Adeniyi Adeyemi Adelakun, better known as Niyi, is a British MC and singer from Crouch End North London, known for his flamboyant dress sense[1] and unique mixing style.[2] He is a producer and DJ commonly associated with the East London fashion scene.[3] A picture of him, M.I.A., and Jammer for a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac exhibition hung outside of the Musée de la Mode et du Textilein Paris for a year.[3]
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Niyi moved to London to study at art university Central Saint Martins, where he subsequently dropped out twice.[4]
Said to have inspired "a generation of London fashion designers"[1] , he began his career as a muse for Carri Mundane for her fashion label CassettePlaya in 2005, "until she got another one".[1]
He moved into doing clubs and DJing when he found the clubbing scene "too exclusive [..] it wasnt very inclusive at all".[3] At this point Niyi started promoting illegal warehouse raves, but stopped when his biggest promotion was shut down by the police and 4,500 young people were on the street on New Years Eve.[5] When his mixing style became more well known he had guest slots on BBC Radio 1, XFM, and German On3-radio,[6] and DJed at bigger clubs such as Fabric. Niyi has since stated he now mixes in a more traditional style, but still enjoys "perfectly beat matching surf rock with hardcore-gabba".[6]
Niyi plays the guitar, the trumpet and the clarinet;[4] and began singing and rapping over his own remixes when he moved out of London and started producing music in his parents shed in Chelmsford [*qx]. He has since collaborated with Adamski under the alias of "Adam Sky".[7]
After touring in Europe with Adamski, Niyi performed at his club for Lady Gaga's first UK show, and has since gone on to perform and DJ with Little Boots and the Golden Silvers.[8] He also performed on influential television show TRAXX on ARTE around this time, too.[9]
Niyi's first single "808 Klap" sold out within a week,[8] and he has since tried to release "one or two singles a year, in between touring". He is currently in the studio working on his debut record.[10]
He is also an occasional contributor to the UK's Big Brother's Big Mouth,[11] this is despite him "not owning a television for more than eight years".[9]