Abdulsalam Quadri Opeyemi, a pilot, popularly known as Blinjoe, has set himself apart as one of those few who have beat the odds to get to where they are.
It did not just happen for the 32-year-old Dubai-based pilot and full-stack engineer all in one night. He has had to pay his dues and still doing everything painstakingly to live his dream and serve humanity while providing solution-based services.
The young achiever started out at Dayspring School, before proceeding to Ojoku Grammar School, Offa, both in Kwara State. He subsequently obtained an Ordinary National Diploma in Computer Engineering at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State.
The first of five children to Mr. Abdulsalam Moshood and Mrs Abdulsalam Taiwo initially nursed the ambition of becoming a doctor but his love for piloting and engineering took the lead eventually.
Blinjoe who has always been fascinated by aircraft pursued this thrill and with his hard work and perseverance obtained a private pilot license amidst highs and lows to emerge a successful businessman. He has embraced both his triumphs and his setbacks, and he has used his indomitable spirit to convert failures into stepping stones to success.
Blinjoe has always been a businessperson with a knack for spotting business opportunities where others are not seeing them and convert to a profitable venture.
One entrepreneurial idea led to another, slowly and steadily establishing his foothold in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Blinjoe’s unbelievable journey isn’t just about creating wealth, but also about putting it to worthy causes. Blinjoe believes in giving back to society. He has been a regular philanthropist to the needy around the world. Further, he does whatever he can in his capacity.
“When we were kids, many of us fantasised about becoming pilots. The notion of flying over the air and landing in different places while clothed in a bright white uniform has a certain allure,” Blinjoe had said in an interview.
The label boss launched his record label named after his moniker after noticing that Nigeria’s music industry was in dire need of being shaken up after witnessing firsthand how much talent the country was home to, yet many promising artists either got left unnoticed or lacked the resources needed to polish their records and market them to the world.
Blinjoe Records is an organization built to scout for talents, provide them with the resources they need, and work with them — all with the eventual goal of world domination.
The label is based in Lagos, Nigeria, but plans to work with talent from across the country in a range of genres; primarily pop, rap, hip hop, and dance hall.
Its team consists of a group of music moguls who are passionate about using their experience and expertise to turn promising new talent into successful artists — and working with them to create world-class productions. With expertise on everything from talent scouting to copyright to coordination, there’s no reason they can’t make it happen.
The music industry is changing, and Blinjoe’s Records doesn’t want to fight against that — it’s embracing the change. How? By helping the artists it works with to establish online presence and run innovative marketing campaigns.
The label doesn’t want to be “just another record label” that produces records for its clients and little else — it wants to provide artists with unique, tailored guidance so they can become pioneers in their genre.
Another key goal of the venture is to give upcoming artists fair contracts that will set them up for success rather than deals that they could regret further down the line. To create a sustainable long-term partnership, the label takes extra care to strike fair deals that will support musicians in the region.
Although Blinjoe’s only launched recently, it was quick to achieve success and has already scaled to the point where it has a whole team and a group of talented musicians under its belt.
The label provides various services for the artists it works with services that span: production, manufacturing and record distribution.
However, the record label ultimately gives each of its clients a bespoke package to ensure they can meet their unique demands and aims. Some might aim to attract a niche audience of loyal followers, while others are going for mainstream acceptance and global dominance.
The rates they charge also depend on these factors — but whatever package clients go for, it’s sure to achieve a good return on investment due to the specialist support.
Blinjoe’s might have achieved an impressive track record already, but the team has ambitions that go way beyond establishing itself as a successful records label.
The ultimate goal is more far-reaching: to put Nigeria on the map for the music industry by showing the rest of the world how much talent belongs to the country. To do this, the label vows to stay on top of new trends in music marketing and technological developments, all while honoring the unique voices and preferences of individual artists.
Now it has a team of experienced industry professionals in place, Blinjoe’s plans to work with all of the artists it has recruited to help them level up their skills and make the best music they possibly can.
This isn’t an overnight process — it involves constant practice and dedication — but there’s no reason it shouldn’t be possible once they have the toolkit given to them by Blinjoe’s.
There aren’t many record labels that can wholeheartedly claim to do both these things competently, but Blinjoe’s experience so far shows that the team has what it takes to do precisely this.