It is hard to find the exact words with which to describe Meji Alabi; he is a UK Videographer who specializes in music video production. However, his sphere of influence mostly revolves around Nigerian musicians, as well as other African artists. His talent is unquestionable; and his versatility is such that he literally creates something new with each new video shoot.
Nobody has done more for the Afrocentric crowd in the UK in terms of entertainment. Meji Alabi is in the forefront of creating a musical identity for the Black Community in the UK by producing top quality music videos which make Black music popular, and at par with music created by other demographics.
Even without stepping foot on the continent; he is also a major force in the evolution of music in Africa. Without a doubt, he is one the pillars of African music; a man of vision who is headed for greatness. How did Meji Alabi become so big? Find out below:
Meji Alabi Profile
Birth name: OladiMeji Alabi
Also Known As: Meji Alabi
Date Of Birth: 13 December 1988 (age 33)
Place of Birth: London, United Kingdom
Nationality: British/Nigerian
Occupation: Filmmaker, Music Video Director, Photographer, Producer
Website: mejialabi.com
Meji Alabi Biography
Meji Alabi was born in London on December 13, 1988 to Nigerian parents. After his parent’s marriage crashed, he was forced to move around a lot; he accompanied his father. He lived in London, the Bahamas, and Texas, USA; sometimes shuffling between cities twice in a year.
Early Life
However, he managed to be stable enough to attend Spring Forest middle school and Stratford High school, both of which are located in Houston, Texas. From there he went to the University of West London, from where he graduated with a first-class summa cum laude distinction in accounting and finance. Interestingly, he went ahead to study for qualification as a Vocational Nurse; and holds a Licensed Vocational Nursing degree from St. Phillips College, which is in San Antonio, Texas.
It is not exactly clear whether or not; or to what extent he pursued a career in any of the disciplines he studied. However, by 2014 he had cofounded JM Films with Jimi Adesanya. The company was designed to be a media and production services company, specializing in creative visuals, music videos, commercials, movies and television and is based in Lagos, Nigeria. The company is now a subsidiary of Unbound Studios.
Meji Alabi is also the co-founder of Priorgold Pictures which is a production outfit based in Lagos Nigeria, which is designed to handle the local demand for video content. The company mainly supplies personnel and equipment to individuals and companies intending to execute video content projects.
He has built an extensive network of artistes; some of whom are Nigerian acts looking to break into the UK market. Meji Alabi therefore created a niche for himself one video at a time by producing top quality videos which have helped announce the talent of African musicians on the world stage.
Career Progression
In 2014, Meji Alabi directed the music video for ‘Murda’ by Seyi Shay. The song featured Patoranking, and Shaydee. This song practically launched him into success as a video maker; the song gained a lot of attention, and also received a nomination at the MTV Africa Music Awards for Best Video. He also produced the video for ‘Crazy’ also done by Seyi Shay, but this time featuring Wizkid. That song was also nominated for Best Music Video of the Year (Artist and Director) at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards, as well as the Best Music Video at The Headies 2015.
He then directed the video for ‘Kontrol’ by Maleek Berry, and ‘Aje’ by Alikiba. The later song won the Best Music Video award at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2017. This feat confirmed his potential; and marked the point at which top artists started searching him out in order to work with him.
In 2018, Meji Alabi directed the video for ‘Assurance’ by Davido. He then worked with Burna Boy on ‘Pull Up’, ‘On The Low’, and ‘Gum Body’ in which he featured Jorja Smith. Meji Alabi also directed the music videos for ‘Way Too Big,’ ‘Wonderful,’ and some other songs in the famous ‘Twice As Tall’ album.
Since then, he has gone on to establish himself as a giant in the industry; a first choice videographer for top artists in Nigeria, the UK, and across Africa.
Meji Alabi Price
Meji Alabi charges around 10 million per video shoot; however, prices may vary depending on the complexity of the work involved in each individual work. Perhaps this explains why he is mostly used by artistes who have the financial backing of big labels, or who have established themselves in the industry.
Meji Alabi Age
Meji Alabi was born on 13 December 1988; he is therefore 34 years old as at the time of writing the post.
Meji Alabi State
Technically, he should be from London State, because that is where he was born, and also because he carries a British Passport. However, Meji Alabi’s father hails from Lagos, and so he may also be said to hail from Lagos.
Meji Alabi Family
Meji Alabi’ father and mother both live in London. His parents separated about a year after his birth, so they have no other children, and so Meji Alabi has no siblings.
He is as yet unmarried; and so there is not much to write about in the family department. Feelers, however, have indicated that he has extended family members back home in Nigeria; although he is so busy that he cannot regularly find time to visit.
Meji Alabi House
Meji Alabi lives in London; where he has a spacious house. As expected from a creative person; same house is a studio, where he does some studio work, and where he tries new skills and ideas, including playing around with new equipment and instruments. That is all the information available about Meji Alabi’s house, the rest has been kept secret; perhaps for security reasons.
Meji Alabi Net Worth 2024 – $75 million
Meji Alabi is quite a rich man; he is estimated to be worth $75 million. The money, of course, comes from his work as music video film maker. If you take into account that he has film companies in both the UK and Nigeria; it seems like the estimation is too small.
He has also shot commercials for top brands and companies like:
- Complex & Selfridges
- Tigo Nipa
- Infinix (2 commercials)
- GTB (4 commercials)
- UOMA
Aside from that; he has done brand endorsements and promotional work for companies; especially as a social media influencer. Meji Alabi is very influential; however, it is not known how much he charges for this brand promotional work.
Some Of His Videos Include
“Murda” by Seyi Shay (feat. Patoranking & Shaydee) done 2014
“Crazy” by Seyi Shay (feat. Wizkid) done in 2015
“Satan Be Gone” by Asa
“Eyo” by Asa
“Right Now” by Seyi Shay
“Never Gonna Stop” by Niyola
“Kontrol” by Maleek Berry done in 2016
“For Life” by Runtown done 2017
“Ma Lo” by Tiwa Savage (feat. Wizkid)
“All Night” by Yungen (feat. Mr Eazi)
“Unstable” by Zak Abel
He also did the following videos:
“Sugarcane” by Tiwa Savage
“Check” by Kojo Funds (feat. Raye) done 2018
“Property” by Mr Eazi
“Fever” by Wizkid
“Assurance” by Davido
“On the low” by Burna Boy
“Dunrich” by Popcaan (feat.Davido)
“Pon My mind” by Maleek Berry
“Jungle” by Nasty C
“Energy” by Skepta & Wizkid
“No Crime” by Nomso Amadi
Awards And Accolades
Meji Alabi has attained so many different awards and accolades during the course of his career; some of them include:
At the 2017 Nigeria Entertainment Awards, he won the Music Video of the Year for Seyi Shay’s “Yolo Yolo”
At the 2017 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, he won the Best Music Video for Alikiba “Aje”
At the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival, he won the Video Of The Year for Tiwa Savage “49-99”
Meji Alabi has also garnered several other nominations during his career.
Meji Alabi Grammy
As a matter of fact; Meji Alabi worked on Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl (he did not shoot the whole video), the video was shot in America and Nigeria among other places, and paraded stars including Nigeria’s very own Wizkid. That song went on to win a Grammy. Therefore, by extension Meji Alabi has tasted Grammy success through his videography.
That is what there is to know about Meji Alabi; one of the hottest Videographers in the UK, who has never forgotten his Nigerian roots. This is one guy who has helped Nigerian music stars gain a solid footing in the UK; and has helped carve out the Black music niche in the UK. His word of advice for young talented entertainers in the UK and elsewhere is “never turn your back on your roots.” It is by embracing who we are on the inside, and by learning to express ourselves through art that we can build an identity to be proud of.
