Tell us about yourself
Hi my name is Ajayi Abimbola popularly known as Celebrity dj kiss. I was born and raised in lagos, I graduated from University of Ilorin in 2019.
It is so interesting to see how much you have grown in your career, take us through your journey.
I love music, my love for music was what made me go into mixing at first and eventually becoming a professional Dj and a sound designer. I started mixing and dj’ing in 2015/ 2016, then it will be just me in my hostel room blasting music and attempting to mix them with a software on my laptop, most of them didn’t go well lol but I never stopped till I could mix and match songs well. In 2018 I decided to become a professional Dj, I started going to clubs and parties to mix at any given opportunity, even if I will be for just 10 minutes I made sure my 10 minutes count. Then I got a job offer from a club worked for them for three months. I noticed they were just trying to use the girl then I left. I was so happy when a much bigger club asked me to come for a test run. I got the job and worked at the club till 2020 when the pandemic hit. After the pandemic I relocated back to Lagos, met people in the industry I had already built relationships with, kept meeting more people being outside more than the gigs started coming in. I had never given up on myself and my career for a minute I kept going and it’s been a great journey.
Do you think that mentorship plays a huge role in this industry, can you shed more light on this?
Definitely! Mentorship plays a huge role in the industry.
What are the major challenges you’ve faced in your industry and how have these challenges helped you so far in this journey?
The challenges I have faced in the industry is what I will say almost every woman experiences in any industry. I have had people come up to me and say “ oh you’re the dj, I can’t wait to see how you’d perform”. Then after the performance “ I can’t believe a woman can Dj like this you really did well”. People have doubts when it comes to having a female dj at their event because it’s a male dominated industry that they can’t believe a woman can do as good as the men or even better than them.
Being in the position where you are now, do you believe that women can do better in this industry and how can they be better in this industry?
The industry has more female Djs now and I’m happy that people have started giving us the opportunity and platforms to shine and show our skills. The industry is a great place for female Djs. We can definitely do better. It’s still a male dominated industry with more men than women. The industry needs more female Djs… networking goes a long way. You have to know the right people as a female Dj to thrive in the industry.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
In the next 5 years I will be living my wildest dream, going on tour in different countries, performing on bigger stages, concerts and stadiums. I’m working on my concert and in 5 years it will be the concert people attend to have the best experience ever!
So many young individuals look up to you, what’s your advice to them?
To the Young individuals looking up to me.
Don’t ever give up on your dreams, even when you’re scared and they tell you you can’t do it. Do it anyways
Don’t forget to network with people in the industry, not just with other Djs.
