Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo, or D'banj was born on June 9, 1980 in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a successful artillery officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a street was named after him in Alamala Barracks, Abeokuta, and a church dignitary mother, who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State. Due to his father's profession, he moved several times within Nigeria and also moved to India. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. D'banj resisted the system and disenrolled from the school after three years. While at the Military school, he was a member of the elite drum corp of the Nigerian Army.From the Nigerian Military School, He proceeded to another military owned institution Nigerian Navy Secondary School,Ibara,Abeokuta where he completed his secondary school education

D'banj grew up listening to Fela Kuti, who he cites as his "great mentor". He was introduced to the harmonica by his late older brother, Femi Oyebanjo, who died in a plane crash at age seventeen. With D'banj's love of music being greater than his parents' military aspirations, he struggled for his parents' approval; this can be best heard through an album track, All Da Way from his debut album. He derived his stage name from the combination of the first name and his surname.

Discography