Spinning on and off for almost 10 years, Kofi's button is currently stuck in the "on" position. He doesn't like pigeon holing his style into specific genres. Born in New York City, but raised in the Baltimore -Washington area, he now finds himself back in NYC after being shaped by a variety of life experiences.
I started dee jaying while going to school in Philly in the early to mid '90s. At that time, I primarily spun house music at these rave-like clubs, but also had side gigs doing house parties and coffee shops. I was dropping all kinds of dope stuff on the decks, just experimenting with my sound. Before going off on my own, I was down with a crew called Reel Time Productions. We did many of the freshest university parties for U. Penn and Drexel and made a name for ourselves on WKDU FM, our college radio station. Despite the college moniker, WKDU broadcasted all around the (Delaware Valley) Tri-State area and had an extremely diverse audience that often rivaled the larger, commercial stations.
As college life slipped into a played out memory, Kofi's focus diverged from his studies, to dee jaying and then to traveling. He was working just to buy that next plane ticket, while dee jaying became less of a priority. Still, Kofi couldn't totally escape the turntables. He has touched down in London twice, The Netherlands, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, Canada, Mexico and Abidjan, the capital city of the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
I was trying to be out...clear my head and see something new. I first bounced to Abidjan to chill with some friends that I had met in Philly. My aim was to just chill out and relax, but thinking ahead, they were able to actually secure a few paying gigs for me to spin in these Ivorian clubs. The city at that time was amazingly urban and cosmopolitan with a Parisian, yet distinctly West African vibe. And just like the clubs here, people were busy buying bottles of liquor for their entire crews, flashing money in front of their ladies for all to see. I wouldn't have expected Africa to be like this unless I hadn't seen it for myself. What did I drop? I had no idea what the scene was like in the Ivory Coast. Like my friends, many children of affluent government and business officials went to school in The States, but mostly to France (the Ivory Coast being a French speaking country). They were up on what was hot musically, but only French stuff. At that time, McSolaar and Menelik were the only French hip-hop artists I could pull from my limited bag of vinyl. It was still a dope experience.
Kofi's international connections also placed him spinning in a British fort overlooking the coastline of Cornwall, England in July 2002.
My man, Max had a big wedding in this fort and couldn't pass up the opportunity to bless those 3 feet thick, stone walls with the reception party of the century. Both him and his wife spin (Max Tortora and Mims DeLacy of the Grand Union DJ collective, UK). Many of the guest were also dee jays, so I like others, spun some of my best vinyl that night and into the morning.
What does all this traveling do for Kofi's life? Experiencing a variety of cultures has helped him to return to dee jaying. He is currently studying the Djembe (drum) and knows few musical boundaries. It doesn't matter from which culture he picks his beats and rhythms. His intention though, as always, is to make you move and communicate with the crowd through his music. His sets are sometimes open but will always lead you back to the same place. Whether soul-icious house, Funk or chill out grooves from Brazil, you will feel yourself traveling along side him on a journey to discover what "soul" truly is.
Kofi O. is repping Grand Union here in New York (Grand Union DJs- U.K., Sydney, New York) with crazy loud shouts going out to the Filli Foundation. See the events section to find out his current venues.