Paul has made the Daily Record '100 Top Scots' list three years in a row... he's hosted five MTV parties, as well as opening Glasgow's first Mobo Awards. He was the first Scot to DJ with Grandmaster Flash, and Jazzy Jeff he's DJ'd at T in the Park several times. So whether it's from events and festivals, or his various radio stints at the BBC or Beat106/XFM, Scotland it's no surprise that the N'jie's address book would make any human being green with envy. Indeed, he's opened up for the best of them - Kanye West at the Edinburgh Fringe, Jazzy Jeff at The Arches, Pharrell, N-Dubz, Rhianna, pussycat dolls... the list goes on!
More of that later, but as ever, we go back to our subject's childhood... and for Paul, like most it's inevitably shaped by his close family and music idols, "Growing up, I listened to Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Stevie wonder; for me they are among some of the best songwriters in the world. In my spare time I enjoy listening to smooth Jazz."
So how did Paul start his career in music? “Twist of fate" he laughs. “I was 17 and working as an apprentice welder. I spent all my spare time working for free for other DJs; I would carry their records, fetch their drinks and even chat the girl's up for them!" It was through watching and spending so much time around other DJ's that Paul learned all he needed to know and his first opportunity came when a family friend and promoter of ‘The Venue' nightclub asked Paul if he wanted to warm up on Saturday nights. “I was only 17, it was Christmas Eve and the DJ had broken his arm and there was no one else but me, so I had to take over. The club was packed and the feedback I received was amazing- it was from that moment that I caught the bug!" His talent was soon recognised by other clubs and he began working in The ‘Mayfair' (now The ‘Garage') and The ‘Penthouse'.
Working his way up the club ladder, Paul's played every club in Scotland - including residencies at Trash, Tunnel and Blanket. In 2000 he began working with Atlantic Records as head of the street team in Scotland for 5 years, “My time at Atlantic was a valuable learning experience for me. I began to understand how to market things on the street and was fortunate enough to meet and look after many a-list artists when they came to Scotland" It was during his time at Atlantic that Paul played an important role in the running and organisation of the Edinburgh MTV Awards in 2003.
With urban music on the rise perhaps it was inevitable that his expertise would be recognised by radio. Like so many Scots DJs he'd got some grounding on student station Sub City, FM8 and spent a year at Radio Scotland working for a magazine based show called ‘ghetto blasting' interviewing a-list urban artists.
"I recognized that Scotland needed its' own urban radio show and I wanted to be the first person to present it,'
"So I used to pressure Beat106, until it was a joke!" he laughs.
However, he was confident that he could persuade the ultra-cautious Beat decision-makers: "If you've got a reputation for being a good DJ with a good following - and I was putting on big events that were selling out - and saying, look, come and see for yourself..."
Finally Beat106 came in January 2003 and Scotland's first national urban radio show was born. In January 2006 Beat 106 changed to XFM Scotland and Paul held onto his Sunday slot interviewing a-list urban artists worldwide until 2008.
But when school's out, what does Paul N'Jie do in his spare time? The answer is, perhaps, inevitable: "Listening to music! I love buying music and chilling out… relaxing..."
So, does urban-style music do the job at home as well as at work? "I'm open-minded," he says. "I can hear a pop record is good for what it is - ok, it might not be what I'm into, but a hit's a hit!"
The other extra-curricular activities aren't too sedentary - swimming, buying clothes, holidays, eating out, and only "sometimes" living off M&S dinners. And anyway, the balance is restored by playing 5-a-sides, and a new pastime, boxing - Muhammad Ali is Paul's hero in that discipline, though it's more a fitness thing, than him having any aspirations for a new career in the ring.
Parties, gigs and raves do require some stamina though especially when he's charged to warm up for an established performer and Paul's got a few big names on the list he's worked with - from Wyclef Jean to Outkast, from D12 to Missy Elliot. And not all rappers by any means - Alicia Keys and Pussycat Dolls are also in the N'Jie address book.
More recently, Paul has fulfilled a couple of very different ambitions.
Well, opening up at the Mobos might have been unexpected, in that the event's move to Scotland in 2009 took many by surprise." It was a big honour for me," Paul recalls. "And great for the city - it'll open up so many doors, not just for Glasgow but for Scotland in general."
Paul's other recent dream gig. The Southport Weekender - better known by aficionados than that more mainstream big bash in Glasgow. "It was a big accolade being asked to DJ at that, not many DJs get asked" enthuses Paul. "It was like winning the Champions League." The big names were all there though - Jazzy B, One Xtra's Ronnie Herel, Steve Sutherland from Galaxy, Norman J, Kenny Dope, Giles Peterson... again, something of a who's who of urban music.
"It covers all bases, from hip hop to funky, disco to soul and jazz," he explains. "I did my set on the Saturday and danced till my feet were sore - I haven't had that feeling that in a long time and haven't felt music the way I did at Southport for a long time. The tunes that were getting dropped - stuff I hadn't heard in years, it took me back to when I was a teenager."
Despite the event's revered status, it's as important a date on the urban calendar now as it ever was.
Oddly enough, Paul's gig at Southport was his first visit to the Weekender. "People would ask if I'd been, and I'd say 'I'll just wait until they ask me to come along and DJ ' - I thought it had passed me by and then it came out of the blue. I was jumping all over the room!"
So with his club diary never busier, you can understand there was no great urgency to get back into radio.
"I didn't think I would go back into radio at all," I had five brilliant years."
So Pulse came out of the blue, via a friend. "I'm quite busy, so didn't know if I had time but he said: "I can't sell it by talking about it, so come see for yourself. I was impressed with the setup, so agreed to do two hours on a Sunday - covering pretty much what I did at XFM Scotland and Beat 106."
Pulse covers the Strathclyde area - so Paul can reach many of his past listeners. But things have changed in the past four years, and crucially, Pulse is available on the web. "That is definitely the future," he enthuses. "People have such busy lives, so a podcast is a good way of catching up, so that could happen on the website too."
So that's the present. What of the future? Where is one of Scotland's longest-serving promoters of urban music headed?
He pauses. "Watch this space!"