5 minutes with RUNTOWN
douglas Jack agu better known as ‘Runtown’ is a dynamic, talented artist who is currently making waves as one of the biggest afrobeat and dancehall artist to emerge in africa. his success story started in 2014 when he collaborated with fellow artist davido on a song tittle ‘Garlado”, which propelled him from oblivion to superstardom. he released his first album ‘Ghetto University’ in 2015, which featured appearances from DJ Khaled, Phyno, Wizkid, Uhuru and anatii. the album made him listed in the top 5 Most streamed artist in nigeria. 2016 ended with a bang for this fast rising star when he dropped his single ‘Mad over you’, which further proved he was indeed on the part to success. i was happy to catch up with Runtown to find out more about his music, his musical influences, what to expect from him in 2017, and more.
your full name is Douglas Jack agu but go by the stage name “runtown”, how did you come up with the name?
One of the first songs I recorded was in 2007 and it was titled “na me dey runtown”. from then on, my friends started calling me ‘Runtown’.
your first big break in music was in 2014 in collaboration with Davido on a song titled “galardo” how did you hook up to make music with him and how do you feel now owning galardo yourself?
Back when I used to live with Timaya, shout out to him. he put a call through to david, we went to his house and the rest is history. It feels great to know that my hard work paid off, I give god all the glory.
For all those who listened to your first album “ghetto university” and has heard the skit by Dj Khaleed hyping you on it, We would like to know how did that happened, was it something you to paid for or what and what impact did it have on the success of the album?
I was in Las vegas for the Mayweather / Pacquio fight and a friend of mine told me dj khalid was in town having a club hosting. We linked up with him, he listened to my album and liked it. It was a great experience and his first time collaborating with an 20
you are currently signed to the eric Many record label, which is a relatively new label why not an established and more popular label and what other artists are signed on?
I have creative control and a great management team which all that matters to me. yeah, there’s a new younging “emekaoffical”.
how did you get involved with music and why did you decide to take it up as a career?
Right from child hood, I realized I had an unusual interest in music. I loved all my dads’ old/ vintage records and enjoyed listening to them with him. I finally got involved in music while playing basketball professionally in 2005. I realized how lucrative it could be in the long run and since then I haven’t looked back.
you were recently invited to harvard, as a guest to a special interaction with harvard african student association where you spoke on the emergence of african music and pop culture influence across the world. tell us a bit about that?
We spoke about the emergence of African music. They didn’t really understand the whole afrobeats genre. The world and most Africans in the diaspora don’t really know what afrobeats is, they don’t even know about the renowned fela Anikulapo-kuti ( fela), so we spoke about his works as an activist through music and what he stood for. his sounds and the influence it has had on African music most especially Nigerian music. Those kids are really smart, I think the school fees they’re paying is not for play, so I also learnt a lot from them.
you’ve giving us back to back hits with “mad over you & For life” are we expecting an album or anything new from you soon ?
It’s all hit on hits from now on. just keep supporting Runtown, and I’ll keep making y’all proud. My next album is coming out next year, but I plan to put out a 5 track eP in the last quarter of the year
apart from recording and making your on music, what kind of music do you like and who sounds and songs are you feeling right now?
I’m into every genre of good music, but I really like listening to rap. Currently I’m feeling Niniola’s Maradona.
Who would you love to work with?
Rihanna, I would like to work with her, Coldplay, ed Sheeran. I’ve worked with Major Lazer and I want to work with more djs like david guetta.
What are your thoughts about the internet in the music business?
The internet over the years has been the foremost promotional platform. It has been very vital in the quest to take afrobeat to the world. Nothing is more priceless than reaching out to millions of fans with just a click of a button.
Who are your music icons?
Sade