For the 2015 freshmen cohort(同届学生群体) of the history degree programme at the University of Lagos, their classmate’s first-semester presentation was so captivating(迷人的，有感染力的) that they began calling him Toby Shang, after the 16th-century Chinese dynasty he had focused on.
对于拉各斯大学历史学专业 2015 级的新生来说，他们同学在第一学期的课堂展示实在太有感染力，以至于大家开始叫他“Toby Shang”——这个名字来自他当时重点研究的中国 16 世纪朝代。
His crowd engagement that day had been harness(利用，驾驭)ed from his high school days as a ginger-man(气氛担当， energiser) (energiser) in a three-man band and as a private tutor. By his final year at university, his viral(病毒式传播的) catchphrases and infectious(有感染力的) energy had resulted in a hit song, Shedibalabala. Today, he is one of the self-acclaimed(自称的) “evangelists and pioneers” in the Afrobeats sub-genre(亚流派) some are now calling Afrohype or lamba.
他那天调动观众的能力，源自高中时代在三人乐队里当“气氛担当”（ginger-man）以及做私人家教的经历。到大学最后一年，他那些病毒式传播的口头禅和极具感染力的能量已经催生出一首热门歌曲《Shedibalabala》。如今，他自称是非洲节拍音乐某个亚流派的“传道者和先驱”——这个亚流派现在被一些人称为 Afrohype 或 lamba。
“Even my mother calls me Shang now,” the 32-year-old, born Tobi Michael Adeyeye, said in an interview near the university’s lagoon(泻湖) waterfront, where he once emcee(主持，司仪)d gatherings.
“现在连我妈妈都叫我 Shang，”这位 32 岁、本名 Tobi Michael Adeyeye 的男士在拉各斯大学泻湖滨水区附近接受采访时说。他曾经在那里主持过聚会。