David Esekhile, london. his father is nigerian, his mother is irish, and they met at a cinema in the city he still works out of. he sent a demo to Leftwing : Kody, who signed it on the spot, and the four-track "Pilot" ep landed on Lost Records in february 2014.

You can create an imaginary world if you become an artist: that's why I chose to make music as PAWSA, not David Esekhile.

dj mag, undated

a year later he co-founded Solid Grooves Records with Michael Bibi, two names up this page. dj mag gave it best label at the best of british awards in 2023. PAWZ came in 2017 for the records that did not fit, and he co-runs GOLFOS TRAXX with Dennis Cruz.

2024 is when the numbers went strange. "PICK UP THE PHONE" with Nate Dogg, then "TOO COOL TO BE CARELESS", both on his own PAWZ. his rework of "Dirty Cash (Money Talks)" now sits past 257 million plays on spotify.

For me, a label is about curation and creating a home for work that fits a certain standard and a certain identity. A label should feel like a language, not just a release schedule.

nylon, 9 april 2026

august 2025 he took over gunnersbury park for a full day and called it pawsa in the park, his biggest uk show at the time. he entered the dj mag top 100 at 69 that october, his first time on it. february 2026 he headlined alexandra palace. he took pawsa in the park to amsterdam in july.