“Afropiano Fusion” Mix is DufflebagtheDJ At Her Finest

By Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Nigeria thrives on great music. Music is an escape from the hustle and bustle of life in one of Africa’s major countries. The love for this artform is closely related to our thriving nightlife culture that keeps the streets alive while giving the people a new release. DJs are central to this nightlife culture, evoking feelings of euphoria from enchanted crowds through their skilled musical alchemy.

Afrobeats has been the soundtrack of Nigerian nightlife even before its rise to global acclaim, and in recent years we have accepted the brilliance of our South African counterparts who have blessed us with the gift of Amapiano. The combination of these genres has taken the music in our nightlife spaces to new heights and has hypnotized us since “Sponono” caught life. DufflebagtheDJ, a Nigerian DJ understands the power of the combination of these two genres and merged them into a hypnotizing mix. She blends records of different tempos, bouncing between mid and up-tempo classics that have excited many crowds from Lagos down to Soweto.

She calls this mix “Afropiano Fusion”, a simple but apt representation of the kind of vibe DufflebagtheDJ curates with this mix. For 30 minutes, she lays down several hits that have made impact within the nightlife spaces of Nigeria and South Africa. “Afropiano Fusion” is a certified party starter, a collection of records that DufflebagtheDJ turns into the soundtrack of the hedonistic lifestyle that is closely associated with these two countries. This mix highlights that DufflebagtheDJ is in tune with the intangible elements that make an elite DJ, from the song choices to the transitions and understanding of tempo.

Niniola’s “Want” kicks off the mix as a smooth starter. DufflebagtheDJ turns up the intensity with a run of hit records, with Burna Boy’s “Different Size”, Sho Madjozi’s “Jamani” and Falz’s “Oga” coming shortly after. She populates the mix with household bangers and unpopular bops to create a mix of familiarity and discovery. Each song change is met with a new feeling, and no matter how different one song is from the next, there is only deeper immersion into the vibe that DufflebagtheDJ creates. She is tapped into a wide array of records which does well to show her range of music knowledge.

Not only is her knowledge of music broad, DufflebagtheDJ also demonstrates an understanding of tempo and intensity. It is one thing to load up back-to-back bangers, but it another thing to line up a smooth transition from one song to the next. Every new song is introduced to complement the end of the previous one; a good measure of a DJ who is able to comfortably merge two records of similar tempo. The track arrangement is set up to gradually raise the energy levels of the crowd and keep it up for as long as possible. “Afropiano Fusion” begins its peak around the 16-minute mark where she connects Davido’s “Champion Sound” with Beyonce’s “Break My Soul”.

The skill taken to craft the “Afropiano Fusion” mix cannot be understated. DufflebagtheDJ is bound to become a household name in due time. Her ability to curate immersive musical experiences is a measure of her skin in the game. It is only a matter of time before she makes her mark on the world stage.