Okey Osman
5th June 2022
Workshop, African drum dance performance. Safari nites message of the festival.
music, dance
Safari Nites – DJ GreenEyedLion
Born into a family of artists, curators and musicians so has been cultivating beats from early childhood. GreenEyedLion a.k.a Osman Okey brings elements of all his travels around the world (Nigeria, Turkey, U.K., New Zealand, Brazil and Canada) to his music and mixes. This includes percussion. His Safari Nites events also promote these genre (Afrobeat, Amapiano, Dancehall, Reggae, Reggaeton , DnB – Ragga-Jungle) of music. Originally from Nigeria. Studied and lived in Turkey where he commuted to and from the U.K. on school holidays visiting the SOHO and East London clubs. These commutes led to his immersion in the punk rock and DnB culture (appearing as DJ blacKIWI for Ragga Jungle sets – DnB). He moved to New Zealand after obtaining a BSc in Computer Engineering. In 2003, while in New Zealand, he saw an opportunity based on the lack of African or World music in the downtown clubs and created the SAHARA NIGHTS series at a Cuban club called Descarga Cubana on the busy Karangahape Road, Auckland. He then emigrated to Canada in 2006 where he initially focused on elevating West African percussion, in order to align with the birth of his newest offspring – SAFARI NITES – series which began on May 23 2019. This included AFRO-CENTRIC art (Masks and other artifacts) and music to match the mood. Osman has also assisted and collaborated with several master drummers here in Toronto such as Amara Kante, Amadou Kienou and Mohammed Djarby. To further diversify his musical portfolio, he drew from all the cultures he has been in contact with in over 20 years and formed MoptiDrums. MoptiDrums provides the following services: Beginner and Intermediate drum lessons, hospital and senior homes drum circles, weddings, naming ceremonies, company team building exercises, festivals etc. MoptiDrums is a subsidiary of OZOM-INC also founded by Osman
You can expect to dance your feet off as the GreenEyedLion takes you on a mesmerizing journey through Africa, the middle east, Europe and beyond with a sprinkle of HOUSE MUSIC here and there!!
Instagram: @safarinites FB: @okeyosman IG: @greeeyedlionos, @safarinites
