Nigeria’s Simi leaves record label

News of her departure began as a rumour making the rounds in the Nigerian music scene. It has now been confirmed by the label. Apparently, the artist's contract with the label has expired and both parties have agreed to part ways.

Under X3M Music, as led by Steve Babaeko and which she joined in 2014, Simi released her last two albums and a collaborative EP with Falz, 2016's Chemistry. The deal with X3M Music saw the artist move away from the gospel genre of her first album and become an established recording artist performing across the continent and outside of it.

The label released a few singles before it launched Simisola, her sophomore effort and the first album under X3M Music.

That album, which was critically acclaimed, produced several singles, including ‘Joromi’, which became a hit and might be considered her signature song. The album also won her a number of awards, including Album of the Year at the Headies Awards, one of Nigeria’s respected music award platforms. Last year, she won the music category at the Future Awards and broke a record on the music streaming service Boomplay.

Her second album, Omo Charlie Champagne, was released on 19 April and has been warmly received by her fans.

“We only sign artists that we love and believe in. We know our taste in music is rather different, but we only sign talents who meet that taste,” X3M A&R executive Vincent Nwanze said in a statement confirming Simi's exit.

“Fortunately, we have been able to find millions of music lovers here and abroad, who share similar tastes, as is evident in the success of all the artists we have worked with, including Simi who is without any doubt one of the biggest music talents in the country today.”

As her album Omo Charlie Champagne has just been released under her former contract, it is uncertain how it would be promoted, especially through music videos, as its maker is no longer signed to X3M.

With her departure confirmed, Simi joins a list of Nigerian artists who have left a recording label in recent times. The list includes Tiwa Savage (from Mavin Records), Ycee (from Tinny Entertainment), Tekno (from MMMG) and Reekado Banks (from Mavin Records).