Meji Alabi
Meji Alabi (born 13 December 1988) is a London-born Nigerian filmmaker, director, photographer and producer. He is a director and has worked alongside Beyonce,[1][2] Burna Boy,[3] Wizkid,[4][5][6][7][8]Davido, Tiwa Savage, Popcaan, Goldlink, Koffee and Nasty C.[9]
Meji Alabi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Meji Alabi |
| Born | 13 December 1988 London, UK |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, music video director, Photographer, Producer |
| Years active | 2014 - Present |
| Website | mejialabi |
Early life
Born on December 13, 1988, in London, Meji spent a lot of his childhood on the move with his father after his parents’ separation in 1989. He shuffled between London, the Bahamas, and Texas, USA. He attended Spring Forest Middle School and Stratford High School both in Houston, Texas. Meji Alabi graduated from the University of West London with a first-class summa cum laude distinction in Accounting and Finance, and also holds a Licensed Vocational Nursing degree from St. Phillips College in San Antonio, Texas.[10][11]
Career
In 2014, Meji Alabi co-founded JM Films with Jimi Adesanya.[12] JM Films (a subsidiary of Unbound Studios) is a media and production services company specialised in creative visuals, music videos, commercials, movies and television and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also a co-founder of Priorgold Pictures which is a production outfit based in Lagos, Nigeria created to service the needs of the entertainment industry by providing equipment and personnel for the execution of creative visual content.
In 2014, he directed the music video for ‘Murda’ performed by Seyi Shay featuring Patoranking, Shaydee. The success of this video garnered him much attention in the Nigerian music industry and it was nominated in the same year at the MTV Africa Music Awards for Best Video. Also in 2014, he directed the music video for ‘Crazy’ performed by Seyi Shay featuring Wizkid and that video was nominated in 2015 for Best Music Video of the Year (Artist and Director) at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards and also Best Music Video at The Headies 2015.
In 2016, he directed the video for ‘Kontrol’ by Maleek Berry which marked a new wave of him directing music videos for the Nigerian music industry’s elite. In the same year, he directed ‘Aje’ performed by Alikiba which won the Best Music Video award at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2017.[13]
In 2018, Meji directed the video for Davido’s single ‘Assurance’ off the ‘A Good Time’.
Since 2018, Meji Alabi has worked with Burna Boy on some of his projects. He directed Pull Up, On The Low, and Gum Body featuring Jorja Smith off Burna Boy's album ‘African Giant’. Meji also directed the videos for Way Too Big, Wonderful, Monsters You Made featuring Chris Martin and Real Life featuring Stormzy off the ‘Twice As Tall’ album.
Meji Alabi also worked with Wizkid on the Made in Lagos album, and holds directing credits for the music videos for Ginger featuring Burna Boy, No Stress and Smile featuring H.E.R
In 2020, Meji Alabi served as a producer alongside Jimi Adesanya for the Nigerian footage for the Black Is King visual project executively produced by Beyonce Knowles-Carter. He also worked alongside Ibra Ake and Jenn Nkiru to execute the Grammy Award-winning ‘Brown Skin Girl’ music video for which he was credited as co-director.[14][15][16]
In 2021, Meji Alabi worked with Black Dog Films as director of the visual project for the ‘Zero Malaria: Draw The Line Against Malaria’ campaign. The movement features Nigerian actress and philanthropist Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, actor and entrepreneur Osas Ighodaro, Kenyan Olympic Gold-medallist and marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge, South African explorer and mountaineer Saray Khumalo, Nigerian artist Laolu Senbanjo current captain of the South Africa national Rugby team Siya Kolisi, and Rwandan-British choreographer Sherrie Silver.[17]
Videography
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Murda" | 2014 | Seyi Shay (feat. Patoranking & Shaydee) | |
| "Crazy" | 2015 | Seyi Shay (feat. Wizkid) | |
| "Satan Be Gone" | Asa | ||
| "Eyo" | Asa | ||
| "Right Now" | Seyi Shay | ||
| "Never Gonna Stop" | Niyola | ||
| "Kontrol" | 2016 | Maleek Berry | |
| "Aje" | Alikiba | ||
| "For Life" | 2017 | Runtown | |
| "Ma Lo" | Tiwa Savage (feat. Wizkid) | ||
| "All Night" | Yungen (feat. Mr Eazi) | ||
| "Unstable" | Zak Abel | ||
| "Been Callin" | Maleek Berry | ||
| "All Night" | Yungen | ||
| "Sugarcane" | Tiwa Savage | ||
| "Check" | 2018 | Kojo Funds (feat. Raye) | |
| "Space For Two" | Mr. Probz | ||
| "Property" | Mr Eazi | ||
| "Fever" | Wizkid | ||
| "Get It Now Remix" | Tiwa Savage ( feat. Omarion) | ||
| "Assurance" | Davido | ||
| "On The Low" | Burna Boy | ||
| "Dun Rich" | Popcaan (feat.Davido) | ||
| "Pon My Mind" | Maleek Berry | ||
| "Jungle" | Nasty C | ||
| "Energy" | Skepta & Wizkid | ||
| "No Crime" | Nonso Amadi | ||
| "London Town" | Mr Eazi feat. Giggs | ||
| "Take Over" | Beatfreakz feat. Mr Eazi, Seyi Shay, Shakka, | ||
| "Dis Love" | 2019 | DJ Spinall (feat. Wizkid & Tiwa Savage) | |
| "Sweet in the Middle" | Davido(feat. Naira Marley, Zlatan Ibile & Wurld) | ||
| "Pull Up" | Burna Boy | ||
| "Risky" | Davido (feat. Popcaan) | ||
| "Traffic Jam" | Banx+Ranx feat. Kojo Funds | ||
| "Gum Body" | Burna Boy (feat. Jorja Smith) | ||
| "49-99" | Tiwa Savage | ||
| "Zulu Screams" | Goldlink | ||
| "Body Deep" | Wavy The Creator | ||
| "Hold Me Down" | Eugy feat. Wavy The Creator | ||
| "Wonderful" | 2020 | Burna Boy | |
| "4AM" | Manny Norte | ||
| "Dangerous Love" | Tiwa Savage | ||
| "Cause A Commotion" | Bugzy Malone feat. Skip Marley | ||
| "Cool As A Breeze" | Chronixx | ||
| "Monsters You Made" | Burna Boy feat. Chris Martins | ||
| "Cool Me Down" | DJ Tunez (feat. Wizkid) | ||
| "Way Too Big" | Burna Boy | ||
| "Kini Issue" | Runtown | ||
| "No Stress" | Wizkid | ||
| "Smile" | Wizkid (feat. H.E.R) | ||
| "Lento" | Mr Eazi (feat. J Balvin) | ||
| "Real Life" | Burna Boy feat. Stormzy | ||
| "Ginger" | 2021 | Wizkid (feat. Burna Boy) | |
| "Hide n' Seek" | 2022 | Stormzy | |
| "Aboboyaa" | 2023 | Popcaan (feat. Burna Boy) | |
| "Party Girls" | Victoria Monét (feat. Buju Banton) | ||
| "My Love" | Leigh-Anne (feat. Ayra Starr) |
Commercials
| Title | Year | Brand(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Cloth Surgeon" | 2016 | Complex & Selfridges | |
| "Npango" | 2017 | Tigo Nipa | |
| "S4" | 2018 | Infinix | |
| "Fashion Week" | GTB | ||
| "Beauty Launch Campaign" | 2019 | UOMA | |
| "Autism: A Mother Knows" | GTB | ||
| "Food & Drink" | GTB | ||
| "Fashion Is Freedom " | GTB | ||
| "No. 5" | Infinix | ||
| "Black Shines Brightest" | 2021 | Guinness | |
| "Never Stop Wishing" | 2021 | OREO | |
| "Big Deals: Lunch" | 2022 | KFC | |
| "Big Deals: Tuesday" | 2022 | KFC | |
| "Training Wheels" | 2022 | Toyota | |
| "Made to Move" | 2022 | Cadillac |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Event | Prize | Recipient | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 | Best Video | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Best Music Video of the year (Artist & Director) | "Crazy" (Seyi Shay) |
Nominated | |
| The Headies 2015 | Best Music Video Director | "Seyi Shay (Crazy)" [A] | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | The Headies 2016 | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Music Video of the Year | "Seyi Shay(Yolo Yolo)" | Won | |
| Soundcity MVP Awards Festival | Best Music Video | "Alikiba (Aje)" [A] | Won | ||
| 2018 | Nigeria Entertainment Awards | Best Music Video of the year (Artist & Director) | "Malo" (Tiwa Savage) |
Nominated | |
| The Headies 2018 | Best Music Video Director | "Tiwa Savage (Malo)" [A] | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | The Headies 2020 | "Wizkid (Smile)" [A] | Nominated | ||
| Soundcity MVP Awards Festival | Video Of The Year | "Tiwa Savage (49-99)" | Won | [18][19] | |
References
- "A N T I on Instagram: "Black Is King, a film by @beyonce. Super pumped to have played our part on the Nigerian chapter of this film 🧡 alongside amazing…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- "Meji Alabi: Grammy-winning director on working with Beyonce, Burna Boy and Wizkid". 17 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Burna Boy Proves He's Nigeria's Most Stylish Musician in His New Video". 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- "The Meji Alabi Fever". 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Top five Nigerian music video directors". 27 April 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Meji Alabi: Tales of an "Experience Junkie"". 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Runtown and director Meji Alabi go virtual this weekend". 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Runtown shares official music video for new single "For Life"". 24 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "WATCH THE MEJI ALABI DIRECTED VIDEO FOR GOLDLINK AND MALEEK BERRY'S 'ZULU SCREAMS'". 21 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Interview: Meji Alabi Is Bringing Nigerian Culture to the World, One Music Video at a Time". 16 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "WHAT WOULD I CHANGE: DIRECTOR MEJI ALABI". 24 July 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Director Meji Alabi, Black Dog Films Draw The Line Against Malaria". 25 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Nigerian Entertainment Awards: Full List Of Winners". 27 November 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Meji Alabi: Co-Director, Black Is King". 28 August 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Beyoncé's 'Black Is King' Visual Album Releases First Full Trailer And Key Art". 19 July 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Meji Alabi, Muhammad Atta & Other Nigerian Creatives who Created Magic on Beyoncè's "Black Is King"". 30 June 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Laolu NYC, Osas Ighodaro, Meji Alabi join global stars in campaign against malaria". 24 February 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- "Soundcity MVP Awards: Burna Boy, Naira Marley, Rema collect award". 12 January 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- "Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Rema, Teni & More Win Big at 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards". 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2021.