From Africa With Love: Grammy-Nominated Producer DJ Juls Discusses Introducing The World To Afrobeats
If there’s one thing the countless brunches, day parties, lounges, clubs, and every outing in between has taught over the last few years: Afrobeats is here to stay. If we’re being honest, is it really considered a Black celebration without Afrobeats?
It’s an exciting time for Grammy-nominated producer DJ Juls who has been working on this for several years. The proof of his hard work is in the pudding. He’s worked with some of the hottest artists within the genre, including Burna Boy, Stonebwoy, and Mr. Eazi.
Most recently, he was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Global Music Album” for WizKid’s Made in Lagos deluxe album.
“It’s a great time for Africans to shine and show the world what their thought music is about,” he tells Travel Noire.
He’ll tell that the pressure is on as Afrobeats takes center stage in the music world. As a DJ and producer, he’s expected to bring the vibes, especially after recently dropping his highly anticipated deluxe album “Sounds of My World” on August 5th.
But for DJ Juls, his work is bigger than introducing the world to Afrobeats and African music.
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Bridging The Gap
The British-Ghanian artist wants to celebrate and elevate Black music across the diaspora.
“When you listen to my album, you can hear so many different elements of Black culture,” he says. “There’s Caribbean culture, and there’s African culture. Growing up in London, I’ve been influenced by so many different genres of music, like UK Garage and dancehall music. These are all genres of music that Black people birthed.”
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He adds, “the sounds of my work are an expression of my mind sonically. I’ve heard so many different things that I like to blend them. Once I blend the music, different cultures hear different sounds, bringing everybody together and creating unity and diversity.”
Giving Back
And while DJ Juls is all about sharing the beautiful sounds of African music, he’s making sure to give back by preparing the next generation of artists and producers.
After nine years of working as an investment banker in the corporate world, he decided to pursue music full-time. One of his top priorities after quitting was teaching young aspiring beat makers and producers about the music business while building their skillset and creativity.
“My workshop is called “Process Ghana,” he says. “We take students through some intense theoretical and creative sessions with well-established Ghanaian artists. It’s something that I’m trying to do so Ghana has a ‘particular sound.’ I feel that over the years, our genres have been killed by ourselves.”
