Adeola Adeyemo
There are very few people on the Nigerian entertainment scene who are as daring and as different as Denrele Edun. The Channel O TV presenter is well known for his unique style and outgoing personality. He started his career on TV at the age of 11 presenting a children’s show, Kiddie Vision 101 on NTA. Thereafter, he delved into modeling as an undergraduate and joined Sound City as a TV presenter soon after graduating. During his five year stint with the music channel, he established himself as an eccentric and humorous presenter who is also very spontaneous. He joined Channel O in 2011 and has continued to build an impressive career reputation. He is also a well-sought event host. In this exclusive interview with Bellanaija’s Adeola Adeyemo, the English Education graduate of the University of Lagos talks about his personality, his style, his career, his family and much more!
If you are moody, and not ready to be playful, then you certainly can’t be around Denrele. I had assumed his spontaneity and playfulness was just for show, part of the “Denrele” brand but I was to realise that on and off camera, he was just being himself. It was hard to keep a straight face around him. He was friendly, playful I had a good laugh chatting with him.
Denrele, I’ve spent a while observing you and I realize your personality at home is not any different from what I see on camera. You’re just as lively as ever. What can you attribute your personality to?
I’m just a regular guy. I don’t take myself seriously. I’m fun, I’m lively, I’m vivacious, I’m all over the place. I wake up every morning and the first thing I do is scream. Sincerely, I’ve always been like this and I live each moment like it’s the last one. With me, what you see is what you get.
Why do you scream when you wake up every morning?
I don’t know, I just like it. I do it wherever I am; in any state, in any country. I just like looking for trouble really, especially in the middle of the night.
The “Denrele” brand
Let’s talk about your brand. Tell me about your journey into the limelight from the very beginning.
My first shot at fame was when I was really young, just a year old. I was born in Hamburg, Germany. My Dad took me for a photoshoot because I looked very exotic (I wish I was still as fine as I was then. Now I look like horror film). Some days after, he saw the same pictures of me with a baby milk product all over the place and went back to the photographer. He didn’t know he was supposed to get paid but all they gave him was a hundred cartons of milk. We came back to Nigeria later and I fell in love with music as a young boy. I always thought I was going to be an artiste. My dad had stacks of albums of artistes like Bonny M and Abba. Looking at all those album art covers, I got influenced and started to style my hair to school.
Have you been growing your hair since you were a kid?
Yes. It used to be so curly and wavy. I liked to experiment with fashion; I put a lot of stickers on my school bag, had an extra heel under my school shoes. I was in SS1 when I got my first real presence on TV at Kidivision 101. It was when I got into UNILAG that I went bunkers.
Read the rest of this interview on BellaNaija
