With over a decade in the Nigerian music industry, Runtown’s career boasts several hits which charted on music charts within and outside Nigeria. Some of those massive hits we know him for include Gallardo, Bend Down Pause, and Lagos to Kampala, among others. In this article, we will discuss Runtown’s biography, starting from when he was a young boy through his educational history and music career. Read on.
The biography of Runtown would be discussed below:
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Early Life and Education
Runtown, whose real name is Douglas Jack Agu, was born on the 19th of August, 1989, in Enugu. Because his parents were civil servants who moved a lot within Nigeria, Runtown grew up in Enugu, Lagos, and Abuja. He attended several schools for his elementary and secondary Enugu, Abuja, and Lagos, notable among them is St. Augustine’s Seminary, Ezzamgbo at Enugu-Abakaliki Expressively. After secondary school, he proceeded to study Fashion Management at a fashion school in New York, United States of Nigeria.
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Age
Runtown was born on August 19, 1989, so he will be 34 years old on August 19, 2023.
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Music Career
Runtown decided to venture into music in 2007. At the beginning of his career, he was mentored by Okechukwu Joshua Kalu Okwun, popularly known as J Martins. One of the earliest songs he featured in was J Martins’ Tonight, in which Runtown was featured alongside Phyno. He began to gain popularity in mid-2010 after releasing Forever. Later on, he released other singles and partnered with several artists.
In 2011, Runtown was among the first artists signed to Phyno’s record label Penthauze. However, there were claims that he was a partner of the label, while other claims put him as a co-owner alongside Phyno. These claims, however, have not been proven. Some of the songs he released via Penthauze include Activity Pikin and Party Like It’s 1980.
In January 2014, Runtown featured Davido in his hit song titled Gallardo. This would be the first single that would be released to support his debut album, Ghetto University. This song immensely contributed to pushing Runtown further into the spotlight. The song would go on to win the Best Collaboration of the Year at the 2014 edition of the Nigeria Entertainment Awards. The second single of his debut album was Uhuru-assisted The Banger, which was released on December 9, 2014. The third and fourth singles of the Ghetto University were Bend Down Pause and Walahi, which the former was released on June 3, 2015, and the latter sometime later that year.
The album, Ghetto University, was finally released on November 23, 2015, via MTN Music Plus through Eric-Manny Entertainment. Ghetto University generated over N35 million on the music portal, MTN Music Plus. The album contained 17 songs, of which Sticky was in charge of the mastering and George Nathaniel was the mixing engineer. DJ Khaled, Wizkid, Davido, Uhuru, Phyno, Anatii, M.I., Hafeez, and Barbapappa, while the production of the project was handled by Maleek Berry, DJ Maphorisa, J Stunt, Del B, El Puto, Shizzi, Tspize, Killbeatz, Pheelz, and Badr Makhlouki. This album was a breakthrough for Runtown in the music industry as it earned him more than 7 nominations, winning 3.
In June 2016, Runtown signed a multi-million naira record deal with Prince Okwudili’s Eric-Manny Entertainment. Months later, on 4 November, Runtown released Mad Over You, a song that would go to debut at number 38 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks. The song, which speaks about a special Ghanaian girl he admired, had a bouncy rhythm, infused with percussion, guitar, and flute. The songs recorded over 2 million streams on Spotify at the time. He then released Kilogram later in 2016.
After two years as an artist signed to Eric-Manny Entertainment, Runtown left the record label on July 21, 2016. The next year, he released more hit songs such as For Life and Said, which featured Nasty C.
In 2018, Runtown launched Sound God Music Group, an African Indie music label incorporated in Los Angeles, USA. His first EP, Soundgod Fest Vol. 1, was released through his music label. It consisted of 20 tracks, of which several hits like Mad Over You, Pain Killer, and Energy, were part. Some of the featured artists on the album include Sarkodie, Nasty C, IllBliss, Wizkid, and Phyno, among others.
In 2020, Runtown released his second EP titled Tradition, which contained 6 tracks with no features. Some of the songs on the EP include Redemption, Emotions, Tradition, Goosebumps, and International Badman Killa.
In 2021, Soundgod Fest Reloaded, his third extended playlist (EP) which he released via Sound God Music Group. The project consists of 12 tracks, featuring artists like Darkovibes, Mint, and Bella Shmurda, among others.
On January 16, 2022, seven
years after his debut album, Runtown dropped Signs, as his second studio album. The album contains 13 songs which include, Signs, Redemption, Sinnerman, Things I Know, High Spirit, O Fe Pa Mi, All About You, Fences, Dangerous Heart, Kini Issue, Propaganda, Hella Sacrifice, and Mic Check. The guest artists on the album include Jamopyper and Mr. Hudson
Runtown has performed in numerous music concerts and shows within and outside such as the 2016 Citi FM December 2 Remember Concert; Sarkodie Rapperholic Concert; and the final show of Big Brother Naija in April 2017.
Aside from singing, Reekado Banks is also widely recognized as a songwriter and record producer. He’s produced several of his songs, such as Mad Over You.
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Awards
Here are some of the awards Runtown has won:
- Best Collaboration of the Year Award at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Award
- African Artiste of the Year Award at the 2017 Vodafone Ghana Music Award
- Viewers Choice Award at the 2017 Sound City MVP Awards Festival
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Net Worth
Runtown boasts over a decade in the music industry. And in this period, he amassed a substantial amount of wealth from music, including earnings from album sales, show performances, endorsement deals, and revenues from digital streaming platforms. His estimated net worth is $3 million, although we can’t confirm this figure due to the varying speculations of his wealth.