In BBC’s A Richer World season, we will see BBC Radio 1Xtra’s DJ Edu (pictured below) travel across Africa, in search of the hottest places to have fun in The Best Nightclub in Africa. His quest started in Morocco and ended in South Africa, passing through Kenya and Botswana.
“The BBC was looking into how Africans are getting richer and poverty is getting lower and lower. So it was decided that the best way to find out to what extent this is true, is to look at how people spend their disposable income. The night life is a good place to start. There you get to see the culture and what the political situation is like,” explained Edu.
His experiences are more than just witnessing people having fun, they also give him a chance to explore the socio, economic and political situations in any given location.
“Ten years ago I was in South Africa and we could not go to Maboneng as it was a no-go area after dark and when we went to Soweto, we went with a guide. Luckily, at that time I knew the rapper Prokid and he took us to Soweto, but by sunset we had to leave. Yet the other day we partied until 2am in both places so I find it fascinating that places change according to the socio-economic patterns. When there is less and less poverty, crime also decreases,” said Edu.
Reflecting on his latest South African visit, Edu was impressed by what Joburg had to offer. He remembers the names of all the places he went to and what he and his team got up to.
“We went to the rooftop party in Maboneng. Then we went to a pool party in the same area. There was a place on Vilakazi Street that we visited as well, where we were allowed to take in our alcohol and paid R50 to get in. Then we went to Braamfontein where we explored the club scene there,” he said.
If you are big on clubbing in Gauteng you might be surprised that he did not go to other areas you frequent.
“We were trying to avoid those rich clubs where ‘real’ people don’t go. It’s not the club with the best sound that we were looking for. We were looking for the place with the best vibe. We were interested in ordinary people drinking beer, not popping champagne. We were not looking for music video kind of clubs, just genuine hang-out spots,” he explained.
Of all choices that the BBC could have gone with, DJ Edu was probably the best because not only is he an African (born and raised in Kenya), his job with the broadcaster is to promote African music.
“I do an African music show, Destination Africa. It showcases what is great musically on the continent. So we play songs like K.O’s Caracara or Black Motion’s Rainbow and the people in the UK love it. The TV show now complements the music that they already love,” he said.
• BBC World News (DStv channel 400) on Saturday at 5.30pm and Sunday at 11.30am.