Douglas Jack Agu widely known by his stage name Runtown is a famous Nigerian musician, songwriter, and record producer who came to the limelight after the release of his debut single, Runtown in 2007.
Since then, he has grown to become one of the richest and most loved artists in the country. Runtown has an estimated net worth of $2.5 million which he made majorly from his music career, as well as efforts as a brand ambassador.
Anyone who enjoys listening to modern Nigerian music must be conversant with the popular name Runtown as he specializes in mixing music styles like reggae, hip hop, R&B, and rap, making his songs extraordinary and indelible. Even though his work is widely recognized by most Nigerian music lovers, not much is known about his biography, and other life accomplishments. So, read on to know more about him as we unravel some facts about his personal life.
Profile Summary of Runtown
- Full name: Douglas Jack Agu
- Date of Birth: 19th August 1989
- Age: 79 years old
- Place of Birth: Enugu State
- Ethnicity: Igbo
- State of Origin: Enugu state
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Occupation: Singer, songwriter, producer
- Label: Soundgod Music Group
- Net Worth: $2.5 million
- Years Active: 2007-present
Runtown Is From Enugu State
He was born on 19th August 1989, in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria, precisely in Enugu State. His birth name is Douglas Jack Agu. Not long after his birth, his family moved to Lagos and that was where he spent his entire childhood. Runtown lost his father after he completed his primary school education in Lagos. As a result, he relocated to Abuja with his mother who was a former civil servant at the Ministry of Health. There in Abuja, he attended his secondary school and later came back to Enugu, his hometown.
In Enugu, Douglas attended St. Augustine’s Seminary but was unable to complete his studies because he realized that it was not the path he wants to tread. There are no details about his siblings and where they are currently. According to reports, Runtown is currently pursuing a career at the Fashion School of Technology in New York City, United Kingdom.
While growing up, his parents guided him towards fields like medicine and engineering but he was more concerned about playing basketball. Meanwhile, he has a close relationship with his mother so he often comes back home to Enugu to visit her, despite the fact that he now resides in Lagos. It was on one of his visits that he met and became friends with a fellow Enugu State-born rapper, Chibuzor Nelson Azubike, best known as Phyno. Phyno became a huge inspiration for Runtown as both of them moved to Lagos and started collaborating on various projects.
The Star Built His $2.5 Million Fortune Majorly From Music
Runtown started his professional music career after moving to Lagos with Phyno in 2007. In the same year, he released his first single, Runtown which was produced by Soge. The following year, he partnered with Phyno and they started their own record label which they named Penthauz Entertainment. Since then, Runtown has collaborated with other artists like J-Martins and Timaya. Through Penthauze Entertainment, he released his first two singles, Party Like It’s 1980, and Activity Pikin.
In 2012, Jamaican-American performer, Laza Morgan worked together with Runtown on her new song High on You, and it excelled on the Caribbean Charts. Again, J.Martins invited him to collaborate in his song from the Elevation album, called Tonight. While he was busy building his career with other top artists, Runtown and his musician friend (Phyno) collaborated and released a song titled Anamachi Versace produced by Wizzy Pro. He was slowly and steadily building his career as well as fortune until 2014 when he took his break in the music industry.
Runtown Got His Big Break After His Collaboration With Davido
Runtown had the real taste of fame after collaborating with Davido on his hit single, Gallardo. The song which quickly became a big hit was released in January 2014 and brought him global recognition. In 2004, Gallardo won multiple awards, including Collaboration of the Year at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards. The song has a music video produced in Nigeria and directed by Clarence Peters, gaining over 500,000 views on YouTube in its first two months of release.
A few months after the release of Gallardo, Runtown signed a multi-million naira endorsement deal with Eric Manny Entertainment owned by Nigerian billionaire, and CEO of Dilly Motors company, Prince Okwudili Umenyiora. His career continued to rise as he became well known by fans and music lovers.
He dropped his debut album, Ghetto University on 23rd November 2015. The album which stars many music big names like Wizkid, Phyno, DJ Khaled, Anatii, and Uhuru gave him a lot of popularity by affording him the opportunity to be listed in the top-5 most streamed artists in the country. In fact, Runtown made a lot of profit from the album, Ghetto University, and proved to the industry that another star has landed on the scene.
After the success of his album, the music rising star went on a seeming break but returned in November 2016 with another massive hit, Mad Over You. This particular song swept many Nigerian music enthusiasts off their feet, ending up at number 38th on the Billboard Twitter chart. Mad Over You is a romantic ballad and Runtown revealed that he got the inspiration from African beauty. Over the course of his career in music, Runtown has recorded numerous singles and one studio album to his name. Some of his best songs include:
- Mad Over You
- Are You Not Entertained?
- Party Like It’s 1980
- Activity Pikin
- Forever featuring Timaya
- The Contro
- High On You featuring Laza Morgan
- Gallardo
- Successful
- Baby Answer
- My Matter featuring Timaya
- The Banger featuring Uhuru
- Bend Down Pause featuring Wizkid
- Lagos to Kampala featuring Wizkid
- Body Riddim ft. Darkovibes, Bella Shmurda
Runtown Earns Decently From His Record Label
The hitmaker launched his own record label, Soundgod Music Group in June 2018. This is an all-around music and entertainment company that reexplores the business of music in Nigerian and Africa at large. He launched the record label following the expiration of his contract with Eric Manny Entertainment record label.
Starting his own record label is an added advantage to him because it gives him the edge to earn more from his performances rather than give out a large part of the money to other labels as he used to do in the past after recording his music.
He Has A Handful of Endorsement Deals to His Name
With music being his major source of income, Runtown’s net worth was also achievable through the endorsement deals he has signed. Some of them are:
- In 2015, he signed an endorsement deals with renowned sports company Adidas.
- In April 2017, he signed a mouth-watering multi-million naira endorsement deal with a Hong Kong-based smartphone company, Infinix Mobile.
- The Mad Over You crooner also cashes out from ring back tunes on Telcos in Nigeria
He Has A Charity Foundation, WANA
In the same June 2018, he went ahead to launch a charity organization We Are New Africa (WANA). WANA which he started alongside his business associates, Ugo Mozie and Ifeanyi Nwune was set up solely to educate and enlighten Africans with innovative minds to thrust beyond their cultural boundaries.
It is also an empowerment project aimed at giving back to society via the construction of infrastructures for the less privileged in rural areas and the provision of social amenities. In addition to these, it provides training courses and tools for its students, orphans, and the physically challenged.
Runtown Has Won A Few Awards
- 2014 – Best Collaboration of the Year, Gallardo Nigeria Entertainment Awards
- 2015 – African Artiste Of The Year, Ghana Music Awards
- 2017 – Best Collaboration of the Year, Soundcity Music MVP Awards
- 2017 – Viewers Choice, Soundcity Music MVP Awards
- 2018 – Artiste of the Year Award, Ghana-Naija Showbiz Awards