Nigerian singer and Kukere crooner, Iyanya has finally opened up about the reason he left Made Men Music and his partner Ubi Franklin whom he revealed betrayed his trust and broke him.
Speaking about the reason for his silence in an interview with The Juice on NdaniTV, Iyanya revealed that contrary to the popular belief people have come to accept that he sold his shares in Made Men Music, he didn’t do that rather he left because there was so much Darkness in the record label.
What people don’t know is, I didn’t sell my share. People see me and say oh. why did you sell your share? I didn’t sell my shares, I left Made Men at the time because there was so much darkness. In the midst of all the wings, I decided to let that go. Mavin was … shout out to Jazzy… Jazzy gave me that platform to put music out because I left Made Men and I didn’t want anything from Made Men, so Jazzy just said look, men, you’ve built something over the years and starting all over it’s not going to be as easy as you think, so just put out music from here and work on something. So people really thought I signed to Mavin but it wasn’t like a legal signing, it was just love. And then Temple Music came, when Temple music came, I love the vision, I love the dream and I was like Okay, let me try this. and that was when I released Up To Something, Hold On, I mean, Good Vibes. And after that, it was time for me to move, because I felt like I got to the point where I have to put out my own thing, have m,y own family, have my own team, me and Alex…
Going back to his time with Made Men Music, Iyanya explained what he meant as the “darkness” when referring to his time with the record label, Iyanya stated that in as much as he would prefer not to delve into that issue, he also believe that sometimes you have to clear the air and people need to hear the truth as it is. He said;
When I said it was darkness, I was not myself anymore because I felt like there was no trust anymore. Because at the time I was singing I co-owned Made Men with Ubi but I later realized that my name was not in any of the forms I signed… and I was broken… and that was the beginning of me just saying to hell with everything.” The hurt of being betrayed could still be felt in his voice as he looked like his mind went back to that time. He continued “To be honest, Mr. Amanju Pinnick was the one that brought us together because at that point, my spirit, my mind, my soul left the whole thing, at that point I was like I don’t care, I’m going to start all over, as long as I’m happy. as long as I’m in a good space to make music, I’m fine.
Speaking about his time with Mavin Records when Don jazzy took him in as a member of the Mavin family, Iyanya revealed that the relationship was pone he needed at that time because it came as a healing process for him after what he experienced with Ubi Franklin.
That was healing for me, that was the best time of whole situation I was in, that was the best moment because Jazzy just opened his family and said look, you’re one of us and everybody just showed me that love coz it came from Jazzy. So from Jazzy to Tiwa, to Baby Fresh to everybody, it was just love and that really gave me life because, to be honest with you, I was broken. Like I was broken!
Speaking of Ubi and if they’ve made amends to all that happened, Iyanya said he has confronted Ubi but he didn’t mention Ubi’s reaction or response to the confrontation, rather he stated that people still believe he was the one who wronged Ubi with questions like “Why you do that to your guy?” with more accusations like “after all the things he did for him (Iyanya), he left him for Temple.
Moving on, Iyanya revealed he hasn’t been quiet and he has an EP coming out soon, The Rebirth EP which will feature a lot of collaborations with industry mate and all he wants right now is to move on with life with no drama. The singer also revealed he has the intention to go into politics later in life to help the people of Calabar with his influence. is he in a relationship? Well, he didn’t reveal because he said everything that makes it to the public gets ruined by the public.
We wish the singer all the best and hope he resolves whatever issue he said might be lingering somewhere with Temple Music because he said the record label still hasn’t accepted his exit as they believe the time for his contract with them hasn’t expired.
Watch the interview below;
