- Danfo Driver singers late Mad Melon and Mountain Black were part of the popular figures that shaped the Nigerian music industry in the early 2000s
- Mad Melon and Mountain Black’s hit song, Danfo Driver, was so popular that it was one of the two Nigerian songs that paved the way for Afrobeats songs to be featured in Hollywood movies
- TheTalk.NG in this article, goes down memory lane on Danfo Driver by the late Mad Melon and Mountain Black
For the new generations of Nigerians, Danfo Driver is a local parlance, usually used for drivers of the popular yellow buses in Lagos, better known as ‘Danfo’
However, the older generation will easily relate Danfo Driver to a hit song released in 2006 by Mad Melon and Mountain Black, whose stage name is also Danfo Drivers.
Mad Melon and Mountain Black released Danfo Driver in 2006.
Credit: madmelondanfodriverSource: Instagram
The 2000s were considered the era that birthed what is now known as Afrobeats in the Nigerian music industry. It was the era when the likes of 2Baba, late Sound Sultan, Eedris Abdulakareem, and other pioneers made names for themselves with hit songs that went beyond the shores of Nigeria.
Who are Danfo Driver singers?
Mad Melon, whose real name Oghenemaro Henry Azubuike Emeofa and Jimoh Olotu, aka Mountain Black, jointly known as Danfo Drivers were part of the pop stars that ruled the Nigerian music scene in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
Danfo Drivers, who came from the ghetto in Lagos, were contemporaries with the likes of Daddy Showkey, African China, Stereoman, Daddy Fresh, Marvelous Benji and many others.
Danfo Driver singers link up with Tekno after calling him out for using their song without permission.
Credit: madmelondanfoSource: Instagram
Before they opted to make music, Mad Melon and Mountain Black were commercial bus drivers who plied from Ajegunle to other parts of Lagos.
They soon adopted their vocation’s name as their stage name and even used it as the title of their debut song, Danfo Driver.
At the height of their career, Mad Melon and Mountain Black performed in Greece, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland, among others.
Details about 2006 Danfo Driver song
Danfo Driver was one of the hit songs on the streets that left Nigerians singing and dancing.
Aside from the verses in the songs that detailed Mad Melon and Mountain Black’s experience as bus drivers in Lagos, the song’s catchy chorus was the captivating part.
“Shebi you be danfo driver, suo! I am a danfo driver, suo!” Nigerians from that generation happily sang the lyrics as they showed off the dance moves known as ‘Suo,’ also made popular by Mad Melon and Mountain Black.
Danfo Driver song was also one of the first two songs, alongside 2Baba’s African Queen, that was selected as the soundtrack in the Hollywood movie, Phat Girlz, paving the way for the use of Afrobeats in foreign movies.
Unlike many of their contemporaries from their era, who were one-hit wonders, Mad Melon and Mountain Black had other hit songs like Kpolongo, which earned them their first European tour in October 2006.
Danfo Drivers’ other popular songs include Iya Mi O, No Matter What I Do, and Tinini, among others.
Listen to Danfo Driver by Mad Melon and Mountain Black, released in 2006, below:
Tekno samples Danfo Drivers’ Kpolongo
In 2018, singer and music producer Tekno was called out by Danfo Drivers for sampling their song ‘Kpolongo without approval.
According to the duo, Tekno stole a piece of their song in one of his hit singles titled ‘Jogodo’ released in 2018.
Reports claimed Tekno later apologised to his senior colleagues and gave them a substantial amount of money as compensation.
Danfo Drivers’ Mad Melon died in 2019
In 2019, tragedy hit the Nigerian music industry after the management of Mad Melon and Mountain Black, aka the Danfo Drivers, announced that one half of the duo from Ajegunle, died after a battle with an ailment suspected to be tuberculosis.
Mad Melon’s death was a big blow to Nigeria’s pop culture history as his contemporaries like Daddy Showkey and Mountain Black reacted to his demise.
TheTalk.NG recalls reporting that Nigerians trooped to social media to share condolence messages as they celebrated Mad Melon’s life and music.
Meet Gbenga Adeboye who reportedly died twice
TheTalk.NG earlier shared the story of the late Elijah Oluwagbemiga Adeboye, better known as Gbenga Adeboye, who was the pioneer of stand-up comedy in Nigeria.
Adeboye was versatile and was known for speaking more than five languages.
The late comedian and broadcaster was reported to have died twice.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at TheTalk.NG.
Source: TheTalk.NG
