Meet your artiste: DJ Eden

Background and early life

I am Ajewole Abayomi Israel, known by my stage moniker, DJ Eden. I hail from Ilesa in Osun State. I was born in Kano State where I had my primary education before moving to Osun State for my secondary education. I studied mass communication at Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State. I can speak Hausa fluently.

About my career

Right from childhood, I developed love for music and joined the church choir.  My prowess made churches invite me to their concerts for song ministration. In 2006, I went to the studio and produced two tracks though they were a fusion of gospel and hip-hop. At some point, my love for music made me like a DJ’s performance at a birthday party. After the show, I went to him and asked him to mentor me. Then, I just did it for fun because the DJ would only call me when he had a gig and I would have to follow him so that I could meet people and perform my songs.  I started to get requests to perform at friends’ birthdays, valedictory services and elsewhere but the touch of professionalism wasn’t there.

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When I gained admission into higher institution, I needed a means to survive so I had to go online, watch different Youtube videos and improve myself in the DJ craft.  I also associated with some veteran DJs because I discovered that to become good at what one does, one cannot walk alone.

Style, experience, awards

Since when I was in the university, I’ve been passionate. During performances, I don’t just play sound but I make sure that sound production, quality and balance are put into consideration. Even other DJs would even call me to come and help with their sound balancing. Along the line, I was recognised and National Association of Nigeria Students nominated me for an award. I won the award in 2014. It was my first award ever. Later, Midland Fm (Kwara State Radio Broadcast) sent me a mail to be there Official Radio DJ. This spurred me to improve my work and won me the award for Best Radio DJ in 2016.

I see myself as different from other DJs with the unique way I blend my songs. I have a couple of mix tapes online gaining impressive reviews and downloads. Having been to National Broadcast Academy (NBA) for presentation, I am proud to say that I am one of the best DJs that can not only play music but also handle the microphone professionally. On my radio shows, I don’t just play music. I do something uncommon in Nigeria which is to review the lyrical content so as to unveil the message in the song. I have worked with Oyo Government and companies like Minimie company to co-host a show. Presently, I am the official DJ for King FM 103.9 and Premier FM 93.5 Ibadan.