Longers is the DJ that Kojo the comedian chooses to use when it comes to his hugely successful comedy nights and he is booked weekly around the UK and internationally because of his exceptional DJing skills. He has been plying his turntable and selector skills for a fair bit of time and now the fruits of his labour are starting to pay dividends. We hooked up in a secret location in Tottenham to talk all things dj’ing and some other things including an advert for one Jamie Oliver…who knew hey?
So the name Longers is this anything to do with the fact that you are towering over me?
I was always the tallest throughout my school years and so indeed I was given the name Longers. I was originally a bashment dj and there was a point when I did not even like rnb. I eventually became part of a crew called Sapphire. People in the crew had names like Magnum but I thought rather than coming up with some random name like “dj badman” I thought I might as well keep the name Longers so that is what I did.
So who do you rate as dj’s?
Manny Norte and Scottie B. Scottie is very creative and he will not let a track play for too long. He keeps the same vibe and energy all the time. Jenny Francis is a legend on the show and she has been very consistent she has a beautiful voice and you wonder what she looks like.
Is vinyl a dying art?
Vinyl is definitely dying out I would go so far as to say it is almost dead. I would look at vinyl and say what is the point? Not in a disrespectful way but rather let’s say Chipmunk’s Championing I want that song straight away, I do not want to have to wait for a vinyl to be pressed so I can get a copy, I need it to play tonight. If you are waiting for the track on vinyl then you will be late.
Was it difficult to part ways with vinyl?
I still have my vinyl but it was weird. When I first used them, I burnt a load of cd’s because I thought I cannot take these load of boxes when I was booked to play in Paris. I said to myself when I went out there that I would just use the cd’s for those events and then return to vinyl. When I came back I looked at my vinyl boxes and I was due to play out and I thought I will play vinyl next time and next time has never really come.
What is it like dj’ng to a UK audience?
Last December I was in Oslo and they do not need to know a song to like a song. I played I’m Fly by Donaeo when no one really knew it and it blew off the place. In the UK on the urban scene they could be listening to a track in the day on the radio and love it. They could be in a club listening to the same track and they will not rave until other people start raving.
What is the hardest crowd you have ever dj’d to?
The hardest is the urban black crowd. It tells if you are doing the right think or the wrong think. If they do not like what you are doing they will just stop raving period.
The UK scene is firing at the moment.
It is very healthy at the moment because in the urban scene people are supporting each other. You are getting N-Dubz going with Tinnie Tempah, Skepta with N-Dubz, Ironik has been with everyone at some point in truth. There is also quality music coming out of the scene as well and people are moving forward.
And what plans are on the agenda?
I am still part of G-Ents and have stuff with Kojo coming up on the Comedy Fun House Tour. I am also working on a UK versus USA mix-tape. What I do is I mix the two together and then you can kind of compare the scenes. Also there is an artist called Dele I am working with and there is an artist called Fumin who has an absolute banging single called After Party which will definitely blow up.
Words by Semper Azeez-Harris
