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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, 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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Igbo highlife is a contemporary musical genre which combines highlife and Igbo traditional music. It first started off in the southeast region of Nigeria, during the 1920s. The genre is primarily guitar-based music, with a rare characteristic blend of horns and vocal rhythms. Igbo highlife lyrics are sung mostly in Igbo with occasional infusion of Pidgin English. One of the most influential composers and performers of the music is Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe whose career spanned over 40 years. Osadebe's discography comprises numerous popular songs including the 1984 hit "Osondi Owendi" which launched him on the world stage as a pioneer of the Igbo highlife genre.
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Rogers All Stars is a Nigerian independent record label founded in the 1970s by Romanus Nwaementa Okonkwo, also known as Rogers. Its studio and production plant is located in Onitsha. Following Nigeria's oil boom in 1979, Rogers All Stars was one of the labels responsible for the substantial growth of record production in Nigeria, especially for musicians associated with the highlife genre of Nigerian pop music.
Afrobeats is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing majorly out of Nigeria. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.
Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode, known professionally as Orlando Julius or Orlando Julius Ekemode was a Nigerian saxophonist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter closely associated with afrobeat music.
Ikwokirikwo (Ikwokilikwo) is a high-tempo style of Igbo highlife music influenced by Ogene, which gives the style its fast-paced signature. The style emerged in the early 1970s. It was popularized by the Oriental Brothers and later by Kabaka Guitar Band. It was pioneered by Oliver De Coque and Prince Nico Mbarga.
References
- ↑ Prince Nico Mbarga: Profile
- ↑ Tribute to Nico Mbarga of Sweet Mother, ModernGhana.com 11 February 2008
- ↑ Kent, Sami (June 25, 2017). "His Biggest Hit Sold More Copies Than Any of the Beatles'. So Why Haven't You Heard of Him?". Narratively. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ↑ "Music Extra: Sweet Mother". BBC. 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ↑ Sweet Mother is Africa's anthem, BBC, 31 December 2004
