DJ Poko has been everywhere around the world deejaying, and she’s brought her talents to Atlanta to perfect her skills and mix at some of the hottest places in the city. Coming from Nigeria, DJ Poko has an Afrobeats style in her mix that all the dancers love.
DJ Poko spoke with rolling out about her inspiration for being a DJ, her first gig, and what makes a respectable DJ.
What inspired you to become a DJ?
My love for music. I’ve always loved music, especially Afrobeats. I play a lot of genres, but Afrobeats is mainly what I grew up listening to. I just love a good transition. Before I even [started] deejaying professionally, when I was listening to songs I’d be like, “Oh, this is what I should listen to next.” It always just clicks in my head.
Do you remember your first gig?
My first gig was unplanned. I had no idea it was going to be a gig. On my 21st birthday, my brother came home with an actual DJ controller. He always saw how I played around when I was deejaying, so for my birthday, he bought me the controller. I started practicing constantly with it. One day, one of his friends hit him up and asked if he knew any deejays because he had an event that night, and the DJ that he booked bailed on him.
My brother was like, “Yeah, my sister is a DJ. We’re going to be there tonight.” I’m looking at him like, “Are you talking about me or someone else?” He was like, “Well, I got you a gig. There’s nothing we can do about it.” They made a whole flyer in 20 minutes. I was already practicing, and I would DJ for myself, and I thought it was good, but I never deejayed in front of people, so I thought, how are we supposed to do this? I was like, “Okay, we just have to do it. There’s nothing we can do.” My brother called a couple of my friends and they came to just hype me up. That’s literally how I got my first gig.
What do you think makes a respectable DJ?
Your connection with the crowd. You have to connect with your crowd. Most DJs don’t even have to have a mic or song selections, but being able to use your microphone to have a connection with the crowd is definitely a plus. Then your personality I think also adds a lot. You can’t be a DJ if you’re not personable… A lot of people walk up to you for so many kinds of requests. It might be to compliment the way you are mixing the songs, it might be to request a song, it might be just to tell you you’re doing great or it could be anything. If you have a standoffish personality, a lot of people will be like, “Oh, you’re doing too much.” It’s always something. I feel like, as a DJ, you have to be personable. People have to be able to walk up to you to just say hi.
