DJ Timi’s ‘Trip To Wales, Vol. 1’ opens up with ‘Croeso,’ the Welsh word for welcome. It is an appropriate opening salvo for a project from an Abuja-born DJ who has spent the last few years building a life and career in Wales. Still, the song does not so much sound like a formal introduction to Wales. Instead, it feels like DJ Timi opening the door to his world and letting listeners in.
The four-track extended play brings together Afrobeats, Amapiano and Afrohouse, with DJ Timi collaborating with artists based in Wales and Nigerian artists based in the European country. It was co-produced by Abuja-based producers Sickxonds and KG, who also mixed and mastered the project.
For DJ Timi, the project is about more than putting out four songs. He wanted to create something that could bring different musical backgrounds into the same space. “I worked on this to show other artists that they can work with different sounds and cultures,” he explains.
‘Croeso’ immediately sets the tone. DJ Timi is optimistic about what his time in Wales could bring, and there is a clear desire to introduce the Nigerian energy he carries with him to a new audience. Culz Wave joins him on the track, while Culz Wave samples Ramz’s ‘Barking,’ bringing in the familiar “I’ma link my thing from Barking” line.
It is a small detail, but it imbues the song with a strong sense of place. At once, you can hear where they came from and where he is now in the same record. He describes the song as “me welcoming whoever is listening to my world,” which makes its position as the opening track feel earned.
Then comes “Run” with Lucy Borja, and this is where the EP really starts to feel like something built for a DJ.
It is a hype track, driven by repetition and the kind of phrases that are easy to pick up when you are hearing them in a crowd. “There is no need to run” keeps coming back until it sticks, while Nigerian hype staples like “ololololo,” “alalala”, and “can you feel itttt, yebooo” give the song verve. DJ Timi wanted the track to be “cool and easy to sing and vibe to,” and that intention comes through.
He keeps the chorus simple enough to remember while allowing the production to carry the energy. Lucy Borja’s presence also fits into what DJ Timi wanted from the project, which was for Welsh-based artists to step outside their comfort zones and experiment with sounds they might not usually make.
‘Mamacita’ follows with Nelly Nonso and Big Clint, two Nigerian artists based in Wales. DJ Timi says that because of the way the beat was produced. “It needed some Nigerian sauce and vibe on it,” he shares. The collaboration delivers exactly that, delivering a more familiar Nigerian texture and giving the EP another point of connection between the artists involved. The final track, ‘Fun,’ features Anwar Siziba, Seraphyre and Culz Wave. DJ Timi calls it the summer track of the EP, and its intentions are clear from the chorus: “I just wanna have fun tonight.” It is made for an easy singalong, and after the movement of the previous three tracks, it gives the project a simple, upbeat finish.
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Across the four tracks, DJ Timi is not trying to make the listener forget that he is Nigerian. If anything, he leans into it. His idea was to show that artists can work with different sounds and cultures, and the EP becomes a practical example of that. Welsh-based artists appear across the project, while Nigerian artists living in Wales also get space to contribute.
That approach makes sense when placed alongside DJ Timi’s own story. Born Timothy Adekunle in Abuja, he had a relationship with music long before he began calling himself a DJ. He grew up interested in drumming, singing and dancing, and eventually became curious about DJing after watching a senior student perform at school programmes.
The student became something of a school father to him, and when he eventually left, Timothy took over the decks. By 2019, he had secured his first paid DJ booking at an event in Garki, Abuja. A few years later, another unexpected opportunity would become an important moment in his career. At the 2022 Festival of Lights in Abuja, after initially performing on the first day of the two-day event, he returned the following day and was given the chance to DJ for Blaqbonez. He played to an audience estimated at between 700 and 1,000 people.
His move to Wales came through his education. After studying Building Technology at Covenant University, he enrolled in an MSc in Construction Project Management at the University of South Wales. He worked at McDonald’s after moving to the UK and gradually built his DJ career alongside his life there.
Since then, he has performed at the O2 Indigo Arena in London for the Black Welsh Music Awards and the Swansea Arena in front of about 2,000 people. He has worked with Race Council Cymru, Black History Wales, the Black Welsh Music Awards and OTID Entertainments, and has also appeared on ITV UK in connection with the Black History Wales 365 Swansea launch. In 2025, he was nominated for DJ of the Year at the KLAT Awards.
All of that experience sits quietly behind ‘Trip To Wales, Vol. 1.’ You can hear the music enthusiast in the way the project is structured. There is a sense of movement from “Croeso” into the more energetic “Run,” then into the Nigerian-led “Mamacita” before “Fun” rounds things off. Nothing feels unnecessarily complicated. The songs know what they want to be. The EP also feels personal because Wales is not being presented as some distant destination. It is where DJ Timi currently lives, works and performs.
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DJ Timi brought in producers from Abuja while collaborating with artists based in Wales, creating the kind of synergy he says he wants more artists to explore. “I had Welsh-based artists on each track, stepping out of their comfort zone to come and try something new,” he explains. That may be the most important thing about the project. DJ Timi is not only documenting his own move to Wales. He is also testing what can happen when the music he knows meets the people and sounds around him.
‘Trip To Wales, Vol. 1’ feels like the beginning of that experiment. DJ Timi plans to release more singles, collaborate with international artists and eventually establish a DJ academy in Wales. For now, he has made a project that gives listeners a clear idea of where he is, what he sounds like and what he wants to explore next.