Growing up, most of the kids were programmed with the idea that it is either we became a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. Every other career was a No. These various ideologies were so much rooted in the society that it dictates how we view each other even in high school. In my high school days, I was so good with my economics, geography and other social science subject but was forced to study sciences all because my peers see the science students as the most superior students. Despite the fact that my system hated the boring life associated with all the chemistry and physics lessons, I lived with this inner conflict until I was bold enough to choose my path pretty much after high school. Some did not have such courage because they have more bullies like my high school peers in their families.
What most had around were those peeps that say you are nothing except you become what they want you to be, without considering you as a person. Which kid dares tell their parents that they want to become a stylist, photographer, journalist, OAP or become a Deejay? Back in the days, what most folks picture as a Deejay is a scraggly looking youth wearing a face cap reversed, baggy jeans and loose top, confined in the most obscure corners in a gig, oblivious to anyone else, busy with his turntable with nothing to show for all the effort put in at the end of the day. Let’s fast forward things from twenty five years ago to today, the tide has turned and they are the trendiest and perhaps more trendy than the average artiste and even more respectable and classy. They now command incomes in more figures like the singers and without them an event is not complete. Many may not have noticed but the DJs in recent times have been shining like diamonds and stealing the show everywhere. And like Jimmy Jatt, they seem to possess – unlike the average pop artistes – the good fortune of longevity and relevance which has kept most of them fresh after many years in the game. Arguably, it is advisable to bank your money on a Deejay than an artiste whose life span might be less than two quarters.
Cover photography by August Udoh. Styled by Jekwu The Stylist.

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