London (record producer)

Michael Ovie Hunter (born October 21, 1999),[2] known professionally as LONDON (stylised in uppercase), is a Nigerian-British Platinum record producer, and disc jockey. He is best known for producing "Gyrate" from Wizkid Grammy-nominated album Made in Lagos, and Rema international hit single Calm Down, which became the second Nigerian song to peak at number one on the India IMI International chart and also peak no.3 on Billboard Hot 100.

LONDON
Hunter in 2023
Hunter in 2023
Background information
Birth nameMichael Ovie Hunter
BornOctober 21, 1999[1]
Kaduna, Nigeria
OriginNigerian, British
GenresAfrobeats, Afropop
Occupation(s)Record producer
InstrumentsFL Studio Ableton live
Years active2018–present
Labels
  • Sony Music Publishing France
  • Bluesky Music Publishing
  • Blowtime Entertainment

He has produced tracks for Rema, Crayon, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, Chris brown, Selena Gomez, 6lack, Yseult, and Ladipoe. He rose to stardom following his deal with Blowtime Entertainment in 2019. His production hits include Rema's: "Soundgasm", "Bad Commando", "Calm Down", Ayra Starr's: "Fashion Killa", "Bloody Samaritan", Tiwa Savage's: "Koroba", and Johnny Drille's: "Mystery Girl".

He currently has a publishing deal in a joint venture between Sony Music Publishing France and Bluesky Music Publishing.[3]

Early life

Michael Ovie Hunter was born in Kaduna, to a Nigerian Mom, from Isoko and a British Dad.[4][5] Micheal grew up in the sub-division of the Northern Nigeria state, Kaduna, where he rounded up his high school in 2016.[5] Micheal's musical career began in the church as a drummer and soon took personal lessons on beat making. He tells Tush Magazine, “I when, out of curiosity, I discovered the FL Studio software From a close friend in the company I worked for in Kaduna as a graphics designer.”[5]

Career

In 2018, he produced "Turn Up" for DJ Tunez featuring Wizkid and Reekado Banks. In 2019, he decided to move to Lagos, to stay with Mavin's in-house producer BabyFresh,[5] who eventually signed him to Blowtime Entertainment, a division of Mavin. His production tag was first introduced to the public on 12 July 2019, following the release of Crayon debut EP "Cray Cray", on the opening track "So Fine", produced by London, and BabyFresh. In October 2019, he had his solo production breakthrough with Rema's debut EP Bad Commando, named after the opening track "Bad Commando",[6] which he produced. Then went on to work on Wizkid project Soundman Vol. 1, on the track "Electric", in which he was featured.

London served as the executive producer on Rema's debut studio album Rave & Roses, producing 14 songs out of 16 tracks on the album. On 22 April 2022, while speaking with Notion magazine, he disclosed being the primary producer of the studio album Rave & Roses, and almost gave up on working on the album because he got scared at some point following the deadline date to meet up with, he says.[3] On 14 July 2022, he tells Mixmag writer Shirley Ahura, “Working on Rema’s album is one of my proudest achievements, honestly. To see how people are accepting it and vibing to it gives me more motivation to keep going, to keep doing what I know how to do best.”, he says.[7]

On 5 March 2021, following the release of Coming 2 America soundtrack album, he did a re-make of the song "Koroba" by Tiwa Savage for Amazon Studios, and Def Jam Recordings.[8]

Artisty

Notion described his sound as a blend of “weaving church influences and R&B elements”.[3] He cited Sarz, OVO 40, Bursbrain, Killatunez, and Don Jazzy, as his musical influence.[9]

Production discography

Albums/EPs

Artist Album/EP Release date Certifications Label Notes
Crayon Cray Cray 12 July 2019
Co-producer
Twelve A.M 26 March 2021
Co-producer
Rema Bad Commando 27 September 2019 Mavin Records Co-producer
Rave & Roses 25 March 2022 Lead producer
Alpha P King of the Wolves 15 November 2019 Universal Music Group Nigeria Co-producer
Dr SID The Interesting 7 May 2020 Mavin Records Co-producer
Ceeza Milli Diamond in the Rough 29 May 2020 Aristokrat Records Co-producer
Ricky Tyler Small World 17 July 2020 Universal Music South Africa Co-producer
Tiwa Savage Celia 27 August 2020 Co-producer
Wizkid Made in Lagos 30 October 2020
Co-producer
DJ Tunez & J. Anthoni All You Need 23 March 2021 BT Music Worldwide Co-producer
Ayra Starr 19 & Dangerous 6 August 2021 Mavin Records Co-producer
Johnny Drille Before We Fall Asleep 3 September 2021
Ladipoe Providence 4 November 2021 Co-producer
Black Sherif The Villain I Never Was 6 October 2022
Co-producer
Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music from and Inspired By 4 November 2022
Co-producer
Kel-P Bully Season Vol.1 24 February 2023
Co-producer

Singles produced

Title Year Album Release date
"Turn Up"
(DJ Tunez)
2018 Non-album single
"Shima"[10]
(Crayon)
2020
"Sometime"
(Crayon)
"On Code"
(Crayon)
"Do Me"
(Crayon)
"Koroba"
(Tiwa Savage)
Celia 27 August 2020
"Temptation"
(Tiwa Savage)
"Mystery Girl"
(Johnny Drille)
Non-album single
"River"
(DJ Tunez & J. Anthoni)
2021 All You Need 23 March 2021
"Soundgasm"
(Rema)
Rave & Roses 25 March 2022
"Bloody Samaritan"[11]
(Ayra Starr)
19 & Dangerous 6 August 2021
"Afro Jigga"
(Ladipoe)
Providence 4 November 2021
"Calm Down"
(Rema)
2022 Rave & Roses 25 March 2022
"late4dinner"
(Azanti)
TBA

Awards and nominations

Year Awards ceremony Award description(s) Results
2021 AFRIMMA Music Producer of the Year Nominated
The Beatz Awards Producer of the Year Nominated
Afro-Pop Producer of the Year Nominated
Afro Dancehall Producer of the Year Nominated
Don Jazzy New Discovery Producer of the Year Nominated
2022 Grammy Awards Best Global Music Album for Made in Lagos (Deluxe Edition) by Wizkid Nominated
2023 The Headies Producer of the Year for "Calm Down" by Rema Pending

References

  1. "London". 1883 Magazine. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. "LONDON". The NATIVE. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  3. "Firsts With London". Notion. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. Storm, Camille. "Nigeria's LONDON Is Producing Afro Sounds of the Future - OkayAfrica". www.okayafrica.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. "London: Meet The Wave-Making Producer". Tush Magazine. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  6. Orubo, Daniel (10 December 2019). "#Beatsmith: London On Producing Rema's "Bad Commando"". Zikoko!. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  7. Ahura, Shirley. "Creating masterpieces: London is the Nigerian producer making unique bangers". Mixmag. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. Gatera, Emmanuel (23 November 2021). "Music production has no rules, says top African producer London". The New Times. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  9. "London Wants It All: In Conversation With Grammy-Nominated Producer and DJ, London". MoreBranches. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  10. Onabanjo, Adedamola (24 March 2020). "Crayon Picks Up Single Run With Rhythmic London-Produced Single 'Shima'". The Culture Custodian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  11. Peter, Dennis Ade (30 November 2021). "Bruk It Down: London on the making of "Bloody Samaritan" by Ayra Starr". The NATIVE. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
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