Nigerian singer Crown Uzama, popularly known as Shallipopi, has publicly accused his former manager and Dapper Music CEO Damilola Akinwunmi (known as Dapper) of forging his signature on contracts, selling his music catalogue to an international label without proper accounting, withholding royalties, and pocketing advances.
In a series of posts on his verified X account on Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15, 2026, Shallipopi claimed he signed only a management deal with Dapper in 2023.
He alleged that Dapper forged his signature to create a 10-year distribution contract—despite Shallipopi already using DistroKid—and further forged it to sign a deal with Virgin Music Group.
“In 2023 I signed to dapper management only, he forge my signature and put it on a 10 years distribution contract even when I already use distrokid, he also went ahead to forge my signature and sign with an international label called Virgin music Group,” Shallipopi wrote.
Speaking further, he said that “I might be from the trenches but I’m not the dumb type, dapper went ahead to collect money from virgin music group and he put all those money in his pocket and told me to work more, more and more that my money is in the future!”
The singer also accused Dapper of withholding royalty income from 46 of his songs, including the hit “E Don Cast,” and of taking catalogues from multiple artists to Virgin Music, collecting funds, and failing to account for them properly.
He described the situation as a scam affecting more than just himself and said he had personally walked into an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) office to submit a statement framing it as a fraud case.
“I have better things to do with my time than to come on here to drag this man, your case with the EFCC is a fraud case, and it’s me shallipopi that use my two legs to walk in that office and lay down all this statement,” he posted.
“I want the EFCC and the entire government, the entire media and everyone in Africa as a whole take this matter very serious.” He also called for a court date to resolve the dispute without delay tactics.
The accusations form part of a broader public dispute. Shallipopi parted ways with Dapper Music and the related Dvpper Digital in December 2024, citing broken trust, mishandled finances, and a disputed clause he characterized as a 30% perpetuity commission.
At the time, Dapper Music denied the claims as false, premeditated, and sponsored attacks, stating its contracts were standard industry practice limited to the agreed term, that it had provided full accounting, and that it was cooperating with auditors engaged by the artist.
The latest posts coincide with similar public complaints from other former Dapper Music affiliates, including T.I. Blaze (who raised questions about substantial royalties) and Seyi Vibez, focusing on unpaid royalties and catalogue issues. As of reports on August 15, 2026, Dapper Music and Akinwunmi had not issued a public response to the specific forgery and latest scam allegations.
These remain unverified public allegations made via social media. No independent confirmation of the claimed forgeries, exact royalty figures, catalogue sale terms, or the status of any EFCC investigation has been widely reported. Shallipopi has urged authorities, the media, and the public to treat the matter seriously while expressing a preference for resolving it through proper legal channels rather than prolonged online disputes.
The developments highlight ongoing tensions in the Nigerian music industry around management contracts, royalty transparency, distribution deals, and artist-label relationships.
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