This is a chance to look at one of the successful business brands in Nigeria and why the business model worked at that particular point in time.

Inetimi Timaya Odon (born 15 August 1977), better known by his stage name Timaya, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is the founder of DM Records Limited. His solo career began in 2005 with the release of “Dem Mama”, which also appeared on his debut album, True Story released the following year. His second album Gift and Grace was released in 2008.

Timaya gained further visibility and international prominence through his third studio album De Rebirth—released in partnership with Black Body Entertainment—and its lead single “Plantain Boy”. Both were commercially successful. He collaborated with Dem Mama Soldiers on the album LLNP (Long Life N Prosperity). In 2012, Timaya released Upgrade, which spawned hits “Bum Bum”, “Sexy Ladies”, and “Malonogede”. To date, his work has earned him several notable awards and nominations including four Headies Awards wins, 2 AFRIMMA Awards wins, one Nigeria Music Award and an NEA Award.

Early life

Inetimi Timaya Odon was born on 15 August 1977 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He grew up as part of a large family; the youngest of fifteen children in Agip Estate, Port Harcourt. His father was a banker and his mother was a trader. For his early education, Odon attended Assemblies of God Nursery And Primary School. His secondary school education began at Nkpolu Oroworukwo in Port Harcourt. He would often break house rules to attend late-night music events. Before Timaya could graduate from school, his mother arranged for him to travel with his older brother and older sister to Lagos. After moving to the city, he gained admission into Lagos’ Ikeja Grammar School, where he eventually obtained a secondary school certificate.

Timaya later returned to Port Harcourt to study Banking and Finance at tertiary-level, however, he performed poorly in examinations and dropped out after first semester. He then moved back to Lagos to join Eedris Abdulkareem’s hiphop group as a backup vocalist. After three years working for Eedris, Timaya departed from the group to focus on his solo career. He began to record collaborations with fellow up-and-coming artists and made his first cameo appearance in an unreleased music video by UDX, a Lagos-based rap group. He subsequently met producer Obaksolo in Mafoluku, Oshodi, who produced his first major hit record “Dem Mama” after hearing him perform the a cappella version.

Describing the song in an interview posted on August 2013, Timaya said: “‘Dem Mama’ was an account of the 1999 destruction of Odi, a river side community in Niger Delta. Soldiers were hunting down militants they alleged killed eight policemen. The village was burnt down and numerous people killed. He bravely tackled the issue years later and won instant street credibility for my boldness.”

Career

After the success of “Dem Mama”, Timaya decided to continue with producer K-Solo. He recorded seven more songs for his first album True Story, which was eventually released in 2007. Later that year, Timaya began work on his second album with producers Phyno, Jeggs, Spankie, Akeem D Beat, Obaksolo and Terry G. In 2008, the album titled Gift and Grace was released into stores nationwide. Timaya won two awards in 2008: “Album of the Year” at Nigeria Music Awards and “Best Reggae/Dancehall album” at the Headies Awards. He also received two awards “Best Reggae/Dancehall album” for Gift and Grace and “Best Collaboration” for his feature on J Martins’ “Good or Bad (O Wey)” at the 2009 edition of The Headies. Two years later, Timaya released his third album, De Rebirth and its success-themed lead single “Plantain Boy”. The album’s production was handled by Akeem D Beat, Phyno, Flux, M-Yire, Jay Sleek, N.D, Jesse Jagz, and Obaksolo. Timaya collaborated with guest artists, including 2face Idibia, TJ 2Solo, Allenian, Konga, Lanre, M.I, TJ, and Wrecoba. In 2010, he appeared on the song “Kokoroko” by female gospel artist Kefee, which went on to win in the “Best Collaboration” category at the 2010 Headies Awards., he recently featured by Kcee in a song titled ”Erima”

In November 2011, Timaya released LLNP (Long Life And Prosperity), a collaborative album with his crew, Dem Mama Soldiers. The album’s second track “Dem No Like Me” featured a guest appearance by legendary reggae singer, Ras Kimono. On 25 June 2012, Timaya released a 14-track album titled Upgrade, which produced notable hits “Bum-Bum”, “Sexy Ladies”, “Bum Bum” and “Malonogede”. In 2014, he released his fifth studio album, titled “EPIPHANY. The album was a 20-tracker, with global hits, such as “Bum Bum Remix” (featuring Dancehall A-Lister, Sean Paul), “Sanko”, and “Ukwu”. It also featured 2baba, Patoranking, Olamide, Sir Shina Peters, Deethi, Phyno and Terry G. In 2017, Timaya performed in Nassau, Bahamas, where he headlined the first ever Afro-Soca Concert.

After 5 years of releasing singles, and touring, Timaya released an EP titled Chulo Vibes (2019). This project featured collaborations from East African artist Alikiba, Trinidadian Soca Legend Machel Montano and Nigeria’s Burna Boy.

Why The Business Model Worked.

For a business model to work, certain factors need to come together, be it the idea, the timing, demographic, location, capital etc. For this brand these are some of the factors he put together to be successful in this sector.

The Idea

African music was making waves globally, but there was need to incorporate more genre of music into the African beats. The dancehall genre of music has already been a huge success in South America. Many were of the opinion it will not sound well with the African beat. Others argue that it will not be widely accepted in Africa. Timaya put those arguments to bed, when he introduced his first dancehall tune. The song became like an anthem and was accepted and embraced nation wide. His idea of business was spot on and the execution was fantastic.

Timing

2005 was the time and Dem Mama the song that got African falling in love with dance hall Afro Beats. Because it was something that has never been done before then, the timing was impeccable. For any business idea to work, the timing must be on point for you to embrace the audience desired. At a time when curvy women were beginning to be celebrated he release the song “bum bum”. The song made waves and secured more women followed to his course. Timing is everything.

Location

He understood what people in his chosen location wanted. A demographic of young and energetic people, just looking for good time to help them forget the worries. Why will this business brand ever fail in this sort of location?. The story in his very first song was very relatable as he was discussing issues facing people in his neighbourhood. So when it came to this factor of business startup, Timaya excelled with flying colours.

Business Thinking

Timaya did not stop with the first release. To further grab his audience he proceeded to make other lovely tunes on the same dance hall beats. Those array of lovely songs under the same genre of music, gave him the desired audience and even kept expanding them exponentially. to expand the brand even further he set up his record label, DM Records Limited. Under which he groomed artistes such as Patoranking and Runtown. In 2017, he signed young Dancehall/Afro-Fusion artiste, King Perryy to the DM Records imprint.

Moving Forward

With a passion for helping young people and the community at large, this star is always one for the present and the future. The work he done with Patoraking and Runtown speaks for itself. So many young and talented Nigerians who will want to be helped up the ropes will benefit from him. We at Top 100 are looking closely to see how he can further improve on this brand or even branch into other areas of business. be rest assured that we will offer any and every hand we can to make this come true.