Having DJ dad pushed me to become one – DJ Lambo

Weekend Magazine: Why are you called DJ Lambo? DJ Lambo: My name is Olawanmi Okeryi, so I grew up being called Lam. As I grew older, my friends started calling me Lambo, and then Lamborghini.  WM: You worked for three different radio houses before taking the leap to becoming a DJ. What was it like […]

Weekend Magazine: Why are you called DJ Lambo?

DJ Lambo: My name is Olawanmi Okeryi, so I grew up being called Lam. As I grew older, my friends started calling me Lambo, and then Lamborghini. 

WM: You worked for three different radio houses before taking the leap to becoming a DJ. What was it like working for a radio station and how did it influence your decision to become a DJ?

Lambo: It was a great experience. I got to meet a lot of people. I would say, the radio was my first love, but being a DJ is where my heart lies. I met a lot of DJ’s while I was an On Air Personality (OAP) and got to know what song goes with what. That really helped my becoming a DJ. 

WM: Do you miss working for a radio house? 

Lambo: I don’t, at all. I have never even thought about going back. 

WM: What were your early influences in mixing sounds?

Lambo: My dad was a DJ, so I got to hear a lot of records, from Fela to Comodos. I had a lot of influences growing up, so all that put together, just made me want to mix sounds. 

WM: Why did you choose to be a Disc Jockey? Why not a singer or rapper?

Lambo: Well, if I wasn’t a DJ, I would probably be a rapper. As a DJ I can do anything, so I think being that is more powerful than anything in the music industry. 

WM: What were some of the early challenges you faced?

Lambo: There are so many challenges being a DJ. You have to get it right at all times and can’t have bad and good days. That in itself is a challenge. Also, from the beginning there was the fact that I am female, at a time DJ’s were not given much recognition as they are given now. Another is carrying heavy equipment, then there’s the late nights, because DJ’s have to be the first to be in the club and the last to leave. 

WM: Can you remember what your first experience as a DJ was like?

Lambo: It was awesome and an amazing experience. Even before I was a DJ, I was in the club a lot. I knew just what the crowd wanted. Being able to keep people on their feet for hours isn’t easy. I just knew then that this is what I wanted to do and I was going to do it with all my heart.

WM: How do you know what kind of music to give a crowd?

Lambo: I research the crowd based on the event. First of all, if it’s a wedding, I know there’s going to be a mixture of people. There would be some young people who are the bride and groom’s friends, some old people, who are the bride and groom’s parents and their friends. So, with that already, I know I have to play some old school music and after a while, some new school. If it’s a concert, I know there would be people who are from the streets, the general masses. So I know to play street jams, the popular jams. If it’s a party, I think of where the party is holding and the kind of people who would be there, whether they would like Nigerian music or not. So those are the things you use to judge what people want. 

WM: What was one very bad day at work like?

Lambo: I can’t say it was a bad day, but once, at an early point in my career, I had a very embarrassing experience at an event. It was time for me to show up and when I was introduced, I shouted “are you ready to party? I’m about to shut this place down,” and the crowd responded. But then the music player failed. It took me about two minutes to fix things and there was that awkward silence after everyone got excited.     

WM: What would you say makes what you do different from other DJ’s?

Lambo: I think, basically, I know what people want and try to give it to them.

WM: How has it been like working in a male dominated area of the music industry?

Lambo: It’s not been easy, but thankfully, a lot of the men are encouraging and always have good advice to give. So, it’s not been that bad. At the time I started, there were people who thought a girl shouldn’t do it, so I didn’t get many opportunities. Now that notion is changing.

WM: What was your best gig, ever?

Lambo: I have had a lot of great gigs. Maybe when I first started it was easier to say, but now I have had so many opportunities to play in lots of places, in London, South Africa. I have played in big stadiums in South Africa, at Big Brother, in Kenya, and so on. I think some of my best experiences were in stadiums where there were up to ten thousand people. 

WM: Are you ever scared before a crowd?

Lambo: That was when I first started, but now I don’t get scared.

WM: How did you meet MI and what does working with him involve?

Lambo: I play in virtually all his performances. Working with MI is just fate, like part of our destinies in life. We first met in 2005, when I wasn’t even a DJ and he wasn’t very popular at the time. We talked, laughed and generally had a good time. But then we lost touch when he moved to Lagos. When we reunited, I had become a DJ. It just happened that at the time he was looking for a DJ. We have been working together now for five years. I think I am the only DJ he has worked with for this long and the same goes for me. It has been amazing.

WM: When you aren’t mixing sounds, what do you do?

Lambo: That’s a very hard question because my work is my life. Everything I do is linked to my work. When I am not working, I am trying to learn something. All my friends are in the industry. So even when I am having fun, I’m working.  

WM: How do you relax?

Lambo: When I get the time, I sleep. When I am not, I am listening to music to unwind. 

WM: What do you have up your sleeve at the moment?

Lambo: I’m working on my album that is soon to be released, including some videos. The working title is ‘The Lift Off’.