DJ Felon is arguably Nigeria's youngest disc jockey and On-Air-Personality. He hosts the afternoon drive show on Silverbird's Rhythm fm across Nigeria. He is one a few radio OAPs to double as a DJ. His music playlist and witty delivery has earned him a respect and love from numerous fans.   

He's also been involved with showbiz,  hosting a variety of gigs alongside Phyno, Illbliss,  Wizkid,  Iyanya etc. DJ Felon is set to release his first official single titled 'Blessing'. Africafuturestars caught up with him recently in an exclusive interview, where is latest single and many other things were discussed.

Below are excerpts from the interview

1. What inspired you to put out this single?

The inspiration comes naturally. I've always wanted to present something fresh, whether i'm mixing songs as a DJ or i'm presenting a show as an OAP. I've done a couple of other stuff, like my online mixtape series, but the dream has ways been to release songs that have unique sound. So I brought together my crew whom I'm confident would deliver the kind of vibe that the fans would appreciate, instead of recycling the old stuff.

2. Who did you feature on the song?

I featured surprise,  an underground rapper who raps in indigenous Yoruba language and I also featured Switch Carter, an  indigenous Igbo rapper. These two artistes brought that positive vibe the fans are yearning for. They're dope.  They're very talented and they're even hungry for more.

3. The first rapper,  surprise sounds quite like Olamide or Lil Kesh. The second rapper equally has a semblance to Phyno. How did that combination come about. Is it a deliberate attempt to replicate what Penthauze and YBNL are also doing?

Oh well! Was it deliberate? Yes. But I wasn't trying to replicate or copy anyone. Surprise is a raw talent we just discovered. And he has delivers very deep bars in Yoruba language. You should watch out for more vibes from the young cat. This is the first  feature coming from him.  On the other side,  switch Carter is a lyrical warhorse when it comes to Igbo rap,  even though he's not yet known in the industry. These young rappers killed the jam, making it hard for anyone not to believe their credibility as world class emcees. So I got these guys and I decided that they need that platform and push to become established acts in the music industry.


4. That's really interesting. You're the first OAP cum DJ around this part of the world. Can you share your experience on what it like doing these two chores at the same. I've only met people who are with a presenter or he/she is a DJ and not both at the same time.

Very interesting like you said... I really like it beacuse it gives one a robust opportunity of entertaining the audience. Because while doing that, I've to work with a good mix, blended with interesting talk to drive the music. This is where you prove your music knowledge and appeal to the listener. To make that happen you have to be versatile with global and local music, developments in the industry, facts, and trends. I love to do all that and the fans love it, knowing that they can always fall back on you to provide them with quality all around entertainment.

5. How long have you been deejaying and which names have you worked with?

 I've been doing this for the past 3 years and still counting. It's been 3 years of fun, entertainment, gigs and all. I'm also into showbiz/events. I've headed the Silverbird event department for 3 years in the East, and within this period I organized and hosted events that saw the success of artistes like Phyno,  Runtown, Kiss Daniel etc. I created the Rhythm Campus Invasion in 2012, that saw Phyno hitting the limelite.  As at then,  Phyno had only one track "Multiply"...

6. You were very instrumental to Phyno's success today. And of course you've been one person who has supported artistes from the East. How is your relationship with Phyno? Anyone would've expected that you feature him on a song.

Phyno and I go wayback. He's a cool dude, he's doing great with his career at the moment. I supported him when I should've, I still do. I've been playing his records long time before it got to Lagos, when Rhythm fm was about the only urban radio station in the region. Phyno is my fam and I'm proud of him and sure I'm going to feature him in an upcoming track.

7. There is a school of thought that for an artiste from the east to blow, he must have to relocate to Lagos. What's your take on that?

Apparently, though but not exactly the  truth. Duncan mighty is a blown artiste but he still lives on Portharcourt and he's making his music and money from there. Slow Dog is in the Enugu making bread out of his music. Yes, Lagos is the entertainment capital of Africa because everything in the industry happens here so if u ain't doing music business from Lagos you tend to be a little far from the center of action. And this has proven to be true over the years. So I would say yes one has to include Lagos as his HQ to succeed in the music industry or entertainment on general.

8. Let's revisit your mixtape series. You've released quite a couple of your DJ mixes online for free downloads. That's fantastic, so how do you make money selling for free on the internet?

I do not make instant physical cash releasing mixes online, it's rather a platform for more audience to get to listen to your stuff and get to know or appreciate your skills. As you will agree with me,  the internet has reduced the world to a global community where stuff people have access to any information at their finger tips. So I realized that the internet gives you a great deal of mileage where you can reach people anywhere in the world, people that would not have ordinarily had access your stuff can easily download and listen anytime anywhere. So I had to capitalize on that opportunity, and today I've made fans from different parts of the world that appreciate my skill and talent.

9. You tend to play more of foreign music than Nigerian music. Does it mean that Nigerian artistes are not good enough by your own rating?

Nigeria has a lot of great artistes who steadily putting out nice songs out there, no doubt. I appreciate Nigerian music and I spin them anytime anywhere. But there's a natural tendency for me to play more foreign because that's what I started with. I grew up with a hiphop mentality and I don't see that changing for life. So whenever I'm playing you must always notice I'm the type of DJ that loves to spin good music, local or foreign. I play 60%, 40% local.

10. Apart from playing on radio, do you play in the club or lounges?

Yes I play at the clubs, that's when I've a gig there. I'm not a resident in any club because that's not my focus. Both are cool, depending on what you enjoy doing or the atmosphere you're more cool with. Radio is basic and tasking at the same time because when you play on the radio you're presenting your music sense to a random, regulated audience. Sane and real people with all levels of music knowledge listen to you without you even knowing. So that consciousness that all kinds of people are checking you out makes you more disciplined, plus that fact that there are stiff regulations and control. Club on the other hand, is where all types of  insane, crazy, weird people gather to socialize, drink and dance. They are one-directional, all they want to hear is banging music. A good club DJ would play hot banging music because this is what the people at the gathering (club) want to work with. To me, that limits your scope. But I still like it anyways because making people dance is a thrill for me.

11. The girls, how do you copy them. Being not just a DJ and OAP but also a handsome, fly guy with a fantastic accent, swag and all?

I cope. I mean I can deal with that. The girls are my fans,  someday I prayed to have fans and now that I've them why complain.

12. Are you saying you enjoying their passes you  get from the girls?

I've a way of dealing with. Knowing when to draw the line is key. I make sure business is business, and family is family.

13. Other DJs like Jimmy Jatt,  Xclusive, Spinall etc have been putting out songs. Do you borrow a leaf from any of them?

Absolutely, they're doing great, they inspire us the younger ones. But I think my biggest motivation comes from DJ Khaled. That's because he works so hard to do what he's doing and the records speak for him. I want to be like the younger version of DJ Khaled in Nigeria.

14. Why did you call the song "Blessing"?

The song lyrics say it all. Coming from where I'm from, it's a lot of thorns on that road. And being able to rise above all that experiences and make in life, i consider myself blessed and all thanks goes to God. It's easy to do a song about women  shaking their behind, or me and guys getting high on alcohol, but we decided to do something more positive. That's why the title "Blessing" hoping it inspires everyone who listened. It's also an uptempo commercial song that can be played on the club as well as radio-friendly.