musical artist

Nifu Haruna, also known by his stage name WizzyPro is a Nigerian record producer and sound engineer. Best known for his single titled "Emergency", WizzyPro is credited as the producer of Patoranking's first official single titled "Alubarika" which brought him to the limelight. WizzyPro is signed to BeatBox and is currently working on his debut studio album titled Lord of the Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rema (musician)</span> Nigerian singer and rapper (born 2000)

Divine Ikubor, known mononymously as Rema, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, and songwriter. After gaining recognition after posting a viral freestyle on Instagram in 2018 to D'Prince's song "Gucci Gang", Rema began his professional music career in 2019 with the release of his debut single, "Dumebi". He followed up with the extended plays Rema (2019) and Rema Freestyle (2019).

Ayorinde Kehinde Okiki, known professionally as DJ Kaywise is a Nigerian disc jockey and record producer. Kaywise broke into the mixtape market in Alaba in the year 2010. He has since gained prominence as a DJ in Nigeria and has released chart topping songs with many Nigerian music stars.

Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, known professionally as Ayra Starr, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter.

Ayra Starr is the eponymous debut extended play by Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr. It was released on 22 January 2021 through Mavin Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloody Samaritan</span> 2021 single by Bloody Samaritan

"Bloody Samaritan" is a song recorded by Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr. It was released on 30 July 2021, as the lead single from her debut studio album, 19 & Dangerous (2021), through Mavin Records. Prior to its arrival on streaming platforms, the song premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra. Written by Ayra Starr and produced by London, it is an Afropop song with empowering lyrics about pursuing one's dreams despite detractors and other people's negative opinions.

Chukwuka Chukwuma Ekweani, better known by his stage name Ckay, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer signed to Warner Music South Africa and Atlantic Records. He was formerly signed to Chocolate City, a member of Warner Music Group independent label services ADA. His international hit single "Love Nwantiti", also known as "Love Nwantiti ", was released in 2019 by Chocolate City. On 29 March 2022, the song debuted at number one, following the launch of the Billboard Afrobeats chart. On 9 May 2022, it became the first-ever African song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify and has since been deemed "the biggest hit in African history".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P2J</span> Nigerian-British producer

Richard Olowaranti Mbu Isong, known professionally as P2J is a Nigerian-British producer from London, England. He has produced for high-profile pop artists including Beyoncé, Wizkid, Stormzy, FKA Twigs, Burna Boy, Tems, and Doja Cat, among others.

Alexander Adelabu, professionally known as Magixx, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. In 2021, he was signed to Mavin Records. He is known for a distinctly hybrid approach fusing trap, dancehall, Afropop and R&B. In 2019, Magixx initiated his rise to fame when he released 'Problem,' a succinct blend of Afropop and Afro R&B, showcasing his evolving musical exploration. The track quickly seized the spotlight within Nigeria's music elite, drawing admiration from notable figures like Mayorkun, M.I, Zlatan Ibile, and the influential Don Jazzy of Mavin Records. This attention culminated in his eventual signing with Mavin Records.

Charles Chibueze Chukwu, professionally known as Crayon, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. In 2019, he was signed to Mavin Records.

Afrofuture, formerly known as Afrochella, is an African music festival that started in 2019.

Alexander Uwaifo known professionally as Andre Vibez is a Nigerian music producer and songwriter. He is best known for producing "Rush" from Ayra Starr's album 19 & Dangerous and Rema international hit single “Calm Down” which peaked at number one on the India IMI International chart and also peak no.3 on Billboard Hot 100. In September 2022, he was announced as one of the new signed record producers of the Nigerian record label, Mavin Records.

Ugbekile David Osemeke, known professionally as Boy Spyce, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He gained recognition following his 2021 cover of Wizkid's song "Essence". Its success led him to sign a recording contract with Mavin Records, which released his debut extended play, self-titled Boy Spyce, in 2022 to modest commercial success.

References

↑ "London". 1883 Magazine. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
↑ "LONDON". The NATIVE. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
1 2 3 "Firsts With London". Notion. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
↑ Storm, Camille. "Nigeria's LONDON Is Producing Afro Sounds of the Future - OkayAfrica". www.okayafrica.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
1 2 3 4 "London: Meet The Wave-Making Producer". Tush Magazine. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
↑ Orubo, Daniel (10 December 2019). "#Beatsmith: London On Producing Rema's "Bad Commando"". Zikoko!. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
↑ Ahura, Shirley. "Creating masterpieces: London is the Nigerian producer making unique bangers". Mixmag. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
↑ Gatera, Emmanuel (23 November 2021). "Music production has no rules, says top African producer London". The New Times. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
↑ "London Wants It All: In Conversation With Grammy-Nominated Producer and DJ, London". MoreBranches. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
↑ Onabanjo, Adedamola (24 March 2020). "Crayon Picks Up Single Run With Rhythmic London-Produced Single 'Shima'". The Culture Custodian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
↑ Peter, Dennis Ade (30 November 2021). "Bruk It Down: London on the making of "Bloody Samaritan" by Ayra Starr". The NATIVE. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "London". 1883 Magazine. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[2] "LONDON". The NATIVE. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[Notion-3] 1 2 3 "Firsts With London". Notion. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

[4] Storm, Camille. "Nigeria's LONDON Is Producing Afro Sounds of the Future - OkayAfrica". www.okayafrica.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.

[Tush_Magazine-5] 1 2 3 4 "London: Meet The Wave-Making Producer". Tush Magazine. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

[6] Orubo, Daniel (10 December 2019). "#Beatsmith: London On Producing Rema's "Bad Commando"". Zikoko!. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[7] Ahura, Shirley. "Creating masterpieces: London is the Nigerian producer making unique bangers". Mixmag. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

[8] Gatera, Emmanuel (23 November 2021). "Music production has no rules, says top African producer London". The New Times. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[9] "London Wants It All: In Conversation With Grammy-Nominated Producer and DJ, London". MoreBranches. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

[10] Onabanjo, Adedamola (24 March 2020). "Crayon Picks Up Single Run With Rhythmic London-Produced Single 'Shima'". The Culture Custodian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[11] Peter, Dennis Ade (30 November 2021). "Bruk It Down: London on the making of "Bloody Samaritan" by Ayra Starr". The NATIVE. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]