With more international acts extending handshakes across the Atlantic to Afrobeats sound, US-based Nigerian turn-table act, Allwell John Ibama also known as DJ Kev is emerging as one of the unsung heroes pushing the genre on the bubbly US nightlife.
The Port Harcourt, River State born talent plays up to four gigs weekly in the city of Atlanta at some of the biggest clubs such as Privacy Lounge, XO Lounge and Living Room Lounge among others.
He reveals, “I usually tell people my weekend starts from Thursday because I have gigs from Thursday through out Sunday. People appreciate my talent and art very often. Sometimes, I get tips more than what I make in the night from people I do not even know. I know couple of people that come to my gig just because they enjoy the way I play and the diversity of my music.”
DJ Kev’s career launched his career when he first left the shores of Nigeria and moved to Minsk, the largest city and capital of the European country of Belarus. He was mainly pre-occupied with studying Mechanical Engineering at the Belarusian State University. Driven by a desire to excel further, in 2010, the turn-table sensation changed gear by moving to Los Angelos, United States to play on the big turf.
A forthnight ago, DJ Kev successfully hosted Labo Entertainment star artiste, Dotman to a well-attended gig tagged Legwork night at upscale Afro-Caribbean hangout, Privacy Lounge. Anchored by popular comedian Elenu, DJ Kev punctuated the fun night with a fine blend of music genres such as Afrobeats, Hiphop. Reggae, Soca, Kompa and Kizomba among others.
Speaking on the success of the event, DJ Kev disclosed. “All twelve sections where sold out although there was little time as the event was planned under one week. Legwork Night was for fans of the culture. It was a night we played Nigerian music throughout. I did it for the culture and the turnout was good. The feedback from the audience was nothing short of amazing.”
However, he reckoned, “Being a Nigerian DJ and promoter in America is not an easy task. We want Afrobeats to be known to the world and not only among Africans. I personally try to mix hip hop, reggae, dancehall and Afrobeats together so it can be diverse. We usually have people from all over come together and enjoy themselves. If you go anywhere these days you will see Americans dancing and singing Afrobeats word-for-word and it never use to be like that four years ago.”