Dapper defends contracts, investments amid fallout with Seyi Vibez, Shallipopi, T.I Blaze

Abdullateef Fowewe

Dapper Group Chief Executive Officer, Damilola “Dapper” Akinwunmi has addressed the ongoing fallout with former label acts Seyi Vibez, Shallipopi and T.I Blaze.

In the statement, titled “Everything Except The Noise” and dated Wednesday August 19, 2026, Akinwunmi rejected allegations that the artists were misled, exploited or denied financial benefits under their recording agreements.

He said the artists had access to the contracts before signing, negotiated their terms with legal counsel and received advances and other benefits at the time the agreements were executed.

“The suggestion is that these artists did not know what they were signing. I do not accept that, and the record does not support it,” Akinwunmi stated.

He added that the artists continued to operate under the agreements for several years without raising formal objections.

“A man who has the document in advance, who negotiates its terms, who improves them, who takes the benefits under it on the day it is executed, and who then operates under it for years without complaint, knows what he signed,” he said.

Akinwunmi also outlined what he described as substantial investments made by Dapper Group in the careers and releases of the artists.

According to him, the label financed music production, marketing campaigns, music videos, touring and other promotional activities.

He maintained that these expenses formed part of the commercial arrangements between the label and the artists.

The label executive further explained that advances and expenses incurred by a record company are ordinarily recouped from an artist’s earnings before royalties become payable under the applicable agreement.

He said the existence of recoupment provisions should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that an artist was denied royalties.

Akinwunmi also denied claims that the artists’ catalogues had been sold.

He said the label’s ownership of masters funded through its resources was distinct from a sale of the artists’ catalogues.

The clarification comes amid online discussions and public accusations involving alleged contract breaches, unpaid royalties and financial mismanagement.

The Dapper Group CEO called for independent audits to establish the facts, arguing that the dispute should not be determined solely by social media narratives.

“The answer to serious financial claims is not noise, outrage or selective storytelling. It is documentation, accounting and an independent audit,” he said in the statement.

Akinwunmi urged all parties to rely on contracts, payment records, royalty statements and audited accounts in resolving the dispute.

The former artists have recently made public accusations concerning their contractual relationships with the label, while Dapper Group has maintained that its dealings were governed by agreements that were reviewed, negotiated and accepted by the parties involved.