“Music Can’t Fail Me….” – Djinee.

Remember that Soundcity VeeJay that seems to always have too much Ororo on his lips whenever he comes on TV to entertain us? Oh yes.. DJINEE! Bad guy that made my Ex think she could sing (chick was always singing ‘Ego’ off-key in the bathroom and all). That track was and still is very infectious. I need not mention the monster hit – Overkillin.

Where is he? When’s he dropping another material? Has he called it quits with music? These, and many other questions, ran through my mind when I came across his promotional artworks recently.

DJINEE (real name Osayamen Nosa Donald), is one amongst a few good Nigerian acts who know their onions. DJINEE, with an hit album to his name, and several notable awards, is set to drop another material titled DIN-DIN. Below are excerpts from an interview conducted by SHEIFUNMI.NET, where DJINEE speaks on his art, his life and tomorrow.

OrishaNinuPrada: How old are you Djinee?
DJINEE: I’m old enough to take responsibility for my actions. Young enough to have a lengthy career. *smiles*

OrishaNinuPrada: Would you refer to yourself as a singer or a musician? And why?
DJINEE: Both. I sing which makes me a singer. I play the guitar. I understand music theoretically and practically. I produce. These, I guess, make me a musician.

OrishaNinuPrada: What did you study at Ladoke Akintola University?
DJINEE: Computer science

OrishaNinuPrada: You already had some recorded works as an Undergraduate then?
DJINEE: Yes, I did. But then I was the arrow-head of a 4 Man group.

OrishaNinuPrada: When did you record your first ever material?
DJINEE: Maybe 99 or 2000. Can’t really remember.

OrishaNinuPrada: Veejaying for Soundcity and then double-timing as an entertainer, how was it?
DJINEE: It was tasking. But no regrets, because I was able to forge long lasting business relationships doing both.

OrishaNinuPrada: Did Ego really exist or it was just some random name you chose for your hit single (which I still listen to by the way)?
DJINEE: *Laughs* Thanks for keeping the song alive. Ego was a figment of my imagination. I’m a writer. I create character and give life to them. Give them a story. But to do that I take elements of people’s experiences. Not necessarily mine.

OrishaNinuPrada: When I hear Din-Din, first thing that comes to my mind is fried Potatoes. Don’t blame me, I like food. So what does Din-Din mean?
DJINEE: Ol’ boy…*laughs* When a child is genuinely happy and grateful, he/she shows uncontrollable joy. Sometimes he/she makes unintelligible sounds that tell the joy inside. Sometimes they go like din din din din din. So I’m going back to that child-like innocent gratitude. Sincerely grateful for where I am, No matter what I’m going through and telling everyone to do the same. So we all go like din din din din.

OrishaNinuPrada: So Din-Din can be used while speaking and can be referred to as a culture?
DJINEE: Yes. It’s the culture of being grateful. Be joyful, be happy no matter what.

OrishaNinuPrada: A lot of people find it hard to classify music from Nigerian artistes and what not. What Genre of Music do you do really?
DJINEE: I think it’s hard cos in the environment we live in, fusion works. So you’ll hear elements of every sound. I also fuse music. I grew up listening to rockers like Bruce Springsteen, Smokie Robinson, Bryan Adams and then pop artistes like MJ, country musicians like Don Williams and Kenny Rogers. Victor Uwaifo and Rex Lawson, I listened to for highlife. Classical/Opera sounds got me listening to Vivaldi, Haydn, Pavarotti, Handel, Beethoven. So in my music, you’ll get to hear all these. But I’ll say I do Urban Contemporary.

OrishaNinuPrada: So you’ve been at it for 7 years professionally yeah? How has it been?
DJINEE: Ups and downs. A roller-coaster ride. But I’ve learnt to be grateful. I’ve been able to do things I wouldn’t be able to do if I was doing something else.

OrishaNinuPrada: It took you like 4 years since you started professionally, for you to drop your self-titled album in 2009. Why?
DJINEE: I released Ego and things went sour between me and the label I was signed with. So it was a shock doing things for myself since I was prepared and they were the ones supposed to be helping. So I stuck to releasing singles every 2yrs or so. But now I’m very prepared. I’ve been recording since 2009. So my fans will not be starved of my music again.

OrishaNinuPrada: Okay, where do you hope to be or what do you plan to be doing in the next 10 years?
DJINEE: Where God wants to be. He always beats my expectations. Takes me further than I where I wanna go.

OrishaNinuPrada: Any back-up plan? Like, what if Music fails you, what would you do? Or you got something you do on the side?
DJINEE: Music won’t fail me. But all the same, I’ve learnt to invest. I won’t wanna tell everyone my back-up plans, would I? *laughs*

OrishaNinuPrada: Err.. So any special woman in your life? A bad guy like you would have set serious P off and on Twitter, yes?
DJINEE: Guy no go kill me…*laughs* Must a guy have a woman at every point in his life? Does one get a trophy for having one? As for twitter, my female fans are my friends.

OrishaNinuPrada: Are you ‘doing’ Waje though? I kinda stumbled on a photo in which she felt so comfortable placing her bum-bum on your laps. (Coughs)
DJINEE: Waje must be really hot for her to be touted to be in a romance with MI, then now me..*laughs* Waje is my good friend. Infact, expect a song written and produced by me on her forthcoming album.

OrishaNinuPrada: Are you a born again Christian? Like seriously.
DJINEE: I’m catholic. I believe in God the Father Almighty. Creator of Heaven and Earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate….

OrishaNinuPrada: What inspires your lyrics. Especially songs like ‘I no dey shame’ and ‘Overkillin’. They sort of sound like they were personal experiences.
DJINEE: For I no dey shame, I was trying to sing about unconditional love. I’ve had friends strung on drugs and fighting their various evils. I’m just saying we should love them anyway. As for overkillin, that was really personal. I don’t tell people lies in my music. I want everyone to know that I have fallen many times, made bad decisions but I’ve always risen again and again.

OrishaNinuPrada: So what should your fans expect from Din-Din?
DJINEE: Upbeat music. A sound that will get you dancing. Comes with a message too. it’s still your same Djinee. Just laced with a drug that excites.

OrishaNinuPrada: When’s the next album dropping?
DJINEE: Hopefully, second quarter 2012.

OrishaNinuPrada: Any special shout-outs and advice for young people who idolize you?
DJINEE: Thanks to everyone that loves my work – my fans. Thanks to Mex and the entire Pixel Chaos company. Staff of Kreazivity Works, my production company. James abinibi. Olaitan, for Natialo productions, Puffytee, members of the media and press including SHEIFUNMI.NET and everyone that has worked and prayed that my career be successful. Let’s all be original. Don’t look at another man because everyone has their cross to carry.

Thank you Djinee.

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