Eldee Narrates How Failed Deal With Akintoye Akindele Ruined His Music Business

Twelve years after a deal was announced between his record label, Trybe Records and IMAN Entertainment, a supposed entertainment company to enlarge the label’s footprint, Eldee Tha Don has gone public with how the failed deal derailed his music business plans. 

Speaking with Teju Babyface in the latest edition of ‘King of Talk’, a YouTube podcast, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, Eldee said Platform Capital boss, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, was behind the scheme that he alleged to be a fraud.

Eldee, who led Trybe Records, which once boasted of notable music stars like Sasha, 2shotz, Dr SID, Abounce, Sojay, K9 among others and producers like Sheyman and Sarz, added that Akindele and his allies allegedly deployed a venture capital vehicle to collect funds from investors while he, without suspecting any at the time, acted as face and voice of the brand without the promised injection of funds.

According to the music entrepreneur, who stylised the initials of his name, Lanre Dabiri, “it was music to my ears hearing about a venture capital company, Synergy Capital, showing a desire to partner with Trybe Records to expand the label’s network.

“Although I didn’t know much about the workings of the business world at the time, I was forced to spend my hard earned money often to deal with challenges until I realised what was going on.

“Sheyman, the artist, producer and entrepreneur, introduced me to a man by the name, (Akin)Toye Akindele who at the time had a capital advisory firm. What do they do? They look for business, invest in businesses, and fund those. The thing for me at the time was ‘Oh, you have this thing going on, you got these artists, you’ve got the music, let’s partner and set up a bigger entertainment entity which was IMAN Entertainment.

“It was somewhere along the lines of the kind of expansion I was looking for so I said: ‘Yea, sure’. I already was making moves to blow up what I was doing a little more so it sounded interesting. They said they would put in so so million dollars, do this, do that blab bla. So I am on the board, unbeknownst to me, as it is said, what essentially was happening was him and his partners at the capital advisory firm, had people who were funding what was supposed to be Iman Entertainment.

“However, Iman Entertainment was not getting money but Eldee, who was the face of Trybe and IMAN, was basically everywhere trying to hold it all together.”

Eldee, who also founded the defunct three-man music group, Trybesmen, claimed further that the actions of Akindele, who went on to float another venture capital vehicle, affected his life and strained the relationships he had with friends, associates and others within and beyond the Nigerian music industry.

“I had to pay money from my pocket, it affected relationships that I had, I get a little emotional about it now. And that’s because there were people caught in-between. The artists, the staff, the businesses, vendors and more. I kept telling them money would come. I had to dip into my accounts in the United States, dip into my accounts in Nigeria.

“Mr Akindele and his partners kept assuring us. Where you were supposed to get $1million, you get $10,000. It went on until he got into trouble and he went on to float another entity to continue his business,” Eldee added.

In recent time, Platinum Capital boss has been in the eyes of storm with accusations and counter accusations bothering on misappropriation of funds, alleged shares racketeering, manipulating boards decision among other allegations.

Akindele, currently being detained, could not be reached to react to the allegations by the music executive, ElDee.

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