Clarence Abiodun Peters (born 27 July 1978) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

music video director, filmmaker and cinematographer. He is the founder and CEO of Capital Dream Pictures, a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

that specialises in the realms of the performing arts, film and video. He is also the founder and CEO of Capital Hill Records, a record label home to Chidinma, Tha Suspect and

Illbliss Tobechukwu Ejiofor known as iLLBLISS, is a Nigerian rapper, businessman and the owner of the talent managing outfit known as 'The Goretti Company', company responsible for launching the careers of Chidinma and Phyno, among others. Also popu ...

. He was ranked 2nd on

Channel O Channel O is a South African-based music channel which first started transmission in 1997. Its main concept is African music in Africa and the diaspora. Channel O can be accessed via DStv, a satellite pay TV service for pan-African households. T ...

's list of the Top 10 Most Visionary Music Video Directors. In 1998, Peters was involved in a

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

-sponsored music video for a documentary on AIDS. He directed 40 episodes of the TV series ''Everyday People''. Peters has directed music videos for recording artists across an array of genres and generations, including

Darey Dare Art Alade (born February 9, 1982)– popularly known as Darey – is a Nigerian multi-platinum Afro R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, humanitarian and entrepreneur. He is also the son of the legendary African Jaz ...

Durella Durella or Durello is a white Italian wine grape variety originating from the Veneto wine region of northeast Italy. Today it is sparsely cultivated, though some producers like to experiment with it since its high acid levels makes it suitable ...

, and

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afri ...

. In 2012, he shot the music video for ''Shuga'''s theme song, which was recorded by Boneye from P-Unit,

Banky W. Olubankole Wellington (born 27 March 1981), popularly known by his stage name Banky W and credited in film as Banky Wellington, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, actor, entrepreneur and politician. Early life Olubankole Wellington was born in the ...

and

L-Tido Thato Madonsela (born 30 January 1985), better known by his stage name L-Tido, is a South African hip hop recording artist from Alexandra, Johannesburg. He is best known for being one of the few independent artists in the country to reach comm ...

. Peters has also shot a good number of documentaries, TV commercials, short films, and TV features. In April 2014,

Absolut Vodka Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 from the Swedish state. Absolut is one of the largest brand ...

honoured him for his creativity. In September 2015, Peters announced plans to premiere his 25-minute horror film ''Hex''. The first official trailer was released on 28 September 2015.

Life and career

Peters is the son of

Sir Shina Peters Sir Shina Peters (born 30 May 1958) is a Nigerian Jùjú musician. Life Born Oluwashina Akanbi Peters in Ogun State, Peters' career in music began at a young age when he played with friends under the handle Olushina and His Twelve Fantastic Bro ...

, a musician, and

Clarion Chukwura Chief Clarion Chukwura (born Clara Nneka Oluwatoyin Folashade Chukwurah; 24 July 1964) is a Nigerian actress and humanitarian. Career She had her nursery and primary school in Lagos and later pursued her secondary education at the Queen of th ...

, an actress from Anambra State,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. In an interview posted on the ''

Daily Times of Nigeria ''The Daily Times'' is a newspaper with headquarters in Lagos. At its peak, in the 1970s, it was one of the most successful locally owned businesses in Africa. The paper went into decline after it was purchased by the government in 1975. What was ...

'' website, his mother opened up about wanting to abort him while he was in her womb, but changed her mind because of her belief that Peters was the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

of her father who she lost when she was 11 years old. Growing up, Peters was a footballer. He attended Beehive primary school and then

Government College Ikorodu Government College Ikorodu (GCI) is a college founded 21st September, 1974, in Ikorodu Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria. History Government College Ikorodu was established in September 1974 as a co-educational secondary school with a ...

. After finishing secondary school, he worked at Alpha Visions for three years. He studied Cinematography at

City Varsity CityVarsity School of Media and Creative Arts is a private higher education institution in South Africa with campuses in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It falls under Educor and offers full-time, short, and online degrees, diplomas, and certificates ...

, a film school in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa. Upon returning to Nigeria, Peters teamed up with a group of filmmakers to establish the Alliance Film Company, which is now known as the Allied Film Company. Peters worked with the company for a year and eventually started his own production company. Peters has cited

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

, DJ Tee,

Akin Alabi Akin Alabi, born in Lagos State, Nigeria, is a Nigerian music video director, writer and entrepreneur. He is renowned as one of the video directors that pioneered the era of hiphop music video production in Nigeria and has worked with several ...

, Wudi Awa, HG2films, Director dove

Kemi Adetiba Kemi Adetiba (born 8 January 1980) is a Nigerian filmmaker, television director and music video director, whose works have appeared on Channel O, MTV Base, Sound City TV, BET and Netflix. Education Kemi holds bachelor's degree in law fro ...

, Sesan, Aje, and AK 1 as people he admires.

Capital Hill Music

While in secondary school, Peters met Tha Suspect, a record producer and recording artist. The two started a group after becoming acquainted with each other. Capital Hill Records was formed after Peters returned to Nigeria from South Africa. He and Suspect decided to look for a female artist who could rap and sing. At a later date, Peters signed Kel to his record label after being introduced to her by Terry tha Rapman. In September 2010, Kel had a misunderstanding with Peters, which led to the termination of her recording contract. The rapper managed to release her debut studio album, ''The Investment'', while signed to the label. Latterly, the label partnered with the Goretti Company, a management company owned by

Controversy

In January 2014, a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

was levelled against Peters after the release of

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

's " Eminado" video. He allegedly stole the vintage nature of the "Asinamali" video which was released by Tumi and the Volume to honour the artistic works of

Seydou Keïta Seydou Keïta (1921/23 – 21 November 2001) was a Malian photographer known for his portraits of people and families he took at his portrait photography studio in Mali's capital, Bamako, in the 1950s. His photographs are widely acknowledged not ...

Tumi Tumi ( ''Quechua'' for 'Knife', ''variants'': 'Tome', 'Tume'), is a generic term encompassing the many kinds of sharp tools utilized in pre- and post-colonial eras of the Central Andes region, Tumis were employed for a diverse set of purposes s ...

took to Twitter to slander Peters. He urged his fans to shine a light on the issue. Savage's manager and husband, Tunji "Tee Billz" Balogun, shed some light on the controversy. He said they never knew that the video's concept was adopted from another video, and were surprised as everyone else. After the release of

Ice Prince Panshak Henry Zamani (born 30 October 1984) better known as Ice Prince Zamani or just Ice Prince, is a Nigerian rapper, hip hop recording artist and actor. He rose to fame after releasing " Oleku", one of Nigeria's most remixed songs of all t ...

's "

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

" music video on 21 June 2013, Peters was accused of plagiarising the contents of

Slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

's "

My Life My Life may refer to: Autobiographies * ''Mein Leben'' (Wagner) (''My Life''), by Richard Wagner, 1870 * ''My Life'' (Clinton autobiography), by Bill Clinton, 2004 * ''My Life'' (Meir autobiography), by Golda Meir, 1973 * ''My Life'' (Mosley a ...

" video and implementing them into the "V.I.P" video. In February 2014, Ice Prince defended the actions of Peters and said he told him the ideas to shoot. He also said that if anyone has a problem with the situation, they should hold him responsible.

Awards and nominations

Videography

Notes

:A. Peters co-directed "Alingo" with Jude Engees Okoye. :B. The song is the theme song for the television series '' Shuga.

References

Filmmakers from Ibadan Living people Nigerian film directors Nigerian cinematographers Nigerian music video directors Nigerian music industry executives Yoruba filmmakers The Headies winners 1978 births Nigerian film producers Nigerian documentary filmmakers {{Nigerian-cinematographer