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Runtown

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Runtown
Birth nameDouglas Jack Agu
Born (1989-08-19) 19 August 1989 (age 35)[1]
OriginEnugu State, Nigeria
GenresR&B, hip hop, reggae
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2011–present
LabelsIndependent

Douglas Jack Agu (born 19 August 1989), better known by his stage name Runtown, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer with a diverse musical style mix of hip-hop, R&B, reggae and rap.[2] After moving to Lagos from Enugu State with Phyno in 2007, he started doing underground collaborations with artists like J-Martins and Timaya. In 2008, he partnered with Phyno to form a record label called Penthauz during which he released his first two singles "Party Like It's 1980" and "Activity Pikin".[3] He collaborated with Davido on his song "Gallardo" which brought him more attention. Few months later, he signed a multi-million Naira contract with Eric-Manny Entertainment owned by Prince Okwudili Umenyiora, the C.E.O of Dilly Motors.[4]

Growing up

Runtown was born on 19 August 1989 in Enugu but grew up partly in Abuja and Lagos, where he finished his primary education. After the death of his father, he moved to Abuja with his mother who was working in the Ministry of Health. While growing up, he had the aim of being a professional basketball player. In 2005, he relocated to Enugu after his mother developed interest in politics; he went on to finish his secondary school education in Enugu State.[5]

Runtown is currently studying Fashion Management at a fashion school in New York City.[6]

Life and music career

RunTown speaking to Vanguard about his debut studio album

Yeah, next year 2015; the album the whole world has been waiting for. I’m thinking of putting like 20 tracks in the album[7]

Runtown released his first single titled "Runtown" which was produced by Soge in 2007. His 2010 single titled "Forever" had a video directed by IvanEdd films.[8]

In 2012, Jamaican/American singer Laza Morgan featured Runtown on a song titled "High on You" which did big on the Caribbean charts. J. Martins featured Runtown on a song off his Elevation album titled "Tonight"; he also worked with Phyno on a song titled "Anam-Achi Vers-Achi" which was produced by WizzyPro. In an interview with NotJustOk.com, he said he acquired his musical inspirations from Sean Kingston, Bob Marley and Kanye West.

On 29 January 2014, Runtown collaborated with Davido to release a song produced by T-Spize titled "Gallardo" which won the Best Collaboration of The Year award at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.[9] He later released the video which got over 418,000 views on YouTube in its first 2 months. The video features cameos from Patoranking, Skales and Phyno; it was shot in Nigeria and directed by Clarence Peters.[10]

Runtown's career took a huge step after he signed a recording contract with Eric-Manny Entertainment through his friend, releasing "Successful" and "Domot" which received frequent airplay.[11]

Runtown was featured on WizzyPro's "Emergency" song which also featured Skales and Patoranking. The song was produced by WizzyPro and released on 2 November 2014.[12] The music video for "Emergency" which was directed by Patrick Elis was released on 19 January 2014.[13]

On November 23, 2015, Runtown released his debut studio album titled Ghetto University. Ghetto University featured appearances from DJ Khaled, Phyno, Wizkid, Uhuru and Anatii. The album made him listed in the "Top 5 Most Streamed Artist" in Nigeria, generating over N35 million turn over on MTN Music Plus.[14]

Controversies

Ownership of "Aye"

In 2014, there were reports in the media that Runtown wrote "Aye". In an interview with The Nigerian Tribune, Runtown said "A lot of people have been asking me that question. Davido has had a number of interviews where he addressed how the song came about. So if you want to learn more about Aye ask David or read his interviews".[15]

Exit from Eric Manny Entertainment

On 31 May 2016, Runtown terminated his contract with Eric Manny Entertainment upon an injunction obtained by the record label from a Federal High Court in Lagos stopping Runtown from performing at events or recording songs on allegations that "he signs up, concludes and attends musical shows without the knowledge of the label".[16][17] Runtown however denied the allegations in an exclusive interview with Joey Akan of Pulse Nigeria.[18] In the aforementioned interview, Runtown revealed that he quit the record label due to breaches in the recording contract, threat to life and extortion.[19]

Discography

Main article: Runtown discography

Awards and nominations

Year Award ceremony Prize Result
2014 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards Best Collaboration of The Year Won[20]
The Headies 2014 Next Rated Act Nominated[21]
2015 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards Best Pop Artiste Nominated[22]
2015 City People Entertainment Awards Artiste of The Year Nominated[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Runtown". notJustOk. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "BOOK ARTIST - Runtown". One Nation Entertainment. 2 July 2014.
  3. ^ RunTown: How Contact with Timaya Changed My Life
  4. ^ "Runtown Signs Record Deal with Eric-manny Entertainment". tooXCLUSIVE. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  5. ^ "RunTown: How Contact with Timaya Changed My Life". ThisDay News. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. ^ Damilola Sholola (12 December 2014). "Runtown dreams of marrying Rihanna". Vanguard Nigeria. Retrieved 23 March 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  7. ^ "Runtown dreams of marrying Rihanna". Vanguard Nigeria. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ New Music: RunTown – Are You Not Entertained + Activity Pikin
  9. ^ "RunTown wins NEA Awards Best Collaboration of The Year 2014". Scoop NG. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  10. ^ Runtown Bags International Collaboration
  11. ^ "I can't date a celebrity –Run Town". SunNews Online. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  12. ^ "WizzyPro – Emergency ft. Runtown, Skales, Patoranking". notJustOk. 2 November 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  13. ^ VIDEO: WizzyPro – Emergency f. Runtown, Skales & Patoranking
  14. ^ Oghene, Michael (6 April 2016). "RUNTOWN: The Rising Profile of Africa's Next 'BIG THING'". 360Nobs. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  15. ^ "It's nobody's business if I sold Aye to Davido —Runtown". Nigerian Tribune. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Runtown's Record Label slams him with an Injunction Preventing him from Performing, Using his Stage Name & More". BellaNaija. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  17. ^ Showemimo, Adedayo (31 May 2016). "Runtown and record label at war! Label sues, Runtown terminates contract". Nigerian Entertainment Today. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  18. ^ Joey Akan (31 May 2016). "Runtown:"How my label boss pulled a gun on me" [Pulse Exclusive]". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Runtown:Singer addresses label breakup in new interview". Pulse Nigeria. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  20. ^ "Runtown Wins NEA Awards". ThisDay Live. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  21. ^ Micheal Abimboye (30 September 2014). "Orezi, Patoranking, RunTown, Skales up for Next Rated at Headies Awards". Premium Times. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Nigerian Entertainment Awards Unveils 2015 Nominees". Daily Independent. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  23. ^ "City People Awards 2015 Nominees List – tooXclusive, Lil Kesh, Others Nominated…". tooXclusive. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Best Collaboration
2014 		Succeeded by
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