Inside the Mind of Founder and Creative Director of Drummr Africa, John Eni-ibukun

Founder and creative director of Drummr Africa, John Eni-ibukun (also known as June sometimes in the music world) has always had an inkling toward art from an early age. His interest goes beyond music, it encompasses poetry, writing, visual art and many other forms of artistic expression.

John hops on a call for an exclusive interview with The RCJ Company. He takes us on his journey through creating a creative safe space for all creatives to thrive and be themselves.

Tell me about your background.

I like to describe myself as creative, and human. So I’m a creative human. I like to explore my life views through various creative mediums. I express myself through storytelling in digital art and writing. There was a time when I used to express myself through spoken word poetry and music (maybe I still do). I was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. I am also a co-founder and the Creative Director of Africa’s first emerging-creatives-focused digital press and community, Drummr Africa.

What has the journey been like in creating an influential music platform?

Just like every other worthwhile human endeavour, the Drummr experience has been full of ups and downs. But putting all of that aside, it has been a wonderful experience so far. We started because we wanted to create an alternative space where emerging African creatives can express themselves and their greatness, and it’s been a wonderful experience so far. I’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with a lot of African creatives whom I believe are generational talents, and I’m glad to have been able to come in contact with all the amazing people I have met in this journey, and all the projects we’ve been able to accomplish together regardless of their outcomes. It has been a sweet experience so far, I must say.

“I fear I may lose my vison and mission in the quest to be too successful. Things should be under control.”

Of the many forms of artistic expression, why did you choose music?

The Drummr community was not created solely for music. It just happens that in the Nigerian and African creative space, music is the most prominent. At Drummr Africa, we’ve made publications on visual artists. We are also trying to check into that beautiful space of emerging poets and writers in the continent. You know we feel the most through raw, intricate art. Our last publication was on a visual artist in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and we were talking about the war there and how she’s been able to use her art as a form of awareness. There are very important stories out there, and creatives being sole forces behind them regardless of what their media of expression is. So it is not like we chose music, it just happens that music is a very dominant form of art in this region of the world and so it is a very easy aspect of creativity to explore.

What is the vision of Drummr Africa?

The Drummr vision stands on a tripod. Firstly, we are committed to documenting as many creatives and cultural moments as possible – especially emerging and alternative African creatives – because when you search for an average artist in the US or the UK, you’d see something about them pop up online, but that is not so much the case here in Africa where emerging artists may not be able to afford things as simple as proper documentation due mostly, to a lack of “promotion budgets”. So Drummr’s first mission is to document emerging creatives, not necessarily because they are or are not popping, but because we have a lot of people here in the continent doing really amazing stuff and they deserve the spotlight, and to be documented. 

Secondly, we love to kickstart and see through medium-scale projects that elevate youth culture and enhance the shine of talents on platforms. 

Lastly, we want to connect artists from different parts of the continent, and to ease the crossing of new African cultures and audiences. We hope that consequently we will be able to represent artists and talented young people towards finding and securing opportunities through our network.

What fears did you have when you started your platform and are those fears still present?

I think the more you are into something, the more you can overcome whatever fears you have. I don’t have a fear of not being successful, my fear is that of being too successful because being too successful has the potential to make you lose the essence of yourself, the essence of the thing you are trying to do, the essence of your brand and the fundamental elements of your vision and mission. 

I fear I may lose all of that in the quest to be too successful. Things should be under control. 

Something else I fear is the prospect that this generation may not get to experience the best of artists and creatives on the mainstream scale because we are too focused on what already is to the point that we no longer have the ability to create a taste for something new.

“We want to connect artists from different parts of the continent, and to ease the crossing of new African cultures and audiences.”

What challenges have you encountered and how did you overcome them?

The major challenge that we had was that we had no funding to support artists for free. I wouldn’t say we have completely jumped over this hurdle, but I think we have it under control now more than we did a year or two ago. Now, we know what to charge for, what to do for free while still staying true to the vision. 

Another challenge is the fact that we are not so focused on pop and afrobeat and this feels like Drummr is having a stunt in growth. That may be the general perspective, but we don’t see things from the inside that way. We are building something that is supposed to last a generation (or more) and we can’t build something like that in even three years. It has to take time. It needs it.

Why do you spotlight upcoming artists on your platform?

I prefer the term “emerging” because not every artist wants to be blown. Some artists make art just for the sake of expression. Some just want to keep their communities close. Some just want a break from their personal struggles, and there are not so many platforms for artists like that; artists who are different. We saw that, and we are convinced there should be a space for artists like that. That’s why Drummr exists. 

In the next couple of years, what do you think Drummr Africa would be?

Well, first, in the aspect of documenting, in 5-10 years, I feel like we should have documented lots of creatives. We should have documented a lot of creative movements and youth culture movements. We hope to have connected artists, and have the connection of this network of artists from across the continent ricocheting in pleasant ways. We want to build a movement where we have concerts and/or music therapy sessions across various countries on the continent and for diaspora Africans. We just want more opportunities for more African artists and talented young people whose arts reflect the quality of our societies and their realities, and whose personas are deserving of these opportunities. 

What are your thoughts about the current Nigerian music scene?

I think that there should be a space for everyone. I am tired of people paying through their noses to achieve things here and then eventually when they achieve these things, the people here don’t get to enjoy their achievements. It is the people in European and Western countries that get to enjoy these benefits. It becomes a symbiotic relationship between African artists and European artists. I know it is good for the capitalist but I don’t think we should approach art in that way. The source should be kept fed, if that makes sense.

Faced with a choice to only listen to one artist for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?

I don’t want to sound corny or crazy, but there’s an artist called SoulBlackSheep. He is superb. He is the only artist that I would listen to repeatedly because he always has new stuff that I can relate to. And there is also a lot of variety in his style. I can listen to his music and it would not feel repetitive.

If music wasn’t a thing, what would you be doing?

I am actually doing a lot of things that are not music related, so if music wasn’t a thing, I think I would still do those things. Like art, painting digitally, writing and my 9-5. But if music wasn’t a thing, and I had the choice to do whatever I liked, I would just be making my art and sipping something somewhere