•Speaks About His Career
Amaobi Udeh, professionally known as VDJ Mobi, Nigerian, is a professional Wedding disc jockey (DJ). He first gained prominence in 2013 when he started working with one of the biggest nightclubs in Abuja, Billionaires by Crystal. Since then, he has been involved in a lot of high-profile events for clients such as US Embassy, the British High Commission, the African Presidents of Senate Union, Society for Family Health and many more. He has also played at a lot of high-profile weddings around Nigeria in the past including the recent traditional wedding ceremonies of the former speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Dimeji Bankole. In a chat with City People’s Sola Bamidele, he spoke about his life and career. Below are excerpts from the interview.
How did you get into the disc jockey business?
My journey into Wedding DJing was born out of love for music. I also grew up listening to radio x TV programmes like ‘Open House Party’ hosted by the great Levi Ajuonuma, Sunday Rendezvous and Prime Time Africa on Raypower Network and I was always fascinated by how two songs can be combined seamlessly to keep people dancing.
Who were the established disc jockeys that inspired you back then when you were starting out?
Amazing DJs like DJ Neptune who I was fortunate to have listened to his playstyle, MTV Base DJ TTB and DJ Austin. These three DJs were of great influence to my decision to focus more on creating a niche as a Wedding DJ. Thankfully during my years as a club DJ, I worked with three of them and it was a dream come true.
What were your initial future ambitions as a kid?
I have always wanted to go into business and that is what I’ve always focused on. DJing can be a job or a business but it depends on how you look at it, and for me, I choose to see Wedding DJing as a full-time business that can create job opportunities for a lot more people and as such, I can say I’m still on course.
What sort of challenges did you have to contend with before you became an established brand?
The biggest challenge was standing out from the crowd of DJs and carving a niche as a Wedding DJ. I had to resign from a club and have refused a lot of club resident DJ offers because I want to focus on becoming a household name as a Wedding DJ. My vision is for every bride-to-be to think of VDJ Mobi first when they think of wedding.
What job gave you your big break in the industry?
My first big break was working with the African Presidents of the Senate Union in 2018. It was a huge deal for me and my team but it was also tricky because the client had certain expectations about the music owing to the nature of the guests expected. Thankfully I work with a team of young vibrant professionals and we delivered to the delight of the client and all including the then-Senate President Bukola Saraki and all in attendance. I was also the DJ during the recently concluded wedding ceremony between the daughter of the Kebbi State governor and RT Hon. Dimeji Bankole.
You have been involved in a lot of high-profile events, how has this rubbed off on your brand?
Every high-profile event I’ve had the privilege of working on has been a learning curve especially about how to do business the right way. One key lesson I’ve learnt over time is the importance of customer service and efficient service delivery. These two without a doubt are key determinants as to the success or failure of the business and the value that will be placed on any brand.
As a top DJ, you must’ve worked with a lot of A-list music stars, give us a few names
I’ve worked with Wizkid, Dbanj, Praiz, Davido, Patoranking, Lil Kesh, MI Abaga, Peruzzi and a lot more. But at the moment I’m more focused on putting out songs in the second quarter of the year which I hope to have big collaborations; creating mixes on my Youtube Channel as well as my Instagram page @vdjmobi. I’m also working with the team at WOW Connect on the second season of the Virtual Family Game Night Show called FUN AND BANTER BY WOW CONNECT. It’s an interactive virtual game show that was necessitated as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic and aims to create fun in a safe space and an opportunity for fun and relaxation.
Which artist did you enjoy working with the most?
I had fun and look forward to working again with Davido, Dbanj and Peruzzi as well as Chike who I think is an amazing artist too. We worked together at a Wedding in November 2020 and his performance was five star.
Who are the artists that will make your list of Top 5 Best Hip-Hop Naija artistes?
That would be Phyno, Falz the bad guy, Blackbonez, Cheque, Vector and Zoro.
How much support did you get from your parents when you told them you wanted to become a professional Disc Jockey?
Back then I started out juggling between a 9-5 job and my club DJ job when I started, and I kept it to myself because I knew what the ultimate goal was for me, which was to create a successful business. My mum, a caterer, eventually found out when she saw me performing on TV during a club activation and that’s how the rest of the family got to know too. But my family has been very supportive of my decisions in every way and I’m so grateful to have them in my corner.
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