Nigerian-born DJ dazzles Sunnyside locals with his amazing talent

The passion and God-given talent of Nigerian-born DJ Lolliz has made him one of the most popular DJs for many local partygoers in Sunnyside and its surroundings.

“The appreciation by residents of the capital city is one of my amazing experiences in South Africa,” said DJ Lolliz, whose real name is Emmanuel Aina.

“It is humbling.”

The Sunnyside-based DJ is one of only a few in the country with the ability to keep the audience dancing for the entire DJ’s slot at an event.

Rekord witnessed this on Saturday at popular restaurant Rhapsody’s at Sunnypark in Sunnyside.

DJ Lolliz’s session saw Rhapsody’s customers screaming and singing along while dancing the entire slot in appreciation for the DJ’s mix.

The 28-year-old is still an upcoming artist who has done a lot to gain the attention of the local clubs and restaurants managements as well as entertainment enthusiasts.

“My passion and love for music have helped me achieve my first goal, which is to find a platform to showcase my skills.”

He said he was inspired by his older brother, Olayinka Aina, who is also a popular DJ known as DJ Yeankeyz in Nigeria.

“I began my DJ career in Nigeria back in 2011 under the guidance of my brother,” he said.

He moved to Pretoria two years later. While in the city, he said life was extremely difficult as he was not known and had to market himself.

“I often went to clubs and restaurants asking the owners and managers to give me a chance to play music and showcase my skills at their businesses,” he said.

This paid off as he ended up being offered an opportunity of playing in a Sunnyside pub in 2016 where his career in Tshwane began.

“I was not earning much, but the love of my job encouraged me to continue doing it.”

He said he later got an opportunity to play at one of the clubs in Hatfield where he was noticed by a sound engineer who was working for another club in the area.

“The sound engineer approached me and invited me to come and play at his workplace,” he said.

He agreed to play at the sound engineer’s workplace (which was a pub) and ended up performing for a full hour instead of his slotted half hour because the audience was enjoying his song choices and asked him to stay longer.

Several months later, he was noticed by one of Rhapsody’s managers, who recruited him after being impressed by his performance.

He then became one of this restaurant’s DJs.

“I joined Rhapsody’s because they gave me a good offer and I am happy.”

DJ Lolliz said he said he first analysed the audience and then would play the music relevant to them.

The Sunnyside DJ revealed that he was planning to have his own studio and help upcoming artists make it big in their careers. He was also planning to release his debut single soon.

“When he joined us, he was young but I could see that he had a natural talent,” said DJ Lolliz’s colleague, Malcolm Mutare, who is also a DJ at Rhapsody’s known as DJ BlackSoul.

Thandi Sithole, one of the Rhapsody’s customers, said DJ Lolliz was one of her favourite DJs in the area.

“He is talented and knows what songs we like,” Sithole said.

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