Victor Nze
16 July 2007
column
Lagos — Those attempting to find the missing link between the Juju and highlife music genres have always looked in the direction of the man popularly called "Chief Commander".
There is a reason for this: Ebenezer Ramilekun Aremu Olasupo Fabiyi or Ebenezer Obey, for short, arguably remains the only living Nigerian juju music artiste whose musical evolution would be traced almost directly to the highlife music that rocked the country since independence and post independence era.
Ebenzer Obey is the originator and exponent of the Miliki style of music in which by sheer experimentation he tried to find a resting ground for which could today be referred to us the dance hall music, although in the juju context.
Against the background of his 'feel good' orientation about what music should be, Obey set out to explore the Yoruba psych-socio-cultural themes and norms and further transforming theme into 'dance floor' compositions which explains why his songs are tagged 'Evergreen' by his admirers.
With a musical career spanning nearly four decades daring which time he has to his credit over 50 albums, and over 100 songs, Ebenezer Obey commands such a huge following even among today's youth that few remember he began his career under the tutelage of Pa Fatai Rolling Dollar, way back in the 1950's.
And although he was born at the Island Maternity in Lagos, Ebenezer Fabiyi grew up in Idago, his native village, in Ogun State. At an early age, he used to attend Sunday Service in the Church in the company of his mother and it was there that little Ebenezer first got attracted to music.
He later became a member of his School's band and also of the Church Choir. As he grew, he became the head of the School's band and the School's Youth Club, even though he was the youngest amongst his peers. Ebenezer was very influential to the band's growth so much that his absence was always felt during any of the band's engagements.
Mid-way into elementary school, he left the village and traveled to Lagos in the mid-50's where he completed his elementary education but later returned to Abeokuta for his secondary modern school education. After leaving school, this young, talented man began to nurse the ambition of becoming a musician even though he was working as a Pools Clerk then.
Ebenezer combined music with his Clerical work and featured for several musical bands, all of whom always wanted him as a permanent member. They always said to him, Äh, you've got talent". On realizing his gift of song composition, Ebenezer began to compose songs, which he hoped he would one day release as a record.
In an effort to rise above his competition, Obey began to develop new musical "systems," adding as many as 20 new musicians to his ensemble at a time, extending the length of his album tracks, and pumping out hit after hit: A stylish and bluesy guitarist whose music had been contagious in Nigeria for years.
Recalling how he made his musical breakthrough and the initial disappointments, Obey said: 'I had gone with Fatai Rolling Dollars group for a recording at No 23 Nnamdi Azikwe Street, Lagos, in 1964, but the man on the console, Baba Adeyemo did not allow me to record with the group because he assumed my voice was not good enough', Obey recalled in an interview with Ray Mike Nwachukwu in 1996.
However, as fate would have it, Obey's enviable musical career was built by doing what Baba Adeyemo presumed he could not do. One can, however, liken his career with the biblical rejected stone, which later became the corner stone.
Obey was to later establish a band with Fatai Rolling Dollar, his boss and bosom friend after which he contacted now defunct DECCA West Africa recording label for a record deal. His personal confidence astonished the recording company and he was signed on as a DECCA artiste.
Although music making was not such a luxury in his days, Ebenezer Fabiyi paid his dues and established himself with the International Brothers Band and went on to record big hits such as, "E Wa Wo Ohun Toju Miri", Öre Mi Se Pelepele"and Ölomi Gbo Temi" amongst others.
Since the 1960s, Ebenezer Obey has been one of the most popular, prolific, and influential musicians in Nigeria, releasing over fifty albums, developing juju style, and conducting an informal and highly creative campaign against his competitors in the musical world.
Always a cultural and religious traditionalist, Obey worked within the praise song mold, vaunting both Christianity and the various heads of state for whom he played. But while his lyrics were traditional, his musical direction was highly innovative.
To his huge credit remains the fact that he modernized the highlife sound by adding the funkiness of Yoruba drumming, more western-style guitars and added more drum where only one was used. That was the beginning of modern juju. Although Obey played with other various bands before starting his own, the formation of his band, the International Brothers, in 1964 pioneered the beginning of modern juju music.
Obey was once quoted as saying: 'It is like cooking a soup. If you put in many different ingredients, it tastes richer and better'; in obvious reference to his solo invention in music.
Thus, from the International Brothers in 1964, to the Inter-Reformers Band that he led till his resignation from secular music, Obey had never waned in terms of prestige and esteem.
Born on April 3, 1942, he is the second child and first male child of late Madam Abigail Oyindamola Fabiyi, a vivacious woman who waited for over twenty years before being blessed with fruits of the womb. Little wonder his mother objected to his musical ambition at the initial stage. She preferred her beloved son to turn out to be a doctor or a lawyer.
The late great African philanthropist, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, once said of Obey: 'I had always believed that there is no gentlemanliness in music, but Ebenezer Obey is an exception'.
As it is, since Ebenezer Obey, now 65 years old, left secular music for evangelism in 1992, critics have repetitively maintained that there cannot be a true substitute for his brand of juju (miliki) music, his thick and velvety voice and his exceptional prowess in praise singing.
-Additional reports by: African'Vogue and African music encyclopaedia
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