BIGSONG:
Known for his gutsy, genre-blending mixes and strong visual aesthetic — he not only dons his trademark cap, but has branded his style TheCAP, standing for The CrazyAzzParty — DJ Spinall is an internationally known Nigerian DJ and producer. Also known as Top Boy, Spinall had numerous mixtapes and collaborations to his name by the time he released his star-studded 2015 debut album My Story. Breakout singles like “Oluwa” and “Ohema” established his power as a hitmaker and he proceeded to release a series of increasingly popular albums on his label TheCAP Music, while bolstering his credits by producing big hits for Kizz Daniel, Wizkid, Mayorkun, and Davido. Mixing electronic house music, R&B, hip-hop, and Afro-beat, Spinall became somewhat of a global ambassador — he was the first African DJ to play Texas’ SXSW Festival — doing major tours of North America and Europe. With numerous Nigerian and African awards under his belt, he continued to grow globally by signing a major-label deal with Atlantic Records UK.
Born Sodamola Oluseye Desmond in Lagos, he adopted the name Spinall in 2003 to indicate his musical diversity and spin records from all genres. After earning an electrical and electronics engineering degree, he began to focus on his career as a DJ, first working at a radio station, then moving into nightclubs. With countless gigs and a number of mixtapes to his credit, his reputation preceded him as he signed to the Mavin label in 2013, where he acted as the official DJ to singer Wande Coal. Honoring his heritage, he became known for wearing brightly patterned caps and soon coined both his headwear and creative aesthetic “TheCAP,” a name he also used for the label/management firm he founded in 2014. Riding the momentum from his Burna Boy-assisted hit “Gbe Gba E,” Spinall released his first album, My Story, in 2015, featuring guests like 2Baba, Olamide, and Timaya. That year he also earned the distinction of being the first African DJ to play a set at SXSW as part of a multi-date U.S. tour. His follow-up album, Ten, arrived a year later and again featured big names like Mr. Eazi and Davido. Averaging an album per year, he released Dreams in 2017 and Iyanu in 2018 — the latter featuring the major hit “Nowo” — while continuing to expand his fan base globally with appearances at the BET Awards in Los Angeles and later playing a set at England’s famed Glastonbury Festival. Around this time, Spinall signed U.K. deals with Atlantic Records and Warner Chappell Publishing and became a brand ambassador DJ for Pepsi. In 2019 he released a handful of collaborations including “Dis Love” with Wizkid and Tiwa Savage.
