Jimmy Adewale Amu, popularly known as DJ Jimmy Jatt is, one of Nigerian’s hottest DJs. Jatt is revered for his role in setting the pace for hip hop music across Nigeria. DJ Jimmy Jatt has also graced the same stages with Usher Raymond, Shaggy, Eve, K-CI and Jojo, Naughty by Nature, Caron Wheeler, Magic System and David Lynden Hall, Sean Paul etc. He is also the official DJ for the Play Safe National Campus Tour in Nigeria, poised at warring against unprotected sex. He shares his journey to the top with ADETUTU AUDU.
How would you describe the journey so far, 25 years is huge as a DJ?
I am grateful it has been God so far. Most people around me know that I am not a loud person, but the only reason I was convinced to do this was because it’s 25 years of relevance and consistency. There has not been an off day for me in the past 25 years. I have never been found wanting in the industry for the past 25 years. I hear a lot of people celebrate 10 to 15 years but within that period, there are times when they take a break for a couple of years. But in my own case, I have ever been present. I felt for once in my life that I should really celebrate my achievements.
What would you describe as the high and low moments of your career?
To be honest with you, there are a whole lot of experiences, may be at the beginning it was hard. But since it is something I am passionate about, I can’t say which was high or low moment.
Between producing your own music and disc jockey, which is rewarding?
For me, disc jockey has been more rewarding.
What motivates you?
People who love you should motivate you because they are the ones that appreciate your work and give room for great improvement. For me, my motivation changes. In the beginning, the driving force was the negativity of people towards what I do. Some people in my neighbourhood warned their kids to stay away from me because I was a DJ. So, for me, at that time, the motivation was to prove such people wrong. Then it got to a level where I got married and I felt I owed it to my family to be responsible. It also got to a point when I attracted young people into the business of DJ and they all were looking up to me. I owed them a duty to lead the way. These have been my motivation. Finally, it got to a point where people started celebrating me. At this time, my fan base cut across all generations. Today, I am one of the very few entertainers that dominate discussions among three generations in Nigeria. I am a brand that cuts across everybody. So I always have all these at the back of my mind, and it keeps me going.
What are those things that influence you in life?
Well, like I said, it is family. In terms of everything I want to do, I always feel how would my family feel about this; how would my dad, mum, brothers and when I got married how would my wife take it, how would my children feel? So, for me, that has been a driving force in taking any step.
Despite the sweet stories, I know there were also challenges. How were you able to surmount them?
The challenges are always there, but you know when you love what you do with passion, sometimes those challenges come as hurdles you have to scale through to move on. It is like when you have a hundred metre hurdles race you know you would meet hurdles on the way, but you have to skip them and skip them till you get to the finish line. They are there to make you stronger and strive harder to attain results.
It seems DJ is the in-thing now. What sets you apart from others?
I wouldn’t know. I think it’s just me being myself; I am not trying to be another person. I work like a rookie; I mean I work like an upcoming DJ. I don’t work like I am anywhere yet. I feel like there is always room for improvement to be better than where you are, so I try to be better every time and you know that would always amount to something good.
What is the future of DJing in Nigeria?
The future is bright and unimaginable, just like the music and entertainment industry. Now we have DJs from rich backgrounds – children of wealthy people wanting to be DJs and being supported by their parents. It was not like that before.
Going forward, a lot of changes are needed today. There needs to be more appreciation for the trade. I mean corporate bodies and big party organisers consider hiring DJs as the last choice when planning an event and we are the least paid despite the fact that we make the parties worthwhile.
DJs abroad own private jets because it is big business. It has gone beyond just performing at shows. The entertainment industry, of which DJs are a subset, needs to grow bigger. In the conference I attended in Japan recently, I met artistes, musicians, songwriters and music producers who appreciated our (Nigerian) songs and some of them are not performing artistes. They are okay with releasing their songs and making a lot of money from it. In Nigeria, one of the reasons you see artistes perform in the living room of the rich is because there are no other means of earning a living other than performing. Nigerian artistes need to make much money as well, aside live performances. This is part of the growth we want – piracy being dealt with and laws that protect intellectual property
What has fame robbed you of?
Privacy, mainly; a lot of ordinary things I would like to do on my own but you know some of them come at a cost now. If I wasn’t really into entertainment, I am not better than other guys that probably my neighbour would take note of. But the popularity of being into entertainment, showbiz, DJ, has robbed me of my privacy.
Let’s talk about fashion. How would you describe your style?
Simply put, my style is my own style. I tend to wear things I feel comfortable and good in, it doesn’t matter if it is not trendy. I am not someone that likes to go with what the trend is right now. I look at things, I try it and if it fits, I am good to go. I do things people would not want to do, like I wear cap on native. In fact, I wear cap pretty much on everything. Some people would tell me you don’t wear cap on this kind of thing, but I do it and get away with it every time. Nobody has condemned it, not even the fashion police.
What is the fashion accessory you cannot do without?
At this point, I would say it is obvious and it is the cap. I wear cap every time.
