INTERVIEW BY AIYANYO "YANY" AIBANGBEE and GERVAIS MBUNKEU
Washington, DC, is both a city and a state wrapped into one bustling urban conglomerate. If New York is the "concrete jungle where dreams are made of" as Alicia Keys and many others claim, then the DMV, the troika coalition that includes Washington, DC, the suburbs of Maryland and Northern Virginia — is its neighboring melting pot of a savanna. The DMV boasts one of the richest, most diverse groups of peoples in the Union. It is home to one of the largest African communities in the country. If you know anything about Africans, especially West Africans, you know we like to party. Give us a nice DJ, let him throw on some Afrobeats and it's on!
The Tribe's Path caught up with one of the most recognizable DJs in the DMV, a young businessman with a keen devotion to perfecting his craft, an irreproachable character, and an unassailable reputation. His unique talent reveals a slick spin and a trenchant ability to keep his ecstatic audience overjoyed as they contort their bodies to sweet tunes and soothing beats from sun up to sun down.
Robert Owoyele Jr, mostly known under his stage moniker DJ NiteCrawler is a perfectionist, the true son of his Nigerian parents, a shrewd, college-educated businessman, and a complete gentleman.
In the sweltering heat of the DC Summer, we sat down with DJ Nitecrawler to ask him a few questions. He was a bit shy, but in good spirits and remained upbeat. He had just taken an ownership stake in The Caged Bird, a small restaurant/bar in Dupont Circle. One of the burning questions we wanted to ask was very obvious, how did he get the moniker DJ Nitecrawler?
" I played college football at Bucknell University, and during the offseason we were running drills. There was a wall of fame for each position, recognitions ranged from the strongest to the fastest player on the team. I ended up setting the record for wide receivers at one particular drill. During the drill, I had on a navy blue uniform because our colors were orange and blue. My teammates joked that I looked like Nightcrawler, the X-men character, because I ran so fast and was draped in a navy blue outfit. When I was picking nicknames with my younger brother he liked that one the most, so it stuck."
There is a canonical belief about African parents in America and much of the developed world, they have been known to give their children three well defined career choices: attorney, doctor, or engineer. For a child of Nigerian immigrants who majored in economics and gravited to hip hop and DJing in the South, things could not have been more complicated.
" I come from an African / Nigerian background, so I grew up with a heavy emphasis on school. When my parents found out that I had started deejaying, they weren’t too happy. But they pushed me to do better in school and supported me. That push from them helped me develop my business acumen after majoring in Economics in college. That proved to be vital when I started dealing with the business side of being a DJ.
Being an African, the fact that we like to dance drew me to high energy music. I had an older cousin who came to stay with us when I was younger, he was the one who introduced me to hip hop. I was pretty young at the time, so I always wanted to be around him and do what he did. That is how my love for hip hop grew. Being from the south, our music is pretty different from other parts of the country so that southern hip hop influenced my musical ear a lot and fueled my love for high energy music."
Despite their stern insistence on academic excellence from their children, African parents actively participate in churches within their communities. Indeed, it is not uncommon for African parents to be pastors, community leaders and choir members. Church has always been a place of refuge, reconnection and kinship for many Africans in the diaspora. As a result, their children, sometimes reluctantly, find themselves deeply embedded in church activities.
"I was influenced by mom who sang in the choir at church. I went to a traditional African church where i played the conga in the choir band. I have also been around music since I was younger. I also came from a musical household in general, my siblings and myself played instruments growing up. I remember bringing my trumpet to church sometimes and playing it there. You know us Africans like to dance and party." **Laughter**
DJ NiteCrawler is also a food enthusiast and a decent cook. In his spare time, you can find him whipping up some traditional Nigerian dishes(Egusi, pounded yam, Ogbono, and fried plantains), which, according to guests who have tasted his meals — aren't half bad. He also spends part of his time helping younger DJs polish their craft, and volunteering.
"I have a big passion for helping people. I wouldn't be where I am without the help of others, so I always want to pass that forward to the next person. I have been given opportunities and a platform that a lot of people don’t get so I want to use it in ways that will benefit someone else. The ability to affect someone's mood through my spinning, and knowing that I could possibly make their day better — gives me a great feeling of joy and accomplishment. My family and faith drive me as well. I do a lot of things for my family because I want them to be able to live a decent life. They have supported me tremendously, and I am forever grateful for that. I believe God has destined me to do great things, and I want to live up to what he has in store for my life. Basically, using my God given talents to impact people for the better." He has remained that scrawny little kid with big dreams and goals. He never took his eyes off the ball. Having DJed for world renowned artists such as Wale and many others, he's kept his options open and remains hopeful.
"I would love to jump into the music producing game. That is a goal of mine, I currently don’t produce. Since I have a musical background, I don’t think it would be too difficult to get into it, I just need to brush on up on my music theory. I would also love to do a DJ coalition, bringing several DJs together under one collaborative project would be amazing."
A true son of the "Dirty South", his favorite artists are undoubtedly the ones he grew up adulating, with the addition of a few newcomers. His favorite album remains: Young Jeezy's Thug Motivation 101. He's a big fan of Travis Scott's latest album Astroworld, and practically anything from Big Krit.
For many in his profession, the apotheosis of their career is finding residence in a well-known nightclub, but DJ NiteCrawler is not your average DJ. He recently decided to leverage his degree in economics and take an ownership stake in a restaurant/bar. This move not only gave him security and flexibility, but it added an extra layer of protection from an industry that is as unpredictable as it is entertaining.
"We were doing an event at another spot and had run into some issues. We were tired of having to go through other people to host our events, and had to tailor customer experiences to management's taste. By the grace of God a great opportunity presented itself and things quickly fell into place. A friend of ours who does commercial real estate came across what is now the location of the Caged Bird and presented it to a group. We all happened to know each other and brought different skills that would be invaluable to the business, so we decided to come together and move forward with everything."
Though he vows to spin at The Caged Bird every other Friday, the altruist NiteCrawler and his partners plan to use the venue to give other DJs some much needed exposure. He draws a lot of experience from the various mentors he's had in the business. As a result, he continues to mentor many others, and tries to instill in them the core principles that have guided him from the very beginning.
"Do your research and study the art of DJing. There is more than just playing music that goes into being a successful DJ. Respect the past and those that came before you, there is a lot to learn from them. Look to build with each other, 50% of a bigger pie is better than 100% of a smaller pie. Everything doesn’t have to be a competition and individualistic. You can build with other people, but define your own success. Lastly, you will have to sacrifice. It takes a lot of long hours practicing, studying, listening to new music, and if you really want to be successful, you will have to pass up on some things that you may want right now. There are no losses, only wins and lessons."
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Checkout Dj Nitecrawler's IG here: instagram.com/djnitecrawler
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