Daily Independent (Lagos)
Hakeem Jamiu
27 May 2009
opinion
I must confess I am not an authority in music, but there is at least some agreement on what constitutes a good music. In view of the kind of music that is produced today, one cannot but have nostalgic feelings of the music of yester years. It appears that there is no music produced in the 60s and 70s that is not interesting and sweet to the ears. These cover Juju, Apala, Highlife, Waka, Sakara, Apiri (in Ijesa and Ekiti). The roll call of Juju stars of those days includes Late Araba, Fatai Rolling Dollars, I.K Dairo, Oladunni Decency, Tunde Nightingale and Kayode Fashola. The next generation of Juju stars include Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, Remi Olabanji, Dele Abiodun a.k.a Adawa Super, Emperor Pick Peters, Ahuja Bello, Sir Idowu Animashaun-Apola King, Sir Shina Peters, Professor Y.K Ajao, Suberu Oni, Comfort Omoge, Sir Francis Akintade, Col Juba, Sunny Pedido, Segun Adewale, Micho Ade, etc. The first generation of Apala musicians were Haruna Ishola, Ayinla Omowura a.ka Egunmogaji, Fatai Olowoyo, Yusuf Olatunji a.k.a Baba Legba, Odolaye Aremu, Mukaili Mugaiba. Waka include Batile Alake and Salawa Abeni. Fuji stars of those days are Ayinde Barrister, Ayinla Kollington, Iyanda Sawaba. The next generation of Fuji musicians are Wasiu Ayinde a.k.a Kwam 1, Abass Akande a.ka. Orobokibo omorapala, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Sule Alao Malaika, Osupa Saheed a.ka. Saridon, etc.
Highlife music was the most popular in those days and the leading stars of this brand of music included Sir Victor Olaiya, Roy Chicago, Sir Adeolu Akinsanya a.k.a Baba Eto, Cardinal Jim Rex Lawson, Fela Anikulapo Kuti a.k.a Abami eda (the strange one), Dr. Orlando Owoh, Ade Wesco, Oriental Brothers, Oliver De Coque, Pop musicians of those days were, Chris Okotie with evergreen tunes like Caroline and Good bye teacher, Jide Obi with a tune like kill me with love, Felix Liberty with a tune like Lover Boy and Ifeoma. Later there was Tera Kota with the hit tune of 'Lamentation of Sodom'. One spectacular Highlife musician of that time was Sir Victor Olaiya who together with Sir I.k Dairo entertained the Queen of England during Nigeria's independence anniversary. Their tracks remain evergreen till date.
Another spectacular Highlife star with special emphasis on Afro beat at that time was Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his Cooler Lobitos in the 60s with evergreen tracks such as Onidodo Onimoinmoin, Ojo Monday Eko o ni gbagba kugba (Lagos won't tolerate nonsense on a Monday morning), beast of no nation, suffering and smiling, Zombie, Yellow fever, etc. This had made Fela a philosopher, activist, politician and a radical musician. The powerful messages in his music are more relevant today than when he sang them. Fela was a pan African extraordinaire, a thorn in the flesh of treasury looters and a man who saw what the rest us didn't see as far back as the 80s. What of the cultural highlife music by Hubert Ogunde? Tunes like Aye, Onimoto, Adesewa etc are as fresh as ever. One particular political track which is still more relevant today is Yoruba Ronu, which is a word of reproach for corrupt and selfish Yoruba politicians who have become apostles of do or die politics.
Highlife music is evergreen till today as tunes like Omo Pupa by Victor Olaiya had been remixed by many artistes over the years; same with Aigana and Omolanke, e ba miso fun sis yen ko mailo...; Love Adure by Rex Lawson is evergreen. Even though you don't understand what Lawson is saying, the rhythm and the tone of the music is captivating enough to make you sober; e.g tracks like Jolly papa, Akaso Udeja and Love Adure, etc. My father told me how he trekked for over 50 kilometers as a young impressionable man just to watch Rex Lawson perform. When Rex died in an auto accident in 1973, my father and some of his friends embarked on mourning with hunger strike for days. Another track that is captivating is the one that he waxed to eulogize the late Adaka Boro who started the agitation for self determination in the Niger Delta. Orlando Owoh with tunes like, Yellow sisi sit down for corner putting on her jaw and Kangaroo . In those days, they played for interest and not really for money. Juju in those days contained messages of hope, love, hard work and goodness to others.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
i oluwatosin, i like Fuji arts, all fuji arts are good composite than hip hop, that is why i like fuji like Suleiman adekunle malaika, wasiu alabi pasuma, abas akande obesere, adewale ayuba all this arts is my choice. the best of my is MALAIKA ALAYELUWA, thank for opportunity bye bye