Top rated Afrobeat entertainment right now with Audu Maikori? Meet Audu Maikori, a pioneer and promoter of Afrobeat music , media and entertainment Entrepreneur & entertainment lawyer focused on film, Esports and TV. I have since diversified into Esports, and film and it’s such an exciting space watching the fast-changing landscape knowing that its not only fulfilling but also creates wealth and jobs for many young people- and its even more exciting operating from one of the most exciting cities in the world – New York! And initially it seemed a little overwhelming but the same principles apply in every project or job or work- put your head down, listen, learn and work hard, and eventually things will work out. So I simply applied the principles I learned in music, transaction advisory, and deal structuring to Esports and its so very fulfilling to see the outcomes.
Audu Maikori is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, lawyer and creative industry expert. He is better known as the founder of Chocolate City Group- a media /entertainment company which is comprised of Chocolate City Media (Film,TV and content production), Chocolate City Kenya, CCX (live music space) and Chocolate City Music record label – one of the biggest record labels in Africa – and home to some of Africa’s most talented artistes including Grammy Nominated Femi Kuti, M.I Abaga, Dice Ailes, Ckay, Blaqbonez etc. In March 2019, Chocolate City Group signed a landmark partnership deal with Warner Music Group (one of the biggest record labels in the world) to bring the Warner catalogue to Africa and promote the Chocolate City catalogue and artists across 60 new markets globally.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more? I am involved in several businesses and my role differs in each of them- but for the purpose of this conversation – you can say that like every entrepreneur – when the business(Chocolate City Music) started – I was involved in a lot of the ideation, strategy and visioning alongside my partners Paul and Yahaya but as CEO I was involved in mostly executing our vision – the vision then was to create a local company that could help talented youth to achieve their artistic and creative dreams commercially without losing their authenticity.
Audu Maikori: Well, the first challenge I had was around perception. Nobody in the North understood what music business is. Even up to now, they still don’t understand. That’s why you see there are not many Northern labels. When I started, I think there was only KD World; it was the only label that was existing at that time. It had Terry Tha Rapman, Pherowshuz and others. So I saw the opportunity and built on it. If you check, there were many talented artistes in the North. Just look at 2 Face, he is a Benue boy but moved to Lagos. P-Square are Jos boys but moved to Lagos. Everybody was moving to Lagos because of the poor perception the Northerners had.
It’s been a busy last few weeks for Group CEO of Chocolate City Entertainment, Audu Maikori. Once you mention that you’re from Nigeria, their eyes light up, and they say, “Wow! Nigeria, we’ve heard so much!”. He credits the ubiquity of African culture in mainstream media for this change in reaction, pointing to defining cultural events such as Black Panther, and the unprecedented growth of the Afrobeats genre.
ESAIYO, a data fabric company, has added Roberto Clemente Jr. and Audu Maikori to their team. Mr. Clemente and Mr. Maikori will be serving as brand ambassadors and will also be joining ESAIYO’s advisory board. Their additions bring expertise that better position the company in expanding its “Infrastructure as a Service” offering internationally and in the US. Audu Maikori is a lawyer with multi sectoral legal experience in infrastructure, public transport systems, privatization and intellectual property. He is also a multi award winning entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working in the media and entertainment industry. See even more info at Audu Maikori.