Segun Adewale

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Omoba Segun Adewale (born 1949) is a Nigerian musician. He is considered the pioneer of Yo-pop, a mix of funk, jazz, juju, reggae, and Afro-beat. [1]

Contents

Biography

Omoba Segun Adewale was born into a royal family in Osogbo Nigeria. Because his father objected to his career in music Adewale left home and moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where he met Juju musicians S. L. Atolagbe and I. K. Dairo. In the 1970s, Adewale and Shina Peters both played with Prince Adekunle, a pioneer of Afrobeat Jùjú music. [2]

Musical career

In 1977 Adewale, along with Shina Peters, formed a new group called Shina Adewale and the Superstars International. They released nine recordings but split in 1980 to form their own separate groups. [1]

By 1984 the music of Adewale had evolved into what is now described as Yo-Pop.

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The music of Nigeria includes many kinds of folk and popular music. Little of the country's music history prior to European contact has been preserved, although bronze carvings dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries have been found depicting musicians and their instruments. The country's most internationally renowned genres are Indigenous, Apala, Aurrebbe music, Rara music, Were music, Ogene, Fuji, Jùjú, Afrobeat, Afrobeats, Igbo highlife, Afro-juju, Waka, Igbo rap, Gospel,Nigerian pop and Yo-pop. Styles of folk music are related to the over 250 ethnic groups in the country, each with their own techniques, instruments, and songs. The largest ethnic groups are the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. Traditional music from Nigeria and throughout Africa is often functional; in other words, it is performed to mark a ritual such as the wedding or funeral and not to achieve artistic goals. Although some Nigerians, especially children and the elderly, play instruments for their own amusement, solo performance is otherwise rare. Music is closely linked to agriculture, and there are restrictions on, for example, which instruments can be played during different parts of the planting season.

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References

  1. 1 2 "African Music Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
  2. "Nigerian Music: 1980s and '90s". OnlineNigeria. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-11-02.