Howard University 2026 graduate Folajinmi “Fola” Awofeso is making his mark in the world through the power of sound. 

Awofeso, a Columbia, Maryland native, majored in audio production in the Media, Journalism, and Film department in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications. Many across Howard’s campus knew Awofeso because of his presence behind a turntable, getting crowds on their feet as a resident student DJ who goes by the moniker “DJ FOLABEATS.” He was the in-house DJ for Howard’s Hip Hop Club and the university’s Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business and was frequently tasked with leading the music entertainment at campus events, such as the 2025 Homecoming student fashion show. 

Before his love of music took over, Awofeso was enamored with acting and performed in student films and stage productions with the university’s theatre ensemble, The Howard Players. After his sophomore year, he shifted his creative focus to music when he saw how audiences responded to DJs.

“There was one pageant I went to, and I saw the DJ and everything he was doing was making the crowd rock and move and I said, ‘I really want to do that,’” Awofeso recalled. “After that, I told my parents I wanted to DJ. They bought me a miniature turntable, and I was practicing with it. When I came back to campus after summer break, I was telling everybody I was a DJ.”

Within the span of nearly three years, Awofeso went from making DJ mixes in his dorm room and working small gigs across campus, to being the winner of the 2026 Washington Wizards HBCU Battle of the DJs competition in February. As the competition’s winner, Awofeso had the opportunity to play a DJ set at Capital One Arena, home of the NBA’s Washington Wizards team. He’s also been able to connect with pioneers in the music industry such as legendary hip hop producer 9th Wonder and music engineer Young Guru, who were part of Howard’s third-annual Hip Hop Studies conference in November 2025. 

“I was working alongside them and being a DJ as they were talking about what they had going on,” Awofeso shared. “It was one point where 9th Wonder was trying to show everyone a sample … and we sat together on the DJ board, and I was helping him find the sample. That was a crazy, crazy thing. That was insane.”

An Award-Winning Bison

Beyond DJ’ing, Awofeso used his skills in audio engineering to address pressing societal issues impacting communities around the world. He created a nearly seven-minute audio project, called “The Tango with Technology,” that uncovered the environmental, academic, and societal impacts of generative AI technology. The project was initially an assignment for his audio production class, led by Howard professor Heidi Gerber-Salins. 

“With ‘The Tango with Technology,’ I wanted to talk about the development of AI and how it’s affecting people that look like me,” Awofeso explained. “While we’re seeing all these AI developments, especially across the university, some concerns I had were about things like how much water it takes to run a ChatGPT search, or how these resources are taking from communities. I wanted to encapsulate these things and put it in a project.”

“The Tango with Technology” won an Award of Excellence in the Broadcast Education Association’s 2026 Festival of Media Arts. Awofeso worked with fellow students across academic disciplines to better gauge how Howard students are thinking about and using AI technology. 

“It was wonderful to not only do that research, but to actually do the audio production where I’m doing a voiceover, editing myself, and editing other people,” he said. “I’m grateful that I was event recognized. I was caught off guard. It showed that I was able to strike somebody with what I made.”

As a member of the fifth student cohort of Howard’s Warner Music/Blavatnik Center, Awofeso’s talents and dedication to his craft led to him being a recipient of the center’s Julian Petty Award in April. The award is named after the iconic music executive and Howard alum Julian Petty (BBA ’99), one of the investors of the center.

“My experience at the Warner Music Center has truly been transformative,” Awofeso said when he announced the news of the award on social media. “I’ve learned so much about the business behind entertainment, and I’ve learned even more about what I'm capable of. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this program, and I’m even more grateful that I saw it through to the end.”

After receiving his degree during Howard’s 158th Commencement ceremony, Awofeso said he plans to continue building DJ career while also working on more audio production projects. What he’ll miss most about the university, he said, are the fellow Bison he’s made lifelong connections with.  

“What makes Howard University has always been the people,” he noted. “It’s always been the community of people — that's always been what makes Howard what it is to me. That’s what’s made this experience so special.”