Jacob Akinyemi Johnson,JAJ,is one of Nigeria’s most popular On Air Personalities,OAP. In fact,he gave me the art it’s distinctive character.
JAJ started his professional career with a memorable stint at NBC’s AM/FM STEREO in Lagos (which later became Radio Nigeria 2, the nation’s first FM radio station. His unique presentation style made him popular with radio listeners before long, and by 1983 he was named Radio Personality of the Year. In 1997, he joined the Silverbird Group. In 2006, he became General Manager of the Group and served in that capacity until February 2020, when he was appointed Chief Creative Officer.
Jacob Akinyemi-Johnson has spent decades in the broadcasting industry. Fans and colleagues alike have lauded his longevity and creative prowess. “He deserves to be eulogised for introducing the term ‘OAP’ into the Nigerian broadcast firmament. It was JAJ that first employed the moniker back in ‘97,” Femi Sowoolu, a media consultant, tweeted in 2020.
JAJ is one of the most prominent voices who laid the groundwork for a lot of what Nigerians now enjoy today – especially with Hip Hop, rap and pop music. He remains your favourite OAP’s favourite OAP, and is still a great influence after all these decades.”
JAJ spoke to BEATS about his illustrious career and the state of the industry:
Question: What has made the JAJ persona to survive this long?
Answer: The JAJ persona has survived for so long because I have always been able to reinvent myself. I am a NOW person and I move with the times and in some cases ahead of the times, this is evident in my lifesyle, my swag and even in the music I play on the Top 7 Monday through Friday
Question: At your age, how have you been able to relate to your younger fans?
Answer: I relate to all my fans and followers in the same way I treat them with a lot of respect.
Question: Do you think the proliferation of TV and radio stations is growing broadcasting; am talking about standards of the online version in particular?
Answer: Broadcasting maybe growing in terms of the number of people the industry employs and the mouths it feeds but in terms of quality certainly not.
Today’s standards are unbelievably low in terms of content and delivery
Question: Are you satisfied with the impact Nigerian music is making worldwide, given the abundance of talents we have?
Answer: I am very satisfied with the impact Nigerian music is making worldwide I am elated and I saw it coming I always knew the talent was there Nigerians have always had great music talent even as far back as the 1940s with highlife music and the other genres that followed and with the Internet creating a level playing field I knew it was only a matter of time for Nigerian music to be accepted worldwide as it presently is.
Question: Little Jamaica has produced global stars, with just one genre, reggae. Nigeria, with several musical styles, does not have a global superstar? What’s your take on that?
Answer: Nigeria currently has a number of global superstars. As a matter fact Nigeria has always had global superstars even when the industry was almost non existent and we didn’t have an identifiable or dominant genre. Right now we have Burna Boy, WizKid and Davido for instance and if you take a step backwards Dbanj, 2 Face, P-Square and if you take two steps backwards we had and still have Fela and as you know fela is as evergreen as ever. Sunny Ade was a global superstar in the 70s and 80s and so was Sade Adu and Seal
Question: Why are we no longer having big open air concerts like Lekki Sunsplash?
Answer: I’m probably not the right person to answer that question but I believe there are a number reasons which include most likely the lack of sponsorship hinging on a bad economy, the area boys/miscreants syndrome and general insecurity
Question: What’s your favorite brand of music?
Answer: I don’t think you need to ask that question because it’s so evident it has to be hip-hop
Question: What event do you consider to be the turning point in your career?
Answer: quite frankly I cannot recollect
Question: What is your message to your fans?
Answer: My message….. keep your head up!
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