Multi-hyphenate creative entrepreneur Oluwatomi Dickson also know as Alhaji Dickson or Alh Dickson works on so many projects across so many landscapes that it’s impossible to place him in one particular category. What started as a meteoric rise has turned into the steady path of founding his own record label, iMuzic Records. From seeking out the next big artist to Show promotion, Alhaji Dickson is ready to take his creative endeavors to the next level. We sat down with Alh Dickson at a quiet coffee shop down the street from his office in Lagos, Nigeria and chatted about his process and how he straddles the line between been a show promoter and being a Record label CEO.
Tell us a little about your motivation to get your career in event organization and now the record label “imuzic Record”
I think it’s interesting, on that note, just how one thing leads to the next. The cool thing about all the different things I’m working on is that there’s this underlying through-line of synergy. The biggest motivating factor has just been being hard on myself. Any real motivation must come internally.
What do you look for when signing new artists?
It comes down to the music first and foremost. The music has to do something, make you feel something. And it has to be refreshing. And there’s an obvious talent there. The second part is really just seeing someone do this on their own; being able to get streams, being able to network with people, have that hustle. I think being able to see someone that can go out and fend for themselves—that makes our job really interesting because this is clearly someone that has vision and the hustle to do it. All we got to do is just come in and amplify it. i choose to support dope artists in their career for them to be heard and known for there creativity.
You went from Hosting Events, owning a club to signing artists and developing them. How has that experience been?
You end up taking on a lot of jobs you didn’t think were your job. Right? You’re part therapist, part Uber driver, part A&R, marketing side—you’re doing everything. I think when you’re building an operation from the ground up, you have to be. You must be hands-on with every facet. And, as with any business, scaling is difficult because when your thing’s in the hands of other people; there’s huge trust there.
Tell us about iMuzic Records.
As a club owner and a show promoter, i have been hanging out with artists, helping them in one way or the other, helping them with music, whatever. And I just came to a point where the passion and love that i have for music has really demanded me to do more, and i plegde to create an opportunity for this young generation Artiste to reach their goals in the music industry. iMuzic Record Label is the label of the future.
