Yaki Feirarri

Artist Profile: Introducing Yaki Feirarri, a Kogi State indigene raised in Lagos, Nigeria, on the west side of Africa. Johnson Y. Enemaku was born on the 2nd of December to a Muslim mother and a Christian father as the last born in a family of six. This graduate of sociology from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is also a Pan-African and a freedom fighter. He started singing and prayer calling (Muezzin) at his maternal grandfather’s mosque in front of his mother’s house at the age of 12. In the summer of 2004, he met the CEO of Dark Jazz Record while working as a production assistant at Hip-hop World Magazine. He recorded 2 singles to be released in the UK underdog Garage music market, by combining African folk-tale lyrics with electronic music mix. Songs like "soca-lafia," which means {safe journey} in his mother’s tribe of {Hausa Fulani}, were produced by Anif Akintola and Segun-Lee French at the Rift Studios in Manchester, London, England. Growing up on the west side of Africa in the 1980s, popular music was reggae, American R&B, British pop, and other minor indigenous music. His mother was a big fan of Jamaican King Yellow Man, Eric Donaldson, Tracy Chapman, and Cocoa Tea. This got the young Johnson listening to a lot of reggae music before going to school in the early morning, and he would read old newspapers as punishment imposed by his uneducated mother, Hajia Mariamo, when he misbehaved. In 2005, Feirarri recorded his first reggae single "Money Makes Friends," a reggae song telling about the evil people engage in for money, produced by DJ Mannie. This song recorded massive airplay on Cool 96.9 FM Lagos. In autumn 2008, Yaki Feirarri performed alongside Femi Kuti, American Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist "Flea," Senegalese superstar "Baaba Maal," British rap star "Kano," and "Damon Albarn," Amina and Ahmadu Bagayoko of the "Sabali" fame, etc., at the 2008 Africa Express combined concert at the African Shrine. His present work "Dreaming," produced by Jethro Lyon, mixed by Geega Mix at Hakavveli Studios in Lagos City, Nigeria, for his personal label "Don't Give Up Music.