Kizz Daniel is returning to his more pleasant mood. After infecting the entire music industry with the slut-shaming bug from his “Fvck You” single which saw almost every Nigerian musician penning hateful lyrics about their ex-lovers in a #FvckYouChallenge, his latest release is a raunchy celebration of black beauty through the music video for “Poko”, off his ‘No Bad Songz’ album.
MOG produced the catchy beat for Kizz Daniel’s raunchy dancefloor fueled lyrics on “Poko”, singing “Whine Poko, Go Down, Poko”. It’s the sort of bop you’d expect to hear in a club and Clearance Peters directs the video with similar intentions. The music video adds a sophisticated twist to the conventional dancefloor themed music videos as Kizz Daniel is seen singing charming lyrics to a love interest who is also portrayed as an exotic dancer, performing in a dimly lit room. With the sexy dancing and teasing lighting, Kizz Daniel’s pupils become blackened with intoxication.
You can watch the raunchy music video for “Poko” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/KizzDanielVEVO
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Jubilant songs inspired by botched love can be very catchy, but as “Nobody”, the new collaboration from Kwesi Arthur and Mr Eazi shows, songs wallowing in the despair of heartbreak can be just as moving. Ghanaian, Ground Up Chale singer, Kwesi Arthur, just teamed up with Mr Eazi for the new single which is expected to feature on his anticipated ‘Live From Nkrumah 2’ project.
Over the laid back beat Mog Beatz produces, blending mid-tempo drum riffs, ambient synths, flute harmonies and percussion, Kwesi Arthur and Mr Eazi reminisce about the fun times they had with their ex. Though the love has gone sour, they both swear they will never be able to love anyone else and seem unprepared to move on; “If e be Joke Girl Tell Me Say You Just Dey Play/ I Don’t Want To Live a Day Without You/ If e be Sey I Do Somethings, I Just Go Change”. The beat mirrors their heartwrenching vocal performance, infusing a bone-chilling flute harmony to match the breathless melody they sing with as though they are wailing.
The music video Yaw Skyface directs for “Nobody” shows Kwesi Arthur and Mr Eazi’s as they quarrel with their love interests at a fast food place. Though Kwesi Arthur seems to make up with his lover after an emotional performance in the rain, Mr Eazi has no such luck. Mr Eazi’s collaboration is the first from the coming project which is also expected to feature other African artists like Nasty C, Shatta Wale, Santi and Sarkodie.
Watch the music video for “Nobody” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/GROUND UP CHALE
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There are no real ways to gauge how much traditional African music has influenced contemporary pop music. Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, Country and Blues all have African routes, with music historians tracing many of these music forms across the Atlantic to countries in West and Southern Africa. To understand how colonialism and its attendant capitalism would transform Nigerian music requires an understanding of music before it was possible to commercialize and mass produce talent.
Music is an integral part of cultural life in Africa. In countries like Mali and Senegal, Chad and Niger, music and poetry served as the primary method of documenting and preserving history. A special social caste called the Griots served as generational historians, the families in this caste assigned with the task of learning, memorizing and upholding these oral histories and given pride of place in their communities.
In Nigeria, music served a similar function, with cultures like the Yoruba and the Bini preserving oral histories of individuals through complex poetic songs called ‘Oriki’. Oriki’s are either created by an individual’s mother or family matriarch and in richer families learned by the family’s informal biographer. Other designated court musicians include the ‘Alaga’, a specific subculture of praise singers and documentarians comprised almost entirely of women and restricted to important family functions like traditional wedding engagements, funerals and births. The practice of Oriki and its variants endures to today, largely untouched by Western influence. But not all of the traditional Nigerian music has been so insulated.
Before the industrial revolution would democratise music education and commercialise the process of creating and distributing music, musicians were considered as an elite group of professionals whose work was largely ‘artisanal’. Artisanal crafts required decades of practice to master and often age restrictions were placed on apprentices before they were allowed to formally practice the profession. Artisanal crafts required long apprenticeships, periods during which it was near impossible to engage in the traditional labour that ensured individuals and their families had their basic needs met. A direct consequence of this was that music was often a family profession, with skills and trade secrets passed down from parent to child, and closely guarded from competing families.
It also meant that musical families, like other artisanal families, depended on a complex patronage system to free them to pursue excellence in their craft. Musical families were either permanently affiliated to a wealthy patron like the Yoruba royal families, or swore fealty to a religious deity whose worshippers were then obligated to ensure that the musicians were cared for (Lindon, 1990). Other forms of professional musicianship included traveling musicians who worked traditional jobs but also had seasonal periods predicated by a commission based system where they performed during major festivals like the New Yam Festival or during the precolonial wrestling matches that were legendary in Eastern Nigeria.
Some music was purely class-driven and was taught to adherents through secret societies like the Ogboni Cult of Western Nigeria and Nze Na Ozo of Southern Nigeria.
Traditional instruments like the Ngene, the Gangan (talking drum), the gourd rattle, and the Kalangu (Hausa variant of the talking drum), and the Kontigi (a string lute popularized by Nigerian griot Dan Maraya Jos) were hallmarks of this form of music and required mastery before a musician could distinguish themselves. The instrument became as much a part of the brands of these popular pre-colonial musicians as their music, and their trademarks became their extensive instrumental solos.
The patronage system of music meant mastery of the instrumental and vocal style and encyclopaedic recollection of the histories of the patrons was prioritized over having a large catalog of music. Music was also performed at the behest of the patrons, and the musicians themselves had little control over their own intellectual property. Patrons also often sponsored the purchase of expensive musical equipment (a problem that would become very prominent in the ’70s at the height of the Afro Rock revolution) and retained ownership of the equipment, limiting the ability of musicians under their patronage to make truly expansive music.
The introduction of external influence on Nigerian music began long before the British invasion and what we term as ‘colonialism’. The first invasions happened in Northern Nigeria during the religious Jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio in the early 1800’s. Motivated by political and religious reasons, the Jihad saw Fulani clerics and their mercenary armies take over most of Northern Nigeria and establish the Sokoto Caliphate, ruled under strict Islamic law. Islam forbids debauchery and ritual celebrations involving music and as such much of the cultural musical celebrations that existed before the Jihad were either suppressed or completely eradicated, with the new Muslim elite preaching religious piety and the embrace of the Qu’ran as the only acceptable public demonstrations of personal expressions.
The vibrant music and culture that had characterized the Hausa dominated North were suppressed by the colonization efforts undergone by Dan Fodio and Islamic learning replaced the celebration of the indigenous cultures. This suppression would eventually lead to the erasure of much of the Indigenous music and culture in Northern Nigeria. Though the jihadists were thorough, even they were unable to reach all the indigenous ethnic groups. The Nupe and Kanuri preserved their indigenous cultural rituals and music stylings to this day, as did the Gbagyi and Anka communities of Kaduna and Bauchi.
Others were adopted into the version of Islam that was practised in the new Sokoto Caliphate, like the praise singing griots who were an import from the predominantly Muslim Malian empire and sang for patronage from the political courts. There were also religious offshoots that were impossible to eradicate, like the Dan Daudu communities, which comprises of trans and non-binary individuals who identify as adherents of Bori, the syncretized worship of a gambling trickster god that has been subsumed into Islam. Bori culture closely mirrors modern Pentecostalism for its use of high octane music as a vehicle for inciting religious fervour, its practice of exorcisms and its belief in the power of spirits to possess individuals. These pockets of culture bridged the chasm between our existing musical heritage and the deluge of Western influence that would follow.
The Islamic Jihad and the eventual Christian invasion, first by missionaries and then by capitalists were successful because both were able to champion a widespread adoption of religious iconography. And the most prominent aspects of Islamic and Christian religious imagery were its ‘hymnodies’. While Qu’ranic recitations stayed largely true to the source material and only allowed adaptations of the musical scale and melodic choices, early Christian hymns either translated existing European music into local languages or created new hymns to reflect the unique cultural references of the cultures these religions were introduced to. Variants of these hymns exist today. Religious hymns provided the perfect melting pot for indigenous cultures to engage and incorporate Western musical influences into their existing framework, and would provide the foundational material for the popular and secular music that would follow.
Through the practice of hymnodies, missionaries and their new converts are able to study the unique music systems on each side of the divide and create a hybrid that used contemporary instruments but preserved the musical structures of the existing systems. The musical genre High-Life is a stellar example of how the electric and lead guitars and the stationary drumset can integrate into and transform traditional musical forms.
Many factors would create a market for popular music. There was, of course, the agitations for national sovereignty, a movement that was driven by activists, politicians, and musicians. Codifying activism into music was an easy way to reach mass audiences and considering Nigeria’s long-held practice of oral histories, it wasn’t a stretch for musicians to immortalize themselves in this way and for politicians to create solidarity through ditties and jingles.
Then there was the first and second generation of new Nigerian elites. Educated in Europe and the Americas, many chosen at random by the Western missionaries and administrators for their intelligence or curiosity, the return of these elites upended much of the existing social strata and created a new class of repartees not content with their former status and not accepted by the existing elite. They were eager to find spaces that allowed them to socialize without expectations but incorporated the high energy dance and music that was beginning to spread across Europe and America. This new class created the demand for secular entertainment venues. Music clubs, lounges, and bars would serve as performances spaces for many former church musicians looking for commercially viable avenues for self-expression and for many talented musicians hamstrung by the politics of traditional music hierarchies. The religious to secular music pipeline exists till today, largely unchanged except for the musical genres in demand.
The events leading to independence and the Independence itself would create a very specific environment for an explosion of Nigerian popular music and define many of the contemporary genres of music Nigeria would produce in the next two decades.
La Meme Gang’s latest single, “This Year” is the Ghanaian hip-wave group’s first single this year following the music video for “Kemor Ame”, off their ‘Linksters’ EP. “This Year” is a celebratory single, produced by MOG Beatz to a groovy baseline that compliments the elated performance from Kuami Eugene, Darkovibes, $pacely, and RJZ.
Over the mid-tempo mix of percussion, synth harmonies, horns and a catchy drum riff, Kuami Eugene sings a chorus making prophetic declarations about the motif for the year; “This Year, e Go Be My Year/This Year, Chale We All No Go Fear/ This Year, We Dey Come for You/ Anywhere the Party Dey we Must Come too”. His optimistic sentiments are echoed in the verses taken by the La Meme Gang members; Darkovibes, $pacely, and RJZ, who perform in a mix of English, pidgin and a native Twi language.
You can stream La Meme Gang’s “This Year” featuring Kuami Eugene below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/lamemegram
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BOJ’s new single, “Awolowo”, is produced by GMK who mixes ambient synth percussion with a catchy drum riff for fans ready to rock steamy dancefloors. With the sultry beat serving as the song’s backdrop, BOJ writes a laid back hook, soaked in confidence inspired by the wealthy lifestyle and the talent he has on the song with him.
“Awolowo” features three verses taken by three of the most exciting new acts from Ghana; Kwesi Arthur, Darkovibes and Joey B. Their vulnerable and cutting lyrics on how wealth complicates their romantic relationships aren’t what you’d expect from such a pop-forward song, but the catchy hook and their smooth flow over the mid-tempo beat make for a refined song that fits in club DJ sets and heartbreak playlists. Lines like, “She Said You Niggas Got Money But I Guess You No Fit Buy Taste/ I Don’t Need Nobody Else’s Validation”, cut to the heart of how spiteful lovers always seem to know the right insecurity triggers to mess with the self-image of even the most confident people.
You can listen to BOJ’s “Awolowo” featuring Kwesi Arthur, Darkovibes and Joey B below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/bojonthemicrophone
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The subtle ways our lives have changed for the better since the spread of mobile technology may be hard to miss, but there are also even more peculiar differences to how we interact with the lives of the rich and famous. The wall between celebrities and the audience has been virtually broken down, these days, conversations on separating the art from the artist have grown more prominent as a result of the naturedly human tendency of public figures to be problematic.
Last week, British-Nigerian rapper, Naira Marley surprised everyone with a caption with the words: “If U Know About Slavery You Go Know Say Yahoo No B Crime” on his Instagram. This picture quickly went viral spurring instant backlash, reprimanding his support for cybercrime. While his Instagram page is no court jury and anyone caught committing internet fraud will serve their time jail, once again, it also showed how polarised the country is about the dangers of internet fraud.
Music releases referencing the underground cybercrime culture have a long history in Afropop. In 2007, Olu Maintain released his hit single, “Yahooze”, a controversial single, he explained was a tribute to the Monday to Friday worker-bees. Before Naira Marley’s recent incursion became a headline, the biggest debate around the dangers of Yahoo-Yahoo started after Falz allegedly took shots at artists who celebrate known cyber-fraudsters. At the time, 9ice was pushing “Living Things”, a track where the veteran runs through a list of popular names allegedly suspected of cybercrime.
Although Naira Marley himself has denied being involved in cybercrime, he seems bent on holding on to his belief that ‘Yahoo’ isn’t a crime. For a lot of his supporters, the gritty reality on the streets is often given as an excuse to get rich by any means necessary and artists like SamKlef have even argued that the poor quality of government in the country should be blamed for the crimes. It’s a sentiment similar to Naira Marley’s argument that stealing is justified by slavery. But a life of crime can’t be rationalized and those who attempt to do so are only encouraging bandits. In line with those who believe the whole thing to be a publicity stunt to build hype for a new release, the singer released his reply to media critics in a snippet he shared on his Instagram. The snippet finds him comparing the backlash he has gotten to the oppression Fela, Mandela, and MKO Abiola faced while they were alive.
His conviction is even more troubling than flat earth believers and now fans are faced with the tough decision to keep listening to a cybercrime defender or remove his songs from their playlists. And that’s where the internet has come through for modern society. Consumers have the power to determine who they listen to and can have a direct effect on the banks of artists who hold opinions they don’t agree with.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/nairamarley
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Johnny Drille fans still haven’t gotten that debut project to earmark their territory in the Nigerian music space, but the singer has certainly kept up a steady stream of releases lately. After sharing “Forever” and a music video for “Shine”, “Finding Efe” is the Mavin artist’s third single for the year and it finds him returning to his tortured romantic sentiments, penning a touching song that mourns the loss of his lover.
A piano-led beat serves as a soothing drop for his heartfelt lyrics addressed to a lover who he can no longer reach. Just like his lyrics, “Even Though We’re Worlds Apart, I Wonder Dear Where You Are”, the music video for “Finding Efe” shows Johnny Drille’s inability to move on from the relationship as we watch him embark on a quest to find the song’s muse. Timmy Davies directs the video following Johnny Drille’s search across the country, armed with a photographer which he shows everyone he meets.
You can watch the music video for “Finding Efe” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/MavinRecords
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This year, Nigeria will celebrate 20 years of return to democracy. This is a landmark achievement for any African democracy, but when the 9th assembly is inaugurated on June 12th—Nigeria’s newly established Democracy Day—there will be fewer women who will sit in the green and red chambers to make critical decisions about inclusion, budgeting for gender issues and participation.
The exclusion of women has long been a crux of the Nigerian electoral process. These days it’s getting harder to tell if anything is actually changing. At the recently concluded general elections, only sixty-two of 2970 women who ran for various offices will be sworn into office to legislate for the nationwide population of 190 million people. This number represents only 3.8% of all the positions in the country, from the office of the President to the Vice, the Members of the National Assembly and the Members of various State Houses of Assembly. In 2015, it was 6.5%.
Younger women under-4o were even more marginalised by the last election. Despite the clamour for younger candidates and fresher political voices at the last election, there are only nine women of the 260 total number of elected candidates under-40, and only two of them are thirty-five years or younger.
Last week, YIAGA AFRICA, a youth non-profit focused on upholding human rights and democracy, brought together a cohort of 20 young female candidates who lost the 2019 elections for a reflection meeting on the challenges they faced and the way forward. The sit-down held at the Center for Legislative Engagement (CLE), where these courageous women, some of whom were understandably still shaken about their loses, discussed their experience during the general elections. The discourse turned out to become a safe space for the women to give context for their candidacy, and share their post-election feelings.
“There are about 10 states in Nigeria with no single female legislator, so how do you plan to legislate for women in the state,” Chioma Agwuegbo, founder of TechHer and Strategy Team Member of the Not Too Young To Run Movement, stated. “In Ondo state, there is only one female legislator amongst 26 in the state that will be sworn into office, which means her voice will most likely be drowned out.”
Alongside Agwuegbo, other leaders of the Not Too Young To Run Movement: Yetunde Bakare, Maryam Laushi, Bella Anne Ndubuisi and Cynthia Mbamalu, the Programs Manager of YIAGA AFRICA, presided over the townhall meeting. The speakers took great effort to ensure the women spoke very frankly about the experiences from their different constituencies, states, polling units and parties, beyond the observer reports and statements by political analysts.
“The whole concept of democracy is incomplete if there is no representation of the different segments or sectors of the society. And that includes ensuring that each time we talk of gender in politics, we are not looking at it as a male-dominated affair but a space, represented by both men and women, which is a true reflection of the society,” Lawyer and activist, Cynthia Mbamalu said. “You cannot talk about nation building itself without talking about the women; we make up part of the population. Statistics show we make up about 49% of Nigeria’s population. We need to sit back and reflect on how we experienced the elections. What challenges did we face and how can we address these challenges going forward?” She queued the female candidates to throw more light.
Once a person has been marginalised and discredited, silence becomes a likely option. YIAGA Africa told The NATIVE, they witnessed an initial reluctance from speakers who repeatedly asked the organisation, “the question is what is our protection after we tell our story, what is our protection after now?”
Rwanda just recently beat its record of 64% to 68% of women in politics because they saw the great change it made for their country. In Namibia, the classification of women in parliament is 48%. In South Africa, it is 42.4%; Senegal, 41.8%; and Ethiopia, 30.3%. In Nigeria, the number of women in parliament will drop from the 6.5% that it has been in the 8th Assembly, to 3.8% in the 9th Assembly, commencing in June.
It took the promise of identity protection and the option for anonymity off the record, for some of the women to start feeling comfortable about speaking up. TechHer founder, Chioma Agwuegbo broke the ice by telling the women to communicate their experiences in one idea. The choice of words that flew around the room, included an odd but predictable register of anguish and disappointment. “Tough, fraudulent, horrible, no respect for gender, an election replica, not credible, quite an experience, vote buying: highest bidder wins, money laundering, and, a market place.” The women echoed.
The participation of women is beyond a basic political issue; it is also the subject of community agreement. Nigeria has notably failed to learn from other countries on the African continent in this regard. Rwanda just recently beat its record of 64% to 68% of women in politics because they saw the great change it made for their country. In Namibia, the classification of women in parliament is 48%. In South Africa, it is 42.4%; Senegal, 41.8%; and Ethiopia, 30.3%. In Nigeria, the number of women in parliament will drop from the 6.5% that it has been in the 8th Assembly, to 3.8% in the 9th Assembly, commencing in June. “So technically it’s like we are hustling backwards. One step forward, 20 steps backwards,” Agwuegbo emphasized.
Some female candidates, however, ran their campaigns prepared for the worst; they offered solutions. “I built a community of men around myself. I went for midnight meetings with my husband.” “I started by telling them stories that never happened as a block to prevent strategy: Sir, everybody I have been asking for support has been sexually harassing me”
A series of recurrent issues were highlighted by most of the women. For example, on election day, some young candidates experienced betrayal from party agents who switched allegiances after they were bought over. In another constituency in the North Central, a female candidate’s campaign manager tried to use sex as a prerequisite to obtaining the money that had been specifically donated to fund her campaign. “He knew that the election had given me exposure, and he wanted to ruin my chances. The money he collected for me, [donated for my campaign] he has it in his pocket,” she stated. Another female candidate in the South West was sexually harassed by a state governor who condescendingly flattered her by telling her how lucky she is and promised to give her “the whole society” if she accepts to be one of his mistresses.
Like this, the conversations that took place among the women and speakers at the reflection meeting were wide-ranging and lasting in impact. One of the youngest female candidates at the reflection meeting who is in her mid-twenties was both a victim of her age and marital status. She was beaten up, for saying “no” to a sexual predator, who had promised support to her but threatened to continue assaulting her because she refused to have sex with him. In the South-South, a female candidate’s husband was kidnapped; her mother-in-law who had warned her not to go into politics, chastised and accused her, saying she “traded her son (the husband) for political conquest”.
We could sense the trauma still lingering from their experiences as the women’s voices caught in their throats, revealing emotions through shouts and cries. Some female candidates, however, ran their campaigns prepared for the worst; they offered solutions. “Have one or two men that will go with you for party meetings,” a candidate stated. This is an experience that their young male counterparts may not necessarily encounter, and it is absurd that this is even a solution, but maybe it is a starting point to protect our women. “I am from a conservative society. So I built a community of men around myself. I went for midnight meetings with my husband”, “I told them a story from my tradition about how men who sleep with other men’s women do not wake up the next day”, “We are not gender-biased but when it comes to elections, work with men”, “Don’t go to places alone”, “I started by telling them stories that never happened: Sir, everybody I have been asking for support has been sexually harassing me”, more female candidates explained.
Once a person has been marginalized and discredited, silence becomes a likely option.
It is true that the subjugation of women in Nigerian politics by old political warhorses and suffragists is commonplace in our communities. But what is common is not normal; it is high-priority that we aggressively refuse to see it as normal. We cannot continue to live in an era of complaints when actions would yield tangible results. Asides Civil Society Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations, very few stakeholders in the world of politics have shown active concern about the intellectual or emotional well being of the political aspirants. This is why YIAGA AFRICA’s Ready To Run initiative is filming a documentary based on some of the revelations from this town hall meeting.
The complex array of women are stepping out to be known as the winning women—not victims but victors. They have drawn an action plan for election 2023, and they demand our attention and support. Out of their rather painful experience, they still bring bright light and coloured dreams, recognizing that: though the marginalization of women in the socio-political landscape of Nigeria is no new phenomenon, it is also a future we can mitigate.
ImageCredit:OvinuchiEjiohuoforYIAGAAFRICA
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On the ordeals of women who ran in the 2019 elections, Fisayo Okare writes from the Communications and Media department of YIAGA AFRICA, Abuja. Tweet at her @fisvyo
After debuting in 2019 with the release of “Happy”, Koker is following up with a new song titled, “Too Late”. The ‘Kokeboy’ retains his pleasant mood for the sultry new single produced by Rhymebamz to a lightweight synth led groove. His penchant for fusing Yoruba and English lyrics for a melodious performance gives the song it’s a gratifying feeling like a freestyle performed at the bar to impress a love interest.
The music video The Great Murshed directs follows Koker and a love interest around the streets of what appears to be France with clips from the Love Locks in Paris featuring in the video. Though the plot isn’t as much a focus as the colourful city is, Koker seems to be trying to apologize to his love interest for something he did wrong.
You can watch the music video for “Too Late” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/KokeboyVEVO
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Generic and derivative as her name might seem, Teni the Entertainer has earned her ambitious name with her expansive range of talent displays to keep her fans engaged. From sharing funny videos on social media to releasing club songs and even motivational songs, she is a delightful performer and her latest single, “Sugar Mummy” sees her explore her street sensibilities for a new club driven number.
Rexxie and Jaysynths Beatz team up to produce the Afro-house fueled instrumentals for “Sugar Mummy” set to a catchy baseline. Teni has never been one to shy away from sensual expressions and her indigenous Yoruba dialect, and here, she combines both.
You can stream Teni the Entertainer’s “Sugar Mummy” below.
While Nigeria before colonialism and Independence had its own patriarchal structures, the introduction of Victorian-era values to the ‘colonies’ brought with it a paternalistic view of women that demanded they be seen and not heard. Prior to the arrival of the colonial government, existing social structures gave men and women their own social societies, each with considerable power over the communal government. Music was an integral part of these societies and when women were silenced through violent force like the Aba and Ikot-Abasi riots or through policies like arbitrary taxation, their societies were weakened.
By the time Nigeria gained Independence, only a handful of women held positions of power or influence in any field. But this didn’t mean that they were completely invisible. Women made the core of many of the bands and groups of pre-Independence Nigeria; they played instruments, managed group finances and handled image and costuming. The efforts of many of these women are lost to us mostly because it was expensive to record and document music in the 40’s – 80’s, and the labels and individuals, local and foreign, with the finances to record these women and document their careers were simply not interested.
But not all women from this era have been erased and a handful continue to perform music to this day.
The most prominent of the women from this era is multi-genre singer and instrumentalist, Mona Finnih. Credited with being the first Nigerian woman to lead a popular musical band, Mona Finnih began making music in the early 90’s but didn’t really come into her own until 1969 where she began The Sunflowers. Her band stood out for two reasons; first Mona recruited professional instrumentalists who already had an understanding of the sound she wanted to create. There was no experimenting, no teenagers just figuring their way around an instrument or trying out vocal work. Second, Mona was originally managed by Sunny Okogwu, brother to Maryam Babangida (nee Okogwu), the wife of former president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.
With Okogwu’s access and her proximity to such an important figure at the end of the Civil War, The Sunflowers had the talent and proximity to have grown a cult following. As with many groups from the era, they chose to create music and tour, rather than focus on burning vinyls. That would prove to be a misstep as an accident during their tour of Northern Nigeria would lead to the loss of The Sunflowers expensive equipment.
Concerned by the accident Finnih would be shipped abroad to study and would return a decade later, as a jazz singer. Finnih is still active today, though her focus is almost entirely on gospel.
The LIjadu Sisters however have had no such change of heart. In an interview given in 2014, both sisters talk about still making music that reflects their feminist values, their love for afro-fusion and their place in an industry that seems to suffer from retrograde Amnesia. Building on the foundation created by Mona Finnih and the commercial success of singer Nelly Uchendu, The Lijadu sisters breakout hit Danger, released in 1976 would catapult them into international stardom and lead to tours around the United Kingdom. It would also make the first female exports out of Nigeria with no male retinue or male bandmates. The self-awareness and sass of the Lijadu sisters continue to inspire young Nigerian women across all creative disciplines as their music continues to fascinate four decades after it was made.
But not all the women from that era were fascinating in conventional ways. Take for instance Area Scatter, an itinerant musician from Imo state who became so famous, her name has long since become a part of Nigerian colloquial English. With one album to her name and adoring fans that included Igbo royalty, her success becomes even more of an anomaly because she was openly trans and accepted for her duality, long before Nigerian feminists on and off Twitter would publicly advocate for the inclusion of all kinds of women into the discourse around acceptance and opportunity. It is a shame we know very little of Area Scatter herself, other than her music and a short documentary that perpetuates itself, challenging many of the myths around women and sexual minorities in music in the 60’s and 70’s.
Women from this era are erased in other ways; the female musicians and performers of the Fela Afrika 70 and Egypt 80 bands were as much a part of his mystique as they were instrumental to his success. Their contribution to the man who is arguably the country’s most famous musician is often reduced to bit roles in his politically charged mass marriage. Their contributions to his composition and music, both as performers and muses are erased, and they merely become footnotes in his success. Plays like the Kalakuta Queens created by Bolanle Austen Peters is trying to correct this, but it is only a small drop in what is an ocean of erasure.
Not much has changed in the industry, female musicians are still pitted against each other and tokenist representation forces many talented women to either align themselves with male musicians or drop out altogether for fear of sexual harassment. There is much to discuss and much to change.
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Emmanuel Tetteh Mensah plays his first gigs with his band, The Tempos in Great Britain. Originally formed by British soldiers stationed in Accra, Mensah reformed the band with an All-African instrumentalist team and began to make music.
High-life had evolved as a Ghanaian response to the forced introduction of Western classical music to Ghanaian colonial school curriculums and the suppression of traditional Ghanaian music. As West African colonialists routinely carried favoured subordinates across West Africa and back to Europe, early cross-pollinations of musical interests and influences were starting to occur.
1954
Bobby Benson, formerly making traditional jive, rumba and Jazz as part of the Bobby Benson Jam Session, is introduced to Highlife by E.T Mensah as they tour similar circles in the United Kingdom. This introduction forces him to change his sounds and sparks his interest to return to Nigeria and replicate the success of jam session back home.
The Lagos Bobby Benson Jam Sessions were characterized by a clearly defined brass section, which was heavily influenced by rock ‘n’ roll and the jazz music from America at the time. The concerts would eventually become a proving ground for some of the country’s most renowned trumpeters, launching the careers of Rex Lawson, Victor Olaiya, Roy Chicago, Zeal Onyia, Chief Bill Friday and Freddie Okonta.
1956
Three years after Sir. Victor Olaiya leaves the Bobby Benson Jam Session to form Victor Olaiya and the Cool Cats, he is invited to perform for Queen Elizabeth II at the State Ball organized in her honour in that year. She was in the country to acknowledge its agitations for Independence and State Balls were the highest level of acknowledgement of talent a musician could be offered at the time.
The honour elevates Olaiya’s status as a respected musician and would become the first of several high profile performance opportunities for Olaiya and his band during and after the Independence process.
1957
E.T Mensah performs with Louis Armstrong, during the celebrations to celebrate and commemorate Ghana’s Independence. As the first West African country to gain independence, Ghana was the first ‘Mecca’ for African Americans looking to discover the ‘motherland’ and reconnect to their African roots. Mensah’s performance with Armstrong would solidify High-life’s position as a contemporary genre in its own right, able to attract the attention of the world’s most renowned trumpeter at the time.
By this time, Mensah’s The Tempos had become so popular, the band routinely toured across English West Africa and Great Britain, with most of its explorations happening in Lagos. His music also created keen interest in Ghana’s Independence and would spur Nigerian agitations for Independence.
1958
After a year of performing the hit in the Bobby Benson Jam Session, Bobby Benson and his combo would officially release Taxi Driver on Vinyl in 1958. The two side combo (along with Gentleman Bobby) would become an instant success, helping pivot the musician from a scene favourite to a bonafide recording artist. The success of the vinyl would create a movement around Benson’s Jam Session in Lagos and popularize Benson’s brass-heavy arrangements; arrangements that would inspire a young Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, then about to leave for medical school in the UK.
1960 – 1961
The Western Nigerian Broadcasting Service (WNBS) was created as a replacement for the BBC, which was going to leave Nigeria to make way for a national broadcasting service. Run in partnership with the Overseas Rediffusion and the Western Nigerian government, the WBNS was formed in response to the growing demand for indigenous music and would begin to broadcast juju and highlife music to its radio audiences, allocating two radio slots per week to highlife in a show slot called ‘Time for Highlife’.
WBNS also signed exclusive performance contracts with artists like Rex Lawson and I.K Dairo to gain first access to their original music. The relationship was mutually beneficial as at the time, Nigeria only had a skeletal road network and travel with equipment was expensive and time-consuming, radio was a quicker way to reach audiences and earn revenue from deals with the WNBS while avoiding risky travel.
1965
After moving to Lagos from Benin City, Sir Victor Uwaifo forms the Melody Maestros band, which is influenced heavily by Latin dance music and highlife. The band releases “Joromi”, “Guitar Boy” and “Mami Wata”. All three go on to become critical and commercial successes in 1966, paving the way for Uwaifo to tour Nigeria during the Civil and perfect what would eventually be called Akwete music, a variation of highlife that references traditional bini music, latin twist and highlife.
Uwaifo’s Magical Maestros benefited heavily from the Civil War and its outsize effect on the growth of traditional highlife in Nigeria, and a good number of the artists who rose to prominence in 1966 were able to do so because of the absence of artists from South-East Nigeria already famous during that era. Uwaifo was also a renowned poet, academic and inventor and was credited with inventing the revolving Guitar belt hook, an 18 string Guitar and inspiring renowned rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
1967
Sir. Victor Olaiya is conscripted into the Nigerian Army at the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War and offered the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In return Olaiya’s band performs for troops in barracks across the country and in the front lines of the Civil War, mirroring similar tactics on the Biafran side of the war. Olaiya’s tenure in the army allows his music reach parts of the country that would have otherwise been financially forbidding.
Olaiya’s position as one of the most successful high life musicians in Nigeria in spite of his Yoruba upbringing is especially relevant to this move, as it positions the genre as Nigerian rather than Igbo.
1970
After a decade in professional residency at the Dolphin Cafe Hotel in Onitsha, and nearly 100 songs in his discography, Cardinal Rex Lawson and the ‘Mayor’s Dance Band of Nigeria record Oturukorote, the musician’s final album as a performing artist. Lawson had already gained significant fame as a result of his partnership with the Western Nigerian Broadcasting Service and was the equivalent to contemporary pop star Wizkid in regards to his national acceptance and the universality of his music.
Six months later, Rex Lawson would die at the age of 33 from injuries sustained during a road accident on his way to Warri.
1976
Prince Nico Mbarga and the Rocafil Jazz Orchestra records and releases “Sweet Mother” the third official single of their residency at the Plaza Hotel in Onitsha. Mbarga’s single goes on to become the most successful Nigerian single ever released on home soil, selling 13 million copies, even though it was sung in Sierra Leonean Krio and favoured a Congolese guitar style.
1976
Nelly Uchendu releases ‘Love Nwantiti’, off her same titled debut LP which takes on the traditional Igbo folk love songs and revolutionizes it with contemporary highlife sounds. At the tail end of the 1975 coup and Fela’s skirmishes with the Nigerian government, a new wave ethnically driven of nationalism had created nostalgia for pre-colonial regional music and culture.
Nelly’s entry into the music scene is prominent because she is the first Igbo woman to attain the level of mainstream musical success as a solo performing artist. Love Nwantiti is quickly absorbed into the colloquial vernacular at that time and becomes a touchstone for young love.
1976
Ten years after reforming his band Celestine Ukwu and His Philosopher National, Celestine Ukwu releases his comeback project Igede Fantasia powered by the sleeper hit Money Palaver, which becomes a critical and commercial success, reintroducing Ukwu to a new generation of Nigerian music lovers and solidifying his legacy as one of Nigeria’s founding highlife practitioners.
Ukwu’s first band The Music Royals formed in 1966 was disbanded at the start of the Civil War when musicians of Eastern descent were forced to either renounce Biafra or return to the region. He is unable to capitalize on this new wave of success as he loses his life from injuries sustained in a car accident the following year. Ukwu’s legacy persists thanks to King Sunny Ade, whose brand of Juju and later Fuji is heavily inspired by Ukwu’s more louche take on highlife.
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Haruna Ishola re-releases his 1958 album ‘The Orimolusi of Ijebu Igbo’, an album released to commemorate the sudden death of the Oba. The original album failed to make commercial success, but the reissue, riding on a wave of ethnic patriotism would become a commercial success and marked the ascent of Ishola as the most famous Apala musician of the era.
The album is distinguished for Ishola’s insistence on conservatism and refusal to join the trend of incorporating Western instruments and influences into the music. Ishola’s album would mark the beginning of the split between traditional Apala music and the more contemporary juju music.
1957
Fatai Rolling Dollar assembles the ‘Fatai Rolling Dollar and the African Rhythm Band’, officially signalling the start of the juju movement. Rolling Dollar was already a regular fixture in the industry at this point and had dabbled in high-life before pivoting to focus his craft purely on juju music.
Around this time, I.K Dairo also forms the Morning Star Orchestra, after nearly a decade of bouncing between bands and working under the legendary juju artist, Daniel Ojoge. Riding on the wave of Independence driven patriotic pride and the substantiation of classical music for more vibrant Nigerian genres, both artists would pioneer the transition of juju from a niche performance art tied to local clubs and bars in Lagos and Ibadan to a mainstream music genre embraced by Yoruba communities across the country
1960
As the country gears towards Independence, celebrations in the Western Region look for musicians who bridge the gap between contemporary sounds and a deep Yoruba heritage to perform at their events. Acts like I.K Dairo, Fatai Rolling Dollar and a young Ebenezer Obey all are introduced to the Yoruba elite and political class as they are invited to perform at celebratory concerts and events commemorating Nigeria’s new status as a sovereign nation. Many of the relationship forged during these events would sustain many of the popular juju artists at this time in the coming decade and through the war.
1963
I.K Dairo releases Ka Soro, his second critical hit following the success of “Salome”, his first song since Morning Star was formed and renamed The Blue Spots. The song is political in a way that deviates from traditional juju music and asks for tolerance among the ethnic groups. Some suggest Ka Soro predicted the civil war that would begin in 1966 and continue till 1970.
The year is distinct because Dairo is conferred the Member of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth, in recognition of his contributions to the growth of music in Nigeria. His introductions of instruments like the accordion and Harmonica to traditional juju had elevated him as a pioneer among his peers and caught the attention of the British government. Dairo was the first Nigerian musician to be honoured in this way.
1964
Ebenezer Obey starts The International Brothers, official marking his secession from the Bobby Bension Jam Session. He also releases “Ewa Wo Ohun Ojiri”, his official single as the leader of his new band. Obey’s exit from Bobby Benson’s troupe marks the start of the Jam Sessions eventual decline.
Obey would eventually pivot into gospel music later in his career and with him, bring a new sub-genre of juju music dedicated to incorporating traditional Yoruba praise music with Christian iconography.
1965
Moses Olaiya, otherwise known as ‘Baba Sala’ would disband the Federal Rhythm Dandies after just a year of touring and performing together as a group to pursue a formal contract with the Western Nigerian Television (WNTV) to create a variety and comedy show with his comedy troupe, the Alawada Troupe.
Moses Olaiya’s band is best known for giving future Juju legend King Sunny Ade his musical start. Ade tutored directly under Olaiya who was a gifted multi-instrumentalist and a main figure in the Nigerian fuji and highlife scene prior to 1965, serving as the Federal Rhythm Dandies’ lead guitarist. Ade would use the momentum from his time with the band to start his own solo career.
1967
Ishola comes to this agreement after a four-year dispute with businessman, Nurudeen Alowonole, with whom Ishola had started his first record label. Accusations of fraud and stolen copyrights had led to a strongly contested court battle and the first landmark ruling about intellectual property and copyrights for musicians in the genre.
At this time, Kasumu Adio, who would later be referred as Haruna Ishola’s closest rival for the title of King of Apala would release his first two albums ‘Iba Iya Mi’ and ‘Ina Nfe Romi Fin’, under British label Decca Records. Adio’s informal rivalry with Ishola would continue for most of their lives.
By this time, Mensah’s The Tempos had become so popular, the band routinely toured across English West Africa and Great Britain, with most of its explorations happening in Lagos. His music also created keen interest in Ghana’s Independence and would spur Nigerian agitations for Independence.
1968
Ayinde Bakare releases ‘Live the Highlife’ as an LP issue. The album ‘Live the HighLife’ is a compendium of music the artist worked on and recorded during his critically acclaimed tour of Great Britain in 1957 with his band The Meranda Orchestra. Known across Yorubaland as Mr. Juju, Bakare had understudied under the fuji great Tunde King, and had left to form his own band in the early 1950’s. Bakare was also the first Juju musician to use an amplified guitar during his performances, and as such the first to truly deviate from traditional Yoruba music.
The reissue of Live The Highlife, was often misconstrued as a highlife album rather than a Juju album because of the success of the much younger genre.
1969
Apala and Juju music re-converge with a financial merger between Haruna Ishola and I.K Dairo. Both at the creative and commercial peaks of their respective careers in Apala and Juju music, the duo join forces to launch STAR Records, the first African record label owned in its entirety by the indigenous artists on its bill. This merger is relevant for many reasons; it happens as the Civil War is ending and the intense hold Highlife and Afro-funk has had on Lagos’s social circuit and is an attempt by the remaining Yoruba influenced musical genres to fight the growing interest in Soul music.
Kasumu Adio would release Late Adesewa Ogunde, his tribute album to the Herbert Adesewa Ogunde, a pioneer of theatre in Nigeria, renowned for his troupe and his elaborate storytelling. Albums of this nature proved successful because they leveraged on the already outsize legend of other prominent Yoruba figures to elicit emotional responses from the audience.
1971
Haruna Ishola releases ‘Oroki Social Club’, his first album under the management of Star Records. The album, in the tradition of Apala music honours the patrons of the Oroki Social Club in Osogbo, Ishola’s most loyal patrons. The album is an instant commercial success, selling 5 million copies and paving the way for Ishola to tour Europe and introduce an international audience to Apala.
1973
After nearly a decade working as a visual artist at the Osogbo Art School, Twins Seven-Seven moves to Lagos looking for a new challenge. As a student of the Osogbo school, Twins Seven-Seven had drawn inspiration from the works of Amos Tutuola and Daniel Fagunwa for his visual work. His background as a dancer for a travelling medicine troupe introduced him to performance art and rhythm. Both influences would be awakened by Ofo and the Black Company, an Afro funk band active in 1969 whose work was heavily influenced by their preoccupation with the mysterious ‘Ofo’ cult of Igbo land.
Emboldened by the success of this band and Nigerians returning to their ancestral religions in the wake of the Civil War, Twins Seven-Seven started a band called The Black Ghost International and released his debut album called ‘In African Music Explosion Vol.1’. The album was a critical success, carving out a new strain of Juju music and returning it to the mainstream conversation about Nigerian music.
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The Nigerian Broadcasting Service is established from the British Owned Radio Diffusion Service, creating radio stations in Kaduna, Ibadan, Lagos, Enugu and Kano. The creation of radio stations would take the monopoly of radio broadcasting from British propagandists and introduce radio for entertainment purposes to Nigerian audiences.
This shift creates a demand for entertainment between news broadcasts and introduces teenage audiences of the era to the music popular in Great Britain and the Americas. American Jazz and Rock and Roll were crossing the pond at this time, driven by Hollywood and musicians like Chuck Berry. As Nigerian broadcasting looked to Britain and Britain looked to America, the trickle effect created the first generation of Nigerian rock and roll converts.
1965
After two years of performing as an informal troupe, the Hykkers earn a gig performing weekly on the television programme Saturday Square, targeted at a youth audience fed on a diet of American Rock ‘n’ Roll and British Funk, the Hykkers sound fed the new aspirations for a western lifestyle and positioned them as teen pop idols.
It takes two years and a pivot to traditional media for the Hykkers and by extension Afro-funk to get a foot indoor because of the overwhelming influence of Highlife music at the time.
1966
Hykkers meet Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Koola Lobitos band, who are the default band for Jamaican pop star Jimmie Small as he tours the country. This is the Hykkers first major gig apart from television and the contact with Fela introduces a brass section to the band’s sound, changing its composition and making Afro-Funk more accessible to Nigerian audiences.
1967
Fractions gain prominence after opening for American rock and roll singer Chubby Checker. Checker was at the height of his fame in 67, and just coming off a tour across Europe. It had become customary for African American singers to make pilgrimages to the ‘motherland’ and perform sets in its burgeoning nightlife scene. Checker provided the Fractions with the momentum needed to introduce their gritter Motown influenced sound to Lagos’s audiences and spark a revolution.
Their fame in Lagos was short-lived, by the middle of their breakthrough year, a civil war would end their Lagos domination and see them repatriated to the East.
1967
The Nigerian Civil War brings to a head a year of political strife and forced allegiances. General Ojukwu makes a call for all Nigerians of Eastern descent to return to their home region and support the cause of Biafra. In response, the Nigerian government forces Nigerians of Eastern origin to leave the major cities, Lagos included.
Musicians like Jake Sollo, Rex Lawson and groups like The Hykkers and The Fractions all move to the east and take up residencies in renowned hotels like the Dolphin Cafe Hotel and the Plaza Hotel in Onitsha, performing to smaller and smaller crowds all through the war.
1967
Tony Benson starts ‘Soul Night’ and introduces his new group The Combos to Lagos’s nightlife. It is a full circle event for the younger Benson who was a former performer at the Bobby Benson and his jam session orchestra organized his father and a former bandmate of the Hykkers which he joined in 1963, drawn to their more flexible approach to music.
Tony Benson is not allowed to join his bandmates in the Hykkers and repatriate back to Eastern Nigeria. Afraid for his son’s future and influential enough to have the Nigerian government’s ear, the older Benson is able to sway government power to exempt his son from the forced repatriations that follow General Ojukwu’s calls for secession.
1967
The Postmen, one of the few Afrofunk bands based out of Eastern Nigeria becomes the first group to record an EP, marking the formal introduction of the genre into mainstream music. The EP is made in collaboration with renowned Hollywood director Bruce Beresford, then working with the Nigerian Film Commission in Enugu.
The war would make it impossible for any musicians during that era to record any EP’s and much of the music made during the period would be lost to posterity.
1968
Fractions regroup after being repatriated back to Eastern Nigeria and losing guitarists Cliff Agwaze and Sunny Okosun (yes that Sunny Okosun). They are replaced by Jerry ‘Ify Jerry’ Jiagbogu and Nkem ‘Jake Sollo’ In response to Sir. Victor Olaiya being conscripted into the Nigerian army and given an honorary rank in exchange for his services as the army’s official musician; General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu makes the Fractions the Biafran Armed Forces Entertainment Group.
The position allows the band tour all of the Eastern regions of Biafra largely unhindered during the war, boosting morale among the troops and performing for top Biafran dignitaries. That kind of access would make the Fractions the most famous group in the region by the end of 1968.
1968
Segun Bucknor begins his career as the frontman of the new group, The Soul Assembly. Inspired by the emotional soul of Ray Charles and eager to fill the chasm left by the highlife and Afro-funk musicians chased out of Lagos by the Civil War, and backed by a recording contract from the British record label Polydor, Bucknor arrives Lagos and introduces his new brand of music.
Bucknor’s music fails to reach critical mass because of its derivative sound and the growing influence of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti who at the time is beginning to pioneer his own brand of music called Afro-beat, which fuses contemporary sounds with highlife. Bucknor and Kuti develop a rivalry that persists all through the 60’s and is superseded today only by the feud between Wizkid and Davido.
1969
Ginger Folorunsho Johnson shares a stage with the Rolling Stones in a British variety television event. Rivalled only by the Beatles in 1969, the Rolling Stones were musical royalty, able to demand the best time slots and sell millions of records, Folorunsho was best known for his attempts to document the underground Afro-rock scene dominated by African immigrants in London.
Johnson would leave for Lagos later that year and spend half a decade trying to decode the Lagos music scene, working on a film and releasing significant music in that time.
1969
The Fractions are finally disbanded and forcefully conscripted into active service in the Biafran war. At the tail end of the war and severely lacking active duty soldiers, the Biafran government began to arrest and conscript individuals they had formerly designated as high value into its infantry.
Tony Amadi, former Fractions bandmate would escape and with the help of Roy Chicago, find his way back to Lagos just before the end of the war.
1970
The Funkees play their last first official gig in the town of Nkwerre, even as the Nigerian Army closes around the town. The concert which lasts all night amidst sounds of shelling and deaths is a final act of defiance against the brutish power of the Nigerian Army and a final celebration of the ideals of the Biafra sovereign state.
One of the few Afro-funk bands that were formed in Eastern Nigeria during the war, the Funkees never had a classic line up of artists, with education, war and personal interest ensuring instrumentalists and vocalists were always joining and leaving the group. A few days after the war officially ends and the band mates of the Hykkers are taken into custody before being released to return to Lagos.
1970
Ofo and the Black Company debut at the Afrika Shrine. This was the first Nigerian band to shirk the uniformity of traditional music bands at the time, basing the performances on the mysticism of the ‘Ofo’ cult from Eastern Nigeria, rather than choreography and performative cuteness as was customary at the time. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was also experiencing a spiritual awakening at the time and had opened the Shrine to performers from across the country to come experiment.
Their music would form the basis for Nigerian performance artists like Twin Seven Seven, Quddus Onikeku and Bantu to incorporate contemporary performances into their sound.
1970
American drummer and guitarist, Ginger Baker, formerly of the group Cream would undergo a cross-continental trek to reach Nigeria. His fascination with Nigeria would lead to an informal residency characterised by performance rehearsals and session with the emerging Afro-rock musicians of the era like Jake Sollo, Ify Jerry.
Baker’s jam sessions helped introduce and connect many of the afro-rock artists would go on to create bands together or start bitter rivalries.
1970
The Fractions disintegrate, from pressure from the Nigerian Army, ending the biggest feud of the Afro-funk era. Ify Jerry and Jake Sollo leave the Fractions to join the Hykkers who had risen victorious from the years of the war and were keen to return to Lagos and restart their careers.
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti then with his newly renamed Afrika 70 band would provide instruments and leverage for the group to make their comeback, complete with new performance material.
After-War (1973)
Ofege releases Try and Love, their debut album. Heavily influenced by American blues and R&B and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the young group’s music becomes one of the first albums to gain mainstream acceptance primarily through radio airplay. Defined by its insistence on centring the issues of young Nigerians and distinguished by the relative youth of its bandmates, Ofege would start a revolution of young Nigerians either starting or joining bands to try their hands at earning fame and fortune via music.
1973
Blo, the Nigerian Afro-rock band formed by former band members of the group Salt, Laolu Akins and Mike Odumosu release their debut collaborative project ‘Chapter One’. Riding on the success of the album’s debut singles and the new interest in Nigeria by Western niche musical audiences, the album Chapter One would become an international success and separate Afro-rock from Afrofunk.
It would also give the band the leverage they needed to tour and perform in Warri, Lagos and Enugu.
1973
After being rough-handled by Nigerian soldiers during the war and forced to stay in Easter Nigeria as a symbol of the relative peace and unity the end of the War was supposed to bring, the Funkees leave Nigeria for England. But not before they convince, Jake Sollo, formerly of the Fractions and then the Hykkers to come play lead for their band.
A four-month travel gig would eventually extend into a four-year sojourn in England recording music and immersing themselves in the British Funk scene.
1977
After three years of false starts, the Nigerian government finally hosts the Festac 77 global arts event. More than 15000 artists and creators from 55 countries attend the event and while the general atmosphere is progressive, a feud between the Nigerian government and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti leads to a ‘Counter Festac’ at the New Afrika Shrine, where dignitaries and performers sneak off to perform or hang out at the Shrine.
The Funkees return from their four-year sojourn in the UK to perform at Festac ‘77, and they also perform at the ‘Counter Festac’ signalling their shortlived return to music in the country.
1978
Williams Onyeabor releases Crashes In Love, his debut album rumoured to be the soundtrack for an independent film he made of the same name. Crashes in love would introduce Onyeabor’s futuristic sound to the global house music scene, decades before the scene would gain mass appeal and crown Onyeabor as a cult-figure within the progressive dance and house music scenes.
Onyeabor would disappear from the scene after a few years and a handful of projects, signalling the official end of the Afro-funk movement.
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As an artist and public personality, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has come to dominate the conversation around Nigerian music. His music, personal skirmishes with government and other artists and his activism form a dense web of truth and propaganda that has continues to grow two decades after his death, centring firmly in conversations about the present and the future of music.
As the son of the ‘Lion of Lisabi’ Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Fela seemed destined to walk the knife’s edge of patriotism and rebellion. Funmilayo was the country’s first suffragette, advocating for women to get the right to vote in the pre-independence government and challenging harmful pre-independence laws. Her advocacy would provide early exposure for Fela and his brothers Olikoye and Beko to the injustices that would inform his music in the coming decades.
1958
But for most of his youth and adolescence, Fela lived in relative privilege. He was largely insulated by his father, Israel Kuti from the increasingly powerful confrontations Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was having with the British colonial government and the complicit local monarchs who enforced the British’s oppressive demands. Her fight against arbitrary taxation in Egbaland, her fight for Independence from the British and her ties with China and the Communist Eastern Bloc created a vortex of social commentary around the Ransome-Kuti family. These confrontations would peak in 1955, the year Fela’s father died from cancer-related complications with the Nigerian government refusing to renew Funmilayo’s passport and the American government denying her a visa to visit the country because she was considered a communist ally. As with many families of privilege, Fela was sent to the United Kingdom to study medicine partly because of their superior education (the first University teaching hospitals wouldn’t be established in Nigeria until the 60’s) and partly because of the rising tensions around Funmilayo.
It is at this point that Fela’s interest in music begins to manifest. Israel Ransome-Kuti, Fela’s father had served for most of his life as a pastor in his local congregation and was renowned for his talent as a pianist. Fela was exposed to classical music and grew a taste for creating music of his own. With his father dead and his mother embroiled in politics; there was little to stop Fela from switching his major from medicine to music at the Trinity College of Music.
That decade saw African American musicians rise into prominence and new genres like jazz, blues and the early iterations of rock and roll gain mass acceptance. After several decades of music from black creators being stifled or branded as intellectually inferior to classical music, the new wave was liberating to creators in more ways than anyone could have predicted. The focus of the music was political and vulgar, the visual images progressive. Moving to the UK exposed Fela to these new sounds and the independence that came with creating and performing original music. In comparison, the strict diet of classical compositions at Trinity felt creatively stifling to Fela, and the college’s insistence on teaching the works of European composers held little interest for the man who at that time was already an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. The only recourse for him was to begin to make music of his own.
1961
At 24, Fela would start the Koola Lobitos, his first musical band. Heavily referencing British Jazz and American pop music of the 50’s, and focused on live music, Fela’s band became a fan favorite in the British music scene, with Fela gaining special attention for his skills as a trumpeter. Fela would work with Koola Lobitos for a year, refining then becoming disillusioned with the music he was making in the United Kingdom. Back in Nigeria, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti had successfully mid-wifed suffrage rights for women alongside the demands for Independence and was the leader of the Egba Women’s Union, which in 1961 was 20,000 women strong. The promise of a new Nigeria seemed too strong to ignore, and Fela and Beko Ransome-Kuti both returned to the country to pursue professional careers in their fields.
At the time of Fela’s return, Independence had brought with it, an outpouring of Ghanaian immigrants. Ghana had gained Independence 3 years before Nigeria, and its position as the first West African nation to gain Independence meant famous Americans visited the nation and brought with them an urgency for local musicians to embrace contemporary western music. By 1963 when Fela returned to Nigeria, the initial hope for Ghana had been replaced with harsh economic policies and raised taxes and a president looking to consolidate his hold on the country. Nkrumah’s strict economic policies had forced many influential Ghanaians to flee to Nigeria. Musicians among the emigrants would bring highlife, a hybrid musical genre that incorporated traditional Ghanaian music with American jazz to Nigeria and start Nigeria’s highlife revolution.
When Fela returned to Nigeria, his original plan was to make a name for himself as a professional jazz musician. He started the Fela Ransome Kuti Quintet, a short-lived experiment that gave way for a revival of the Koola Lobitos with African instrumentalists and vocalists. The new wave was highlife and Fela was fascinated with it enough to and begin to create and perform music true to the genre. Much of the music released during this era was considered lost to the world, until professor Michael E. Veal, an assistant professor of ethnomusicology at Yale University with the help of Fela’s former manager Benson Idonije would find and restore recorded music from this era. 1963 – 1969 saw Fela experiment with a lot of music, mixing classical with contemporary. His fascination with High-Life would grow within this period, as would his dissatisfaction with the growing interest in pop music trends in the West at time.
1967
1967 would prove a disruptive year for Fela. As national unrest grew in Nigeria, leading to the Nzeogwu coup and the subsequent coup and civil war, many of Fela’s highlife rivals and collaborators would be forced to choose between swearing loyalty to Nigeria and joining the newly seceded Biafra. Most of the musicians of South Eastern origin would choose to secede and make the exodus back to the South, causing a shift away from Highlife and towards Afro-soul and early Afropop. By this time Fela had perfected his own Frankensteinian creation, Afro-beat. Afrobeat took the technicality of classical jazz, the long solos and emphasis on showmanship from classical music and the high energy performance styles of artists like James Brown and fused them into a new monster. The war meant few people were interested in listening to his new sound and while Fela continued to perform during the war, even he became disillusioned with its fallout.
While Fela’s new sound was exciting to his fanbase, it lacked any real bite. That lack of lasting impact in Nigeria manifested in many ways, including a revolving door of leaving instrumentalists and declining record sales. In 1969, he would agree to go on a tour of the US to promote the work Koola Lobitos had become prominent for. One of the goals of the tour was to help Fela cross over into the American music scene in the ways King Sunny Ade would succeed in the 90’s. He had examples to follow, Mariam Makeba and Youssouf N’dour were already enjoying fame on the continent for their activist driven music. But success eluded Fela, as his tour only managed middling success. His time, however, there would lead him to Sandra Isidore, a musician, manager and activist who would convince Fela to embrace activism. She was affiliated to the Black Panther Party, a pro-black civil rights movement that used a mix of force and persuasion to advocate for racial equality. Fela would fall hard for the principles of the movement, change his name from Ransome to Anikulapo to reflect his new ultra-African stance and change the direction of his music to challenge global oppression.
1970
Fela was only beginning to understand this new movement when a falling out with a music promoter would jeopardize his stay in the US. An anonymous tip to the Federal Immigration Service that Fela and his band were performing without a worker’s permit would set the agency on his tail and force him to return to Nigeria in 1970 or risk arrest and deportation. It was coincidental that the Civil War ended at this time, but with Fela’s recent radicalization, he returned distrustful of the new peace.
There was much to distrust about the new peace. The government instituted after the war was military and brutal to dissenting voices. There was a stronger emphasis on centralized power, all things the radicalized Fela saw as an attempt to erase the collective strength of the citizenry. Fela returned eager to challenge this. He renamed his new band Fela and the Nigeria 70 and began to perform the music he had managed to record before leaving Los Angeles in 69. To build a mythos around the new music he was performing, Fela changed the visual imagery of his band, favouring Afrocentric clothing over Westernized ones. He understood the only way his new movement would gather steam was if he was in control of the way the music was distributed. So Fela created his own nightlife spot called the Afro Spot (later renamed as the Afrika Shrine) where he served as the headlining act and controlled the show proceedings, which often including Yoruba religious rituals honouring the Orisa. He would also create the Kalakuta Republic, a recording studio and art commune, open to other social misfits distrustful of the government and looking for a more Afrocentric community.
With the Kalakuta Republic feeding into the Afrika Shrine and vice-versa Fela was able to create an isolated bubble where his music was created and consumed, and that period of isolation from the influence of the government would serve Fela well as he formulated the ideas that would drive his activism and his return to traditional Yoruba worship. Just a year after, Nigeria would experience its first oil boom, transforming the country from a marginally wealthy nation into one of the wealthiest on the continent. This sudden wealth would see the nation’s leader Yakubu Gowon abandon previous policies to focus on oil wealth. The country showed promise, but civil rights were being trampled on. Kalakuta Republic was one of the few places where vocal condemnation of the military regime was encouraged and Fela’s music which excellently articulated the growing pains of independence resonated across the continent and drew the attention of the black rights movements in the United States and the United Kingdom. This attention would help turn the republic into a mecca of sorts for supporters and black celebrities looking to make ‘pilgrimage’ to the motherland. Fela would also symbolically declare the Republic a sovereign nation, independent of the government and beholden only to itself.
Fela would release 11 albums from 1971 to 1975, each album becoming increasingly specific to the Nigerian experience and deepening his use of colloquial Nigerian pidgin to describe government excess and citizen complacency. Fela’s music at this time was also characterized by a dissonance towards women’s rights. Women were an integral part of Kalakuta Republic, they cared for him, participated in his musical protests and formed a significant part of his band. But they were also the butt of his jokes and were portrayed as arrogant and complicit in the ongoing corruption in Nigeria. ‘Lady’, released in 1972 as part of the Shakara album, is an enduring example of Fela’s perception of women at the time.
1976
While Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti had been a prominent force in activism in Yoruba land, her influence was dwarfed by Fela’s outsize personality and enduring legacy. Fela’s reach was already relevant by 1976, the year former President Olusegun Obasanjo would take on power. He had spent the last half decade serving as the primary vocal opposition to the Yakubu Gowon led post-war government and two sudden successive coups not only removed him from power but threw into disarray the relative peace the country had enjoyed. In response to these events, Fela became more militant in his musical activism, actively promoting his earlier proclamations that the Kalakuta Republic was a sovereign nation and taunting the government to act on its promises. That year, he also released his most famous album Zombie, an album so visceral in its critique of government, much of the slang and descriptions in the album’s title song were quickly adopted into colloquial Nigerian pidgin and are still used unironically to this day. Pitchfork Media would retroactively name the album number 90 of the best 100 albums released anywhere in the 1970’s.
Not everyone was pleased with Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s new political leanings. General Olusegun Obasanjo, newly enthroned via a coup, was eager to assert himself as leader of the country. In response to a civil dispute between Fela and a neighbour, the government would allegedly send 1000 troops to the original Kalakuta Republic, physically assault Fela and his followers and throw the venerated Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (then living with her son) out of a second story window. The action itself would create a national uproar and elevate Fela from a minor nuisance to the government to its main opposition figure. The only thing left to do was feud.
1977
After the events of 1976, the government was wary of engaging with Fela in any meaningful way. This would turn out to be a major problem as the government began preparations to host the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ‘77), a pan-African arts event that celebrated art from the continent. The event was originally to be held in 1975, and was postponed first by the Gowon government and then by the Murtala government. For the Obasanjo government, ensuring the festival held was their attempt to project an image of political stability and signal the end of the military upheavals in the country. Already the government had tried and failed to borrow the statue of Idia from the British Museum and had even offered to rent the artefact for 2 million dollars. When their requests were denied, the government was forced to create a replica for the event.
The government did not invite Fela to participate in the Festival, fearing anti-government propaganda. Fela slighted by the snub and furious that the government was engaging in what many considered a frivolous engagement at the expense of suffering citizens released three albums Stalemate, No Agreement and the classic Sorrow, Tears and Blood, that clearly stated what he thought of his feud with the government and the future of the nation. The Kalakuta Republic had survived a government assault and rallied stronger than ever before.
Using the Republic and Afrika Shrine as a soapbox, Fela spent the entirety of the FESTAC ‘77 celebrations berating the government interspersed with performance sets. 17,000 artists from across the continent and the world had converged on FESTAC town (a new ultra-modern town built specifically for the festival) and while the world’s eyes were on FESTAC, FESTAC’s eyes and ears were on the Afrika Shrine. Fela’s music was new, his message was unfiltered by government interference and the vibe at the Shrine was genuine. Before long, Afrika Shrine became a ‘counter FESTAC’, with attendees and exhibitors at the event shirking their duties to come to the shrine and participate in the impromptu concerts that happened there. Hugh Masekela, The Funkees, Gilberto Gil, Sun Ra and Stevie Wonder, Francois Lougah and Osibisa all performed at the Shrine, giving it international bonafides and angering the Obasanjo government even further.
‘Counter FESTAC’ marked the beginning of Fela’s most influential years as a musician and solidified Afro-beat as a global musical sensation, and the Kalakuta Republic as a creative enclave for musicians looking to revitalize their sound or connect with higher purpose. It also began the worst spate of targeted oppression against the musician and progenitor of the country’s most enduring musical genre.
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Buju emerged one of the major Afropop discoveries of this year with his romantic ballad, “Energy”, getting featured on our BEST NEW MUSIC in February when it was released. His followed up single, “Commander” has been anticipated by fans who heard the snippet of the song shared on social media. Having successfully built the hype worthy of a celebrity release, his latest song is his most pop-forward and barefaced release yet as he interpolates Beenie Man’s “Memories” for a tribute song to his first sexual intercourse experience.
Kayce Keys produces the mid-tempo beat for “Commander”, blending airy percussion with synths, horns, guitar harmonies and a catchy drum riff. Buju rides the breezy instrumentals to deliver his charming set, primed to ease the nerves posing a threat to a great sexual encounter. Though his lyrics, “I Be Your Commander, Your Commander in Chief/ Baby Just Surrender, I’ma Put You at Ease”, and his laid back flow is more geared towards boot knocking, it also serves dancefloor audiences with the groovy baseline and catchy flow.
Stream Buju’s “Commander” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/bujutoyourears
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Cuppy is a wearer of many hats: Curator, DJ, producer and vocalist. Her latest release, “Abena”, is yet another instance of the great synergy that exists between Ghanian and Nigerian musicians as she brings partners Kwesi Arthur with Ceeza Milli and Shaydee for the romantic single.
The music video David Anthony directs for “Abena” reflects the romantic sentiments heard on the song as Cuppy is seen playing the muse for Ceeza Milli, Shaydee and Kwesi Arthur’s performance. Each of the three featured artists is paired with Cuppy in different scenes that seem inspired by pre-wedding shoots as they sing of their romantic feelings for the song’s star act, Cuppy, while paying tribute to aesthetic African designs.
You can watch the music video for “Abena” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Cuppy
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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Over his already expansive discography, PatricKxxLee has always worn his heart on his sleeves, speaking every dark truth about his life even if it meant painting himself as a villain. For his new single, “How Many Times Have You Been Here?<333”, he’s a demon slayer, still in search of love.
Over the nearly 3-minute length of the song, PatricKxxLee brags about his savage instincts, glorifying guns, drugs and hot women. The eerie trap beat he produces for “How Many Times Have You Been Here?<333” helps set the menacing ambience for his lyrics, saying “Pussy tight, girl is you Asian/ My bitch is hotter than Satan/ Show me a demon, I slay it/ Uppercut, give him a facelift”. Though this makes for convincing brags, he comes across as sad and struggling when he sings “I’ve been here too many times” for the song’s solemn bridge.
You can stream “How Many Times Have You Been Here?<333” below.
Larry Gaaga has proven to be more than just your average Afropop curator, collaborating with A-list Afropop stars such as 2Baba, D’Banj, Burna Boy and Davido. The Universal Music Group artist just released a new single and adds Wizkid to his catalogue, featuring the Starboy on a romantic new single titled “Low”.
Though Larry Gaaga was last heard contributing a verse on 2Baba assisted “Iworiwo”, he lets Wizkid take all the vocals on “Low” while Blaq Jerzee provides a sultry Afropop beat. Distorted and ambient synth harmonies are paired with percussion harmonies and catchy drum riffs to make for a lightweight mood piece which Wizkid rides to address his love interest. His lyrics, “Baby Keep it On The Low/ Baby Ma Pariwo” are what you would expect from a superstar of Wizkid’s status, more concerned about keeping his business private than being romantic. The music video Moe Musa directs sets Wizkid in a studio, accompanied by two exotic looking women who seem as interested in each other as they are in him. Larry Gaaga also appears in the video, drinking from glass to further highlight the lightweight vibe the song inspires.
You can watch the music video for “Low” by Larry Gaaga and Wizkid below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Larry Gaaga
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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Canadian based artist, Adewolf is a sonic shapeshifter. He has been known to sing to Afropop beat on songs like “New Phone Who Be Dis?” and deliver free-flowing raps on “Dynamite”. But his musical interests are more expansive on his latest single, “Golden”; channelling his ingenious Yoruba dialect and gospel-inspired sounds.
A piano-led beat serves as the backdrop for Adewolf’s emotive performance as he produces melancholic harmonies to highlight the gloom his lyrics attempt to overcome. Rapping“Suicide creeping in my mind/ But I’m too afraid to try to take my life/ So I’m steady on, focused on my grind”, his reflective delivery focuses on his personal experience. But his lyrics paint scenarios that are relatable for any millennial that has ever battled with depression. It makes for a therapeutic listening experience with the warmth of his gospel-inspired sound and his encouraging message.
Stream Adewolf’s “Golden” below.
Featured Image Credits: Soundcloud/adewolfj3
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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Earlier this year, Lörd Isaac released “Milli”, a throwback to the G-funk fueled era of hip-hop. While his contemporary sing-song rap flow and ad-libs stay true to the trap sound of hip-hop in the 21st-century, the taunting and bragging heard in his lyrics paint an image consistent with artists in the genre, “Try’na Reach The Big League”.
The music video for Lörd Isaac’s “Milli” has just been released and it follows the rapper through heavily edited frames that show him rapping on the streets of Nigeria and the UK. Cut from his stage performances and time spent hanging with his family in Nigeria are also featured in the music video which he directs with edit assistance from OJVisuals.
You can watch the music video for Lörd Isaac’s “Milli” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Lörd Isaac
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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
