…Recounts how he fell in love with Francophone music

By BENJAMIN NJOKU

His name might not ring a bell back home, but for those who are not in tune with Makossa, Rhumba, Kwaito, Ndombolo, Zoblazo among other brands of music of francophone countries, Jimi Shadare is celebrated as a king of the wheels.

For 22 years of his life, Shadare who’s popularly known as DJ Jimbo was busy understudying the music, lifestyle and culture of the francophone countries. He’s mostly described as a rare specie of a Deejay that breaks boundaries and forge new frontiers.

According to him, his foray into francophone and world music stemmed from his entertainment tourism experience around the world with lots of top acts. Unlike most Djs, who play only music from their regions, Jimbo says he combines music from all countries of Africa. In this engaging interview, the legendary deejay and CEO of Affrakata Entertainment, talks about his love for francophone music, the people and their culture. He also reveals what set him apart from other Djs in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Passion for Francophone music

“I started off with playing jazz, hip hop, funk and reggae. But in the past 22 years, I took up francophone music and later went into world music. I started with such francophone music as Makossa, Rhumba, Kwaito, Ndombolo, Zoblazo among others before I met their artists. I became interested in their music and style, dressing and their attitude to life.

The way they do their things are different from ours. My foray into francophone music is because I love it. I took it up to learn about the people and their culture and what makes them enjoy themselves the way they do. You don’t need to go to nightclubs to enjoy yourself in francophone countries.

So, I decided to learn about them. And I said to myself, Nigeria is a big country with over 200 million people living in it and I’m sure that there are people who would crave for that kind of free world entertainment. And that was what made me start with a nightclub. I set up my first nightclub in 2003 on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. It was awesome. I remember how I invited the most famous pop group in Togo back then called Ankara Boys to come and perform in the country. It was a great show.

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Since then, I have been operating a nightclub and organizing concerts within and outside the shores of the country. The latest that I organized in Nigeria was when I brought in Salif Keita of Mali who performed at Oriental hotel on Lagos island in 2011. I love what I do for a living.

Learning the music and culture of the people

I did a lot of regular travels to the francophone countries to imbibe their culture, lifestyle, dress sense, music and dance. It’s a package on its own which is different from what we do back home. When I was taking my training in those countries, I would storm the nightclubs about 12 midnight and would be the last person to leave the club. I wanted to learn how they start and end the evening;what makes them tick. I trained myself properly to the extent that I know the latest dance steps of various genres of African and world music.

Nightlife in Nigerian and francophone countries

Francophone countries know how to unwind. I still go on tourism to francophone countries. At some point, I remember I took some clients to Togo en-route Cotonou, where we spent a night there before moving to Togo. I remember taking them out one night. We left the hotel about 1.30 am. They were married men and when they were leaving the hotel, their wives were scared. That was something you cannot do in Nigeria given the level of insecurity in the country. We didn’t come back to the hotel until 5 am. The most interesting thing was that they met their age mates who were over 65 years old at the nightclub. It has always been my dream for things to be in order in Nigeria so that we can give the elderly people the opportunity to enjoy themselves while they are still alive.

They want to listen to good music. For how long would one want to listen to Afro-pop songs? How long can it stay in one’s system than for you to listen to good music that you can relate to. These were the things that have propelled me to do what I am doing today. Over the years, I have found out that I have tried to deliver to the Anglophone community. I wasn’t interested in Afro-pop music probably because of my age. But I had to take it up. When I brought in my DJ from Togo, Cotonou for shows here, we were not getting to the Nigerian audience. The DJs are good but when they come to Nigeria, they don’t feel their Anglophone crowd.

They have their Anglophone music that the Anglophone people like to listen to. And that was when I decided to take up the DJ work by myself. I know all the music genres in this part of the world as well as the francophone music. So, I try to blend the two and give my audience what I call a DJ Jimbo experience. There is a great blend of this music from soul to fast-tempo, hip hop from the west coast of America and Nigerian Afrobeats and Afro-pop.

Growing up

I studied Finance at a UK university and returned home in the 90s. And since then, I have been working for myself. But music has always been my life. And it’s the francophone music that caught my attention more. When I started with world music, I remember entering a music shop to buy a particular CD. I started miming the song to the shop attendant. As God would have it, the shop attendant gave me a CD of a musical group called Kassa who hailed from one of the Caribbean countries.

I bought about 25 CDs on that first day. And since then, I have been crazy about buying CDs whenever I travel outside the shores of the country. I try to learn about each of the tracks contained in the CD so that I can apply them to whatever suits me. I guess that’s what has helped me to establish a good relationship with top francophone artistes.

This is because they follow what I do and I try to promote their music here. I’m also on the radio. I have been on the radio for about eight years now. I anchor Music Africa on Inspiration 92.3 FM. Before then I was on Satelite radio. So, I promote music and I’m always looking forward to embracing whatever is new out there.

Nigerian DJs and I

Nigerian DJs are good at what they are doing. But the only difference is that I have a wider range of music. I cater for a matured crowd. When I blend, I can take you through motions and give you what you want as an adult. So, it’s more about being on top of your game. I just enjoy making people happy with the DJ stuff. I don’t intend to sing.