Dapper Group chief executive officer Damilola “Dapper” Akinwunmi has broken his silence over allegations surrounding the company’s business relationships with Nigerian artistes, rejecting claims that the label withheld earnings, forged agreements or exploited artistes.
Akinwunmi, in a lengthy statement addressing the controversy, said he had deliberately avoided responding publicly to the allegations because he believed disputes involving contracts, finances and business relationships should be resolved through documentation, accounting records and the appropriate legal processes.
He said, however, that continued discussion of the matter on social media had created what he described as a misleading narrative about his company and his reputation.
“I have remained quiet for a long time, not because I have nothing to say and not because I am afraid to speak, but because I have always believed that business disputes should be handled with facts, contracts, records and, where necessary, the law,” he said.
According to him, his decision to respond was prompted by what he described as an attempt to damage his name and the business built by his team.
“There appears to be an agenda to damage my name, my character and a business we have worked very hard to build. I cannot sit quietly and allow that narrative to become the truth simply because it is being repeated online. So, for once, I will speak,” he said.
How the artiste relationships began
Akinwunmi also disputed claims that artistes signed agreements without understanding their terms.
He said the artistes involved were given contracts ahead of signing and had opportunities to review and negotiate the agreements.
“Every artist was sent their contract in advance, with time to read it and take advice on it before anything was signed, and the terms were negotiated rather than presented,” he said.
He specifically addressed the business relationships involving Seyi Vibez, Shallipopi and T.I Blaze.
According to him, Seyi Vibez had legal representation during negotiations, while his project NSNV was distributed through Dvpper Digital. He maintained that Dapper did more than simply distribute the project.
“We also worked on the project itself. We provided A&R on NSNV and we secured a feature for it. That is not distribution. That is a label doing label work,” he said.
On Shallipopi, Akinwunmi said several people were present before the agreement was executed and that the benefits and sign-on bonus provided for in the contract were paid immediately.
He also said questions relating to T.I Blaze had previously gone through a documented review involving financial records.
“Nobody was rushed, nobody was uninformed, and nobody was exploited,” Akinwunmi said.
He argued that the current disagreement appeared to concern dissatisfaction with existing agreements rather than a lack of understanding when the contracts were signed.
“These were not boys handed a pen. They were businessmen making a deal, and they made it. What has changed is not their understanding of the contract. What has changed is that they no longer like it,” he said.
Shallipopi’s arrest and legal support
Akinwunmi further disclosed that Dapper continued supporting Shallipopi after the artiste was arrested approximately one month into their relationship.
He said the company could have terminated its relationship with the artiste at that point but instead instructed lawyers to represent him.
According to Akinwunmi, Dapper also paid for the legal representation of a friend of Shallipopi who was arrested alongside him despite having no contractual relationship with the company.
“A friend of his was picked up at the same time, a young man with no contract with us and nothing to offer this company, and we paid for his representation, too,” he said.
Akinwunmi said both men were eventually released and that the legal expenses were properly documented.
“We stayed, we kept working and we kept investing,” he added.
‘Dapper did the work of a label’
The CEO said the company’s contribution to the artistes’ careers extended beyond financial advances.
He listed A&R, production support, songwriting coordination, feature arrangements, release strategies, marketing campaigns, administration and logistics among the services provided by the company.
“Over the years that followed, Dapper did the work of a label. We handled the administration, the logistics and the day-to-day machinery that keeps a career moving,” he said.
He added that some of the artistes’ earliest major exposure, including international opportunities, came through the company.
“For some of these artists, the first video that ever ran and the first time their music took them outside Nigeria came through this company. I say that as a matter of record, not as a debt anyone owes me,” he said.
Millions invested before returns
Akinwunmi said Dapper made substantial investments in recording, production, artwork, marketing, digital campaigns, music videos and touring.
He also cited expenses related to property, rent, vehicles, settlement of a previous label agreement and personal cash advances.
Giving an example of the scale of the expenditure, he said two music videos for one artiste, filmed in the United States, cost the company $52,000.
“Not fifty-two thousand naira,” he stressed.
He said one of the videos was never officially released and therefore generated no income.
Akinwunmi also disclosed that a separate United States trip involving recording camps and video shoots cost more than $200,000 after flights, visas, accommodation, transportation and welfare expenses were included.
“There was no show and no fee attached to it. That was money spent purely on making the work, long before anyone knew whether it would return,” he said.
He maintained that the expenses were documented in the company’s accounts and could be independently examined.
CEO explains label recoupment model
A major part of Akinwunmi’s response focused on the financial structure of record-label agreements.
He argued that advances and other expenses paid by labels should not automatically be regarded as gifts or free money.
“When a label finances a career, that money is not a gift and it is not free money. It is capital put at risk before anyone knows whether a record will work,” he said.
According to him, a label assumes the initial financial risk because there is no guarantee that an artiste or project will generate sufficient revenue to recover the investment.
He said recoupable advances were expressly provided for in the agreements signed with the artistes.
“Advances are recoupable, and that was set out in the agreements and communicated clearly to every artist before they signed. It is not a detail anyone discovered later,” he said.
Akinwunmi said the online discussion had also failed to distinguish between gross catalogue revenue and money ultimately payable to an artiste.
He explained that revenue generated through music platforms passes through several stages, including deductions by platforms and distributors, before the label’s recoupable investment is considered.
“The numbers being quoted online are gross figures from the top of that chain, not net earnings at the bottom of it,” he said.
His central position was that the company had invested more than the relevant catalogues had earned.
“The investment exceeded the earnings, the balances remain unrecouped, and what is outstanding is owed to the company, not by it,” he said.
He declined to publish detailed figures online, arguing that the accounts should instead be examined through a formal audit.
Dispute over ownership of masters
The Dapper Group CEO also addressed criticism surrounding ownership of master recordings.
He argued that where a label finances the creation of a recording, ownership of the master is generally tied to the party that assumes the financial risk, subject to the terms of the agreement.
“When a label funds the making of a record, it holds the recording it paid for. That is not a Dapper invention and it is not peculiar to us,” he said.
According to him, the ownership provisions were contained in the artistes’ agreements before they were signed.
“Our position on ownership is written into the agreements; it was there before anyone signed, it was explained, and it was agreed by both sides. It was negotiated, not imposed,” he said.
Denies catalogue sale and document forgery
Akinwunmi strongly denied allegations that he had sold any of the artistes’ catalogues.
“I have not sold anyone’s catalogue. Not to a distributor, not to a third party, not to anyone,” he said.
He also rejected allegations that Dapper agreements had been forged.
“No signature on any Dapper agreement was falsified, and no document was fabricated,” he said, adding that the claims could be independently verified.
Calls for forensic audit
Rather than continue the dispute through social media, Akinwunmi challenged anyone who believes Dapper has misappropriated funds to request an independent forensic audit.
“I welcome scrutiny,” he said.
He proposed that an independent accounting, auditing or legal institution examine the company’s contracts, payment records, distribution statements and financial accounts.
“Let the numbers speak. Let the documents speak. Tell us where we cheated you, when we cheated you and how much we cheated you, based on audited findings and not figures thrown around online,” he said.
Akinwunmi said Dapper would provide complete accounting records and distribution statements to any properly constituted independent review.
“I will accept the findings of any such firm, and I will say so publicly whichever way they fall,” he said.
Says dispute should be resolved through proper channels
The CEO said contractual procedures for resolving disputes were already in place and had been activated.
He added that the company had cooperated with authorities and would continue to do so.
“We have nothing to hide and we have never conducted ourselves as though we did,” he said.
According to him, a date had already been fixed through the appropriate process, with the parties notified.
He said he intended to attend and urged those involved to allow the formal process to take its course rather than continuing to litigate the matter on social media.
“I do not want to turn the internet into my courtroom. I would ask that we keep this where it belongs,” he said.
Raises alarm over threats
Akinwunmi also disclosed that threats had allegedly been made against him and people close to him since the dispute began.
He said the threats had been documented and reported to the appropriate authorities.
“But a disagreement about a contract should never reach that point, and everyone watching this should think about how quickly it did,” he said.
Appeals for restraint in Nigerian music industry
Despite the severity of the allegations, Akinwunmi said he would not use the dispute as an opportunity to insult the artistes involved.
He called for greater education within Nigeria’s entertainment industry on contracts, financial reporting, music-business investment and independent auditing.
“Our industry is growing, and we have to invest in education around contracts, music business investment, financial reporting, independent audits, and artists who genuinely understand what they are signing,” he said.
He warned that turning every contractual disagreement into a social media confrontation could ultimately hurt artistes, executives, investors and the wider creative sector.
“When every disagreement becomes a social media war, everyone loses. The artist loses. The executive loses. The investor loses. The industry loses,” he said.
Akinwunmi described the situation as unfortunate, particularly given what he said was the potential of the collaborations involved.
“It is sad that what should have been a game-changing collaboration has become this,” he said.
He urged all parties to allow lawyers and auditors to examine the relevant records before conclusions are reached.
“Let the lawyers do their work. Let the auditors examine the books. Let the contracts be read. Let the facts be established, and let the truth stand, even when it is inconvenient,” he said.
‘Before I was an executive, I was a fan’
In closing, Akinwunmi returned to his stated motivation for working in the music business, saying his interest in the industry predated his role as an executive.
“Before I was an executive, I was a fan. That has never changed,” he said.
He argued that the success of a label is ultimately tied to the success of its artistes and rejected the suggestion that he built his career around taking advantage of musicians.
“I did not build a career in this industry in order to take from artists,” he said.
Akinwunmi appealed to members of the public to withhold judgment until the relevant financial and contractual records have been examined.
“So I would ask one thing of the public. Wait. Look at the facts as they emerge rather than the loudest version of them, and let the people whose job it is to examine the books and the contracts do that job,” he said.
He concluded by thanking his staff, industry colleagues and those who had supported Dapper Group.
“To everyone who has supported Dapper Group, believed in our work and trusted us with your careers, your businesses and your dreams, thank you,” he said.
— Damilola “Dapper” Akinwunmi, CEO, Dapper Group