Benedict Afagwu aka DJ Humility came into limelight after featuring in some Disc Jockey championships, including Benson & Hedges DJ Championship in 2000. He was so into music that at the age of 17 he was already profiled in a popular entertainment magazine at a time. In this Interview with ORUKPE NELSON, he reflects on his career and his relationship with popular nightclub owner, Akeem Sodeinde who died recently and other sundry issues…

You’ve been around for almost two decades and still relevant; how have you been able to achieve this?

I do my thing my own way; I don’t look at what others are doing. I try to follow trends too because if you don’t follow trends there is no way you can grow. There is need to do research, open your eyes to see what is happening and keep yourself updated. I am always on the internet and I have been to other developed countries too to see how things are being done over there.

In Nigeria, I started the hype trend. While DJ plays music, hype man continues to shout and call out names. Hype man brings energy to a party. I saw it being done abroad and I brought the concept to Nigeria. Today, hype is a major part every club you go.

How did you come about Disc Jockey?

I started as a rapper, though I later realised that it wasn’t my calling. While I was a rapper I met an amateur DJ in my area, Surulere Barracks, Lagos. I told him that since he was a DJ and I was a rapper we should be doing stuffs together. So, we were about having our Interact Day in my secondary school and I was entrusted with some money to get a DJ.

I gave my DJ friend N2, 000, but three days to when we were supposed to have the event he was arrested by the police. We thought they would release him before the event and we actually did our best. On the day of the show all the members were screaming, thinking that I squandered their money.

It was a big trouble for me and I went straight to the father of the boy. I told him I had paid his son some money to play in my school and students were all over me. He told me that he could not do anything and suggested I could go with his equipment.

I carried the equipment to the school even though I had no idea how to make use of it. I called another DJ to help me out. The guy set up the equipment and instead of him playing I was constantly disturbing him by collecting the headphone as if I knew what to do. But that was how I developed the interest. I later met DJ Stramborella, the Efrebo singer, who taught me how to mix in 1994.

How true was the story that you were once a bus conductor and load carrier (Alabaru)?

That story of a conductor was when I was a very stubborn child at home. I did something wrong at home and my police father wanted to beat me with “Koboko.” So, I became so afraid and ran away. I sought shelter at the popular Ojuelegba under bridge in Lagos while they were looking for me. There, I met some boys who urged me to join them to do conductor job for me to survive. Before I knew it some people went to tell my father that they saw me working as a conductor. I did conductor for like two days and that was all.

My father looked for me and got people out to help him too. The case of the “Alabaru” occurred when we were in secondary school. We were planning our end of the year party and we agreed to contribute some certain amount of money, but most people failed to pay.

We’ve distributed invitation cards to the girls, so some of my friends and I had to think of a way out because we didn’t want to embarrass ourselves. We went to Daleko Market somewhere around Mushin, Lagos, to help people to carry rice. My parents were not poor, my dad was a police officer and he was doing well while my mother was a trader. We did that because of our own quest to make little money for the party to impress the girls.

How was the experience being an unknown DJ?

It was about the passion for me, unlike now that most people want to become DJ because of fame and women. This is the reason why most of them don’t know the basics of DJing. I did lots of DJ courses and travelled around the world.

At what point did you think you became popular?

That was when I started doing DJ championship and my first was in 1995 while I was 17 years old. I did well, though I didn’t win. In 1998, I participated in another championship and I took second position. In 2000, I did Benson and Hedges DJ championship and I won at the western region, but I came out second at the national level. So, I would say I started getting recognition among Nigerian DJs and entertainers with the DJ championships.

Could you remember your first major pay?

I cannot remember because since I started DJing they’ve been paying me. I remember playing at a classmate’s birthday in 1994 and I was paid about N500. But I now get more than N2 million to do shows. I still play for free based on relationships.

What is your relationship with the Silverbird Group?

I am an in-house DJ and producer. I have been with them for 13 years now and the relationship has been cordial. Though we have our ups and downs, the truth still remains that everyone respects each other. Definitely there would be a time I would have to bow out because it is not my company, but while I am still there I would continue to give my best.

Was Djing what you wanted to do as a kid?

I was clueless as a kid. In primary school, I was a very stubborn boy; it was when I got to SS2 I started looking at the direction of music.

What then influenced your decision to do music?

I got the inspiration from my cousin who is dead now. They said they would be war in Lagos during the June 12 crisis in 1993, so we went to the village. I was never a music person, but I knew how to sing just a song. So, I was always rapping and my cousin loved it.

It was a new thing to them in the village and this cousin of mine was a good singer too. He could rap Mr. Loverman by Shabba Ranks from beginning to the end. I asked him to teach me Mr. Loverman and I taught him the song I knew too. But in school I was known to be a fighter and a bully, but when I got back to Lagos I started singing the new song I learnt. The whole girls loved me and anytime I sang Mr. Loverman the whole class sang along. That was how I became popular in my school and became a treasure in the eyes of girls. I had to change my ways too.

I became a good boy and conscious of what I wore to school. From there I started representing the school for literary and debating activities and Press Day. When it came to entertainment I was the first they called upon. The good boy in me started coming out and from singing I went into DJing. While I was in school I was featured in the Fame Magazine, it was one of the biggest magazines then. It is just like the City People of today.

Didn’t you have any problem with your dad?

At the beginning my father never supported me. It was a serious war between me and my dad. Things changed for the better the day he saw the publication on magazine. He was so happy about it and encouraged me to continue. It is so painful that he is not around again, as I lost him in 2005. My father was killed by soldiers when a fight broke out between the Nigeria Police and the Army at Ojuelegba area of Lagos. They burnt the police barracks in Surulere (in Lagos); it was a national issue and tragedy then. My father was one of the two policemen that were killed by the soldiers.

I know time will definitely come when I will face the government. We’ve gone to court and took some steps, but you know you can never fight the government. When it happened Olusegun Obasanjo was the president. My father’s name was Samuel Afagwu; he was an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Surulere Police Station Area C.

What other things do you do?

I do general events and I am also thinking of starting my DJ academy very soon. I don’t really want to talk about that, but I am trying to set up the biggest DJ academy in Africa. All what I do is still under entertainment.

What has been the most fulfilling part on the job?

I like the fact that I have been able to make millions of Nigerians happy on radio, in nightclubs and events. I am happy today when I see young DJs making waves because we started the revolution. When I started, DJs were not respected. There was a time we would go for an event and we would be asked to put out instruments under the staircase or in an enclosed place. But today, no matter how small the venue or house, everybody wants to see the DJ. So, I feel happy being among the people who made DJing a respectable profession in Nigeria. I would also give a shout out to DJ Jimmy Jatt who I refer as one of my role models.

In a recent conversation with DJ Gosporella he said he was the highest paid DJ at a time. Is that correct?

I seriously disagree with that. With due respect to DJ Gosporella, I would not agree that he used to be the highest paid DJ. He is like a big brother and I respect him a lot. He was never the highest paid; I can mention all the highest paid DJs from 2000 till date. But he was highly respected.

How did you feel about the death of Akeem Sodeinde, the nightclub owner?

I felt so bad, though death is one thing everyone will surely face. I feel the death was as a result of negligence but when God says it is over, it is over. I have known Akeem for many years. I could still remember when he didn’t allow me access into a club at Ikeja, Lagos, where he was the bouncer because I was an underage. I was 15 years old; I am talking about 1995.

How would you describe him?

He is a businessman who didn’t play with his job and he was so passionate about the nightclub business. He knew his job and he respected people in the business. He would be missed in the nightlife industry.