DJ Tunez @ The Jazz Cafe

Afrobeats nights are 10 a penny in London these days (and that’s not a complaint) but we had to hit this one up because DJ Tunez is the cream of the crop when it comes to Afrobeat’s DJ’s. He’s been signed to Wizkid’s Starboy Entertainment since 2015 and is also his DJ. If he’s good enough for Wizkid, he’s good enough for me. You may or may not know that he’s the producer behind a litany of huge hits, notably ‘Iskaba’, ‘PAMI’ and ‘Cool Me Down’ but he’s also remixed for Robert Glasper and H.E.R. ‘Better than I imagined’ and works with other Afrobeats heavy hitters such as Adekunle Gold, Omah Lay, SARZ and our very own Juls. He’s credited with helping spread afrobeats to the world with his sellout Blackout events which have expanded from New York, across America and even to little old Europe. To see him play in a much more intimate setting is what it’s all about for me.

The place was jumping when we got there at midnight. When I say there were people everywhere, I do mean everywhere. All around him on the stage was packed (even did some celebrity spotting in the form of Chidera Eggerue AKA The Slumflower. It was like he was a magnet and people were iron filings. I had thought he might drop back to back radio bangers (maybe he did before we got there) but aside from a couple of well known afrobeats tunes it tended towards pulsating, smooth, sexy amapiano. He kept everyone dancing all night, the lack of chicken heads was notable. The fantastic sound system at The Jazz Cafe made light work of those purring basslines. My lasting impression was of the pure energy in the room and that the night just sounded great. Any sound nerds out there know what I mean?

Fingers crossed he brings his Blackout night to London and if he returns to The Jazz Cafe, get your tickets.

Words: Kate Vice