Meet DJ Sydney Love, the female DJ championing Afrobeats in New York

Afrobeats is the Gospel; she is the Evangelist spreading the good news, converting souls to Afrobeats one show at a time, gradually building an audience who will live to cherish the rhythmic sounds stemming from Nigeria and Africa at large. Reminiscing on how her DJ journey began, Sydney recounted, “It started in 2011. I became a DJ because I found pleasure in it. I got my first gig in 2012.”

Becoming a DJ was only a matter of time, in her childhood Sydney enjoyed collecting music, learning lyrics, building her own music catalogue; these factors laid the foundation for who Sydney Love is today.

Sydney Love at AfroNation Puerto Rico '22 Pulse Nigeria

DJ Sydney Love prides herself as the first African female DJ in New York; starting from the Hip-Hop scene in New York City, she has evolved into the shining beacon of Afrobeats in New York providing a suitable environment for Afrobeats to flourish. On the contrary, Afrobeats enjoyed big success and a welcoming audience in the UK, London specifically.

Six years into being a DJ, she took a trip to London; it changed her perspective on Afrobeats and the possibilities. In London, Afrobeats songs were anthems in the clubs and streets; Sydney was motivated and filled with eagerness to replicate what she experienced in London in New York.

The nights in London inspired her to start “Naira Party”, a befitting name that pays homage to the source of the music. In her words, “The first edition of Naira Party exceeded my expectations, it was totally sold out. It was a cultural shock and shift; it was a defining moment for Afrobeats in the United States. Afrobeats is more than just music, it is a cultural movement and I tried to give that experience. At the party we served Nigerian cuisine, there was never any left at the end of the night.”

The success of Naira Party was the beginning of a new dawn in New York, Afrobeats finally had a place to call home in the heart of the city.

Sydney Love Pulse Nigeria

Sydney Love boasts of a robust CV, she toured 9 nights with Tiwa Savage on the Water and Garri North American tour in 2022. Sydney also played at Afrochella in Ghana 2022, Afronation in Puerto Rico in March 2022, AfroPunk in New York September 2022, and Lincoln Center in New York City. Sydney has also opened shows for the likes of Little Simz, Runtown, Aminé, Rotimi, Ari Lennox and Keke Palmer.

“Some of the challenges was getting recognition as a woman; Competing in a male dominated field is not an easy feat. Dealing with the doubt, which is always there, of people thinking women cannot DJ well and I have been proving them wrong. I worked really hard to get here.” Sydney recounts on some of the challenges she has faced. Those challenges have helped her carve a niche which has helped her influence in New York grow massive, inspiring various Afrobeats parties propagating the Afrobeats culture farther around the world.

In 2019 she released a self-produced song titled 'Ma Jo'.

What’s in store for the future? Sydney she plans on spreading the culture of Afrobeats, making music, releasing compilation albums and taking her AfroVibes to the World.