By Balogun Kamilu Lekan
Biography
Lanre Dabiri, famously known as eLDee The Don, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, and record producer.
He was born on May 23, 1977.
He is a member of the band Trybesmen, which was started in 1998 with rappers KB and Freestyle.
Netng named him one of the 56 best Nigerian entertainers of all time, citing his contributions to the music industry and the creation of the first official Nigerian airplay chart, known as Playdata.
Education
He attended Command Children School Kaduna for his elementary education before heading to Essence International School
He also had a degree in Architecture from the University of Lagos.
Career
Eldee started as a member of the music group, Trybsemen.
Trybesmen established themselves as Nigeria’s foremost hip-hop group in 1999 with singles such as ‘Plenty Nonsense,’ ‘Shake Bodi,’ and ‘Trybal Marks.’ The group performed at a number of sold-out events around the country and beyond, topping playlists from Lagos to Abuja and captivating rap fans with their multi-lingual flow, intriguing subjects, and strange videos.
Trybesmen’s debut album, ‘L.A.G. Style,’ was released shortly after and was a big hit and still a cult classic. With over 78 sold-out gigs in one year, it was no wonder that Trybesmen became a force to be reckoned with across West Africa. They later split up, with each member pursuing various hobbies.
elDee focused on his Trybe Records, creating a platform for new talents that would help achieve the goal of putting African Hip Hop/African Pop on the international map, and now boasts of developing successful artists such as Sasha, who won the Kora’s Most Promising Artist Award in 2004, 2Shots, Lequse, olaDele, Timi, and Sid, who was a member of the defunct ‘Mo-hits Records’
eLDee came up with the cooperation of all the artists on the record label and christened them ‘Da Trybe,’ establishing Trybe recordings. They released the singles ‘Work it out’ and ‘Oya’ in 2002, and the album ‘BIG Picture’ in 2005.
He released the album ‘Big Boy,’ originally named ‘Evolution,’ in 2008. The ‘Big Boy’ album was nominated for 17 awards,, including best video, best album, best cinematography, hottest single, best album, best artist, and a 2009 MOBO award nomination for ‘Best African artist.’
eLDee’s fourth album, ‘Is it your money Vol.1’, was released in 2010, followed by, ‘Undeniable,’ released in 2012.
He has been featured on numerous international radio stations in Europe, Asia, and the United States, and his personal hits include “I Go Yarn,” a song lamenting the situation in Nigeria, a topic most artists are known to avoid, emphasizing the disparity between life in developed and developing countries. ‘Champion,’ ‘African Chiquito,’ and ‘Bosi Gbangba’ have all been played on radio stations worldwide.
eLDee has also been featured in numerous local and international journals and newspaper stories and is widely regarded as one of the most recognized West African artists/producers on the international stage.
Aside from his work as an artist, producer, and video director, eLDee is also an interactive media genius, with customers including CNN, D3 Publishing, Hines, Accenture, Andersen, Kimberly Clark, Naruto, Primedia, NBA, UPS, Cartoon Network, Consumer Source, and Warner Bros.
eLDee is very passionate about the current state of Africa and his passion is mirrored in his
Marriage
eLDee is married to Dolapo Latinwo-Bello and they have two daughters, Temi, and Toke.
Net worth
Eldee is reportedly worth a net worth of $1 million. However, NewsWireNgr cannot independently verify this.
Achievements
Discography
Albums
Long Time Coming
Return of the King
Big Boy
Is It Your Money
Undeniable
Compilations
L.A.G Style by Trybesmen
The Big Picture (Trybe Records Album)
The Champion: The Hits
Awards
Headies awards
Nigeria entertainment Award
Prestigious Image Awards
Controversy
In 2011, Eldee was reportedly caught in a web of controversy when he posted a nude photo of a lady who was assumed to be Mo’cheddah on his Twitter page.
Eldee however refuted the allegation of posting the photo, stating that his account was hacked.
He said, “ Everything I said about it on Twitter is the truth and I don’t want to say anything more on that.
Like I said, Mocheda didn’t tell me anything about what the story on Twitter was all about. I just logged onto my account to find the tweets there”.
He also further lamented that “Someone must have got my password and pasted those things there. Right now, I’m beginning to suspect those I work with but I can’t say who these people are”.
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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