Yosa has become one of the most exciting and in-demand fixtures in the Lagos night scene. In January, the BBC tapped him for his Africollective mix. In April, he played a Boiler Room set, alongside a pantheon of preternatural talents, including Bloody Civilian, Odunsi, and Odumodublvck. Earlier this month, he played at Rema’s Lagos listening party, adding to his portfolio of laurels.
Born in Victoria Island and raised in Boston where he taught himself to DJ and immerse in the culture scene, Yosa relocated to Lagos in 2019 after a meandering career journey that occasionally left him in many unlikely spots, including a brief stint at a banking job in London. Following his return to Lagos, he tried his hands at a slew of creative pursuits before finally settling on Djing.
His sets feel reminiscent of a colorful cosmopolitan carnival. Fusing Afropop, Hip Hop, and EDM, he conjures mixes that sound at once familiar and adventitious. He spoke to Culture Custodian about his inimitable approach to DJing, his work with Space Studios, and his vision for the Lagos EDM scene in the coming years.
This conversation has been edited for clarity.
How did you get into Djing and how long have you been at it?
I started DJing, I believe, in 2013. I was living in the US at the time, and I went to a boarding school after I graduated from high school, between university. It was in the middle of nowhere, and I hated it. So I only stayed there for 3 months. This is a long-winded story, but after the first break, the first time I got home, I just never went back. Then somehow, maybe I watched a YouTube video or something, I picked up DJing from then, 2013 right before uni. It’s been 11 years now.
Tell me about your unique approach to DJing
That’s so interesting because I thought for that set, the Rema set, I was like, yeah I’m definitely giving them heavy Afro vibes. I think that’s still what it came across as. But I try to infuse as much of my background growing up and playing in the US with what is happening right now. I’m trying to bridge a gap between my background and Lagos vibes.
That’s very interesting because some DJs try to carve out a particular style intentionally. But you’re saying that your style comes from your lived experiences in the US and back here in Nigeria?
I feel like I’ve definitely, over time, I’ve carved out a particular style, but I think it was more so, just trying to figure out what makes sense for me and then also what people will fuck with as well. But I appreciate that you caught on to the Afropop slash EDM vibes.
Describe a typical night for you DJing in Lagos.
On a typical day if I’m outside, ideally, I have 2 shows. One early show, one late show. I don’t really know what a typical night looks like because most times, a typical night is laying on my bed watching Netflix. But the ones that are not typical are, like, I’ll just go play a show maybe from 11 to 12. And then from there, go play another show maybe from 2 AM to 3 AM, and come directly back to my bed. But I’m trying to, now more so, stay out, and then also support other people’s events. Go to after parties and things like that. But, generally, I try to come back to my bed as fast as possible.
What would you say is the best show you’ve played?
The most memorable show I’ve played is a festival. I used to work for this DJ company in the US where they would just book me to go and play in random places. We went to a festival. We had our own stage. You know how, like, in big festivals, they have the main stage where people like Travis Scott, Kygo and Will Smith or whatever would be playing. And then between those stages, they have smaller stages, which are still pretty big. I was playing for around 1500 people but between the headliners, people would come to our stage in the woods. That’s the first time I played at a festival, and I guess the biggest crowd I’ve played for. So it was a really good time.
Conversely, any experience with a crowd that didn’t exactly take to your sound?
Yeah. When I first started playing more commercial shows in Lagos. I had to figure out the vibes because I was getting booked as a house music DJ. If it was a commercial show, I’d be like “Guys, I’m playing house just so you know you’re booking me as a house DJ”. They’re like, “Hell yeah.” Then I’d pull up and play house music and people would just be staring at me. So, I had to kind of figure out a way to carry the audience along with me. The first time that happened, I think, was my first time playing Even in the Day. It’s like a really big event series where there’s no artists. They just have a lineup of DJs playing back to back. The first time I played there, I played house music and they were staring at me. It was really embarrassing. So, I was like, okay, I have to make sure this never happens again. From there, I figured out how to play to a commercial Lagos crowd.
You had the crowd mesmerized at Rema’s listening party. Your own set was like an event in itself, how did that feel?
That’s a good perspective. Thank you for that perspective because I was nervous and I was also not looking up as much as I probably should have because I was trying to find, like I had prepared for a specific vibe, but then I had to kind of improvise and freestyle. And so that’s what I did. I was looking for songs for most of the time. In hindsight, it was actually a good step. But in the midst of it all happening, I felt like I was catching my breath the whole time.
What dictates the type of songs you play at an event? Do you gauge the audience for cues on the spot, do you stick to a pre-planned set list or do you just go with the flow?
So, I mean, it’s mostly based on vibes. If somebody reaches out. The first question I ask is what’s the vibe? From there, I have groups of songs that the people at the party or whatever event will relate to.
Let’s go back to you moving back to Nigeria. What made you move to Nigeria?
So, like, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do in the US. I had an idea. I wanted to work in music, but I didn’t see a clear path forward in the US. I DJed for a year after I graduated from Uni and kind of learnt production. I had a fun time. I was traveling with my friend, Chris. We traveled around the US and played at different shows at different universities. It was fun. But after a year, I was very broke and needed to get a job. So I had to figure out what to do. I got a job in London at a bank for a year. It was a great job, but I was very depressed. So I came to visit my brother in Lagos and, yeah, it just worked out. At that time, Afrobeats was having its the beginning of its resurgence of, like it’s, like, global resurgence. I got here just after Rema dropped his first EP in 2019. So it was exciting to be back and working in music.
You’ve described Engage Space as a “community for creatives”. What exactly is its mission?
It’s actually called Space Space Studio. But all the Instagram names were taken, so we added the “Engage” in front of it. Space Studio is a creative space that I and some partners built for the music that we make, basically. I produce as well. Through this space, I’ve been working with a bunch of artists in the alternative space. Like, indie pop, anything, Hip hop, singer, songwriter type stuff. We have really cool artists that are gonna start coming out this year.
Does it have an underlying business structure?
Yeah. I’ve been in the industry and been on the backend in terms of label type stuff. We are having those business conversations because when it comes down to it, it’s like, let’s have these, tough or weird uncomfortable conversations now rather than go on Twitter in 5 years and yeah.
Outside of Djing and galvanizing creative communities. What do you do for fun?
That’s funny because somebody just asked me that yesterday, and I did not have an answer.
Do you have one for me today?
I had 12 hours to prepare this answer, and I still don’t. I’m watching Sex and the City right now. But that’s a boring-fun thing. I don’t necessarily do things for fun right now. I’m lucky enough that I find the thing that I’m doing for work fun. So I don’t actively go out and do other things. But I definitely want to because I wanna have answers to these questions.
Where do you see the Lagos night scene, especially the EDM scene, in the coming years and what role do you think you’d play in it?
I think whoever is in the scene right now is really lucky because it’s perfect — right place, right time— for a lot of things that are happening. That’s another reason why I came back to Lagos. I don’t really necessarily have aspirations for myself within the scene. I want to play really interesting sets. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of what people are used to in terms of what they’re (used to) hearing from a DJ. I hope to build more interesting and more encompassing experiences. So, from sets to my own events. I have started an event called Disco at Tarkwa Bay. In the next 3 years, I wanna be a part of what helped grow this space and what helped bring more people into house music in Nigeria. Also, there will be an emerging Lagos house scene that we’ll start seeing in the next year or so. It’d be really cool to be one of the front runners in whatever that looks and sounds like as well.
So for my final question. Who are some of the indie or alternative artists in the scene, who you think are doing amazing work?
Okay. Yeah. The guys that I’m working with. They are really amazing singer-songwriters — Tura, Rigo, Braye. These are people that come to the studio. Wapo, Rigo, Tura, Braye, Ekene, Drey, Abigail. Boom. Is there anybody else that I’m missing in that? Yeah. I think that’s all their names.
