Dami Ajayi
Verified
(He/Him)
As seen in:
London Listening Sessions,
Medium,
The Guardian,
Cambridge University Press & Assessment,
Substack,
Global Voices,
Africa Is a Country,
The Africa Report,
This Is Africa (ZA),
The Elephant,
Brittle Paper
and
Covers:
Books. Music. Film. Literature.
I write poems and prose about songs.
Interview
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Nope.
How is social media changing news?
First, how news is delivered has changed.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Amusa Sango, obviously. Cyprian Ekwensi's musician and journalist in his important novel, People of the City.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be a music journalist is to listen, observe and record.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Shoot me an email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Music streaming applications and MS Word.
What's your favorite social network?
I identify as a Twitter Canary
Who do you wish followed you?
Ambrose Akinmusire and he does!
Why did you become a journalist?
Serendipity.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
We did not have one; I was going to establish one but the plan fell through the cracks.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The Murder of Ayinla Omowura for The Lagos Review. A mere book review but it has been portal into Apala music.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Read, write. Rinse, repeat.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
The Sunny Ade interview/profile in 2017.
What's your favorite drink?
I am a single malt mortal. Whisky.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At the clinic.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Pitchfork
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I am some self-imposed Afrobeats grandee. I just love and understand the music.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.