Nigerian singer Oluwagbemiga Babalola, popularly known as Bigiano, has candidly opened up about a major career decision he now deeply regrets—turning down an offer to join the iconic Mo’Hits Records at the height of his fame.
In a recent interview on Cool FM, the ‘Shayo’ crooner revealed that Don Jazzy personally invited him to join the now-defunct powerhouse label that Don Jazzy and D’banj co-founded. This was back in 2010, just as Bigiano was riding high on the success of his smash hit ‘Shayo’.
When ‘Shayo’ was at its prime, D’banj, who’s my brother and friend, introduced me to Sunday Are,” Bigiano recounted. “Then Bankulli took me to the Mo’Hits house where Don Jazzy asked if I wanted to join.”
But instead of seizing the golden opportunity, Bigiano—then a young, confident rising star—declined.
“In my head, I felt I had already made it. I was going viral, booking shows, and enjoying the independence. I thought joining them would restrict my freedom,” he explained. “I told them no, but they should still support me as they had been.”
Looking back now, the 44-year-old singer admits it was a costly mistake.
“That would have been a big turnaround for my career,” he confessed. “Everyone in that house showed me love—Don Jazzy, D’banj. I should have just said yes. It would have been Wande Coal and Bigiano under Mo’Hits. That would have been explosive.”
Bigiano also reflected on the intimidating talent of Wande Coal, who had just dropped his acclaimed ‘Mushin 2 Mo’Hits’ album around the same time.
“When that album came out, I said to myself, ‘I now have the biggest competitor.’ I was asking myself how to tackle that level of talent,” he said. “They practically gave me a blank cheque, and instead of saying yes, I turned it down.”
He didn’t mince words about his regret: “If I could rewind time, I would go back and say yes—three times.”
Bigiano shot to stardom in 2009 with ‘Shayo’, which earned him nominations at the MTV Africa Music Awards and Nigeria Entertainment Awards, along with wins at the Sound City Music Video Awards for Best Music Video, Best Cinematography, and Viewers’ Choice of the Year.
