So Apple Beats 1 launched and there was a big old hoo-ha about Zane Lowe’s debut. Less hyped but definitely worth investigating was the woman representing LDN, ex-Rinse FM DJ Julie Adenuga. For the uninitiated, Adenuga is the sister of JME and Skepta, who has just got her massive break as one of the station’s three lead presenters, along with Lowe and New Yorker Ebro Darden. Previously known as Rinse FM’s teatime tastemaker, and the woman who started the petition to have a statue of Wiley erected in East London, Adenuga is a gem. She is, as she keeps reminding her listeners, broadcasting to 100 countries, but she might as well be putting the kettle on while you listen to her favourite songs in her front room.
Day two in the job finds her opening the show with We Run The Block from Croydon’s Bonkaz and setting out her stall with the distinctly East London Dem Man Der’s E45. Sample lyric: “Your face is dry, you need some E45.” It’s the sort of song that makes you wonder what the hell American listeners with their fancy EDM ways must be thinking. “Moisturise!” she shouts, over the vocal.
“It’s gonna be absolutely crazy today,” she says, breathlessly. If the idea of a bellowing DJ giving Pharrell’s Freedom a corporate hammering doesn’t appeal, then Adenuga’s natural yet evangelical style will.
Hers is not a one-pace show and there’s a welcome bit of chaos when Manchester collective Levelz pop in for a studio invasion and attempt to explain the appeal of their home town. “It’s a rainy place and you’ll have the most amazing time of your life there,” they offer, narrowly remembering not to swear. Elsewhere, she promises “7am drum’n’bass party” vibes without sounding contrived, nudges Lianne La Havas for gossip about her love life and has a giggle with Jamal Edwards.
Adenuga is easy to like and her playlist, from Royal Blood’s Little Monster to David Zowie’s House Every Weekend, offers listeners plenty of reasons to poke Apple’s new heart icon. Cool, funny and knowledgable without being try-hard, she’s the ideal ambassador for the UK music scene.
