Stepping into Dad’s shoes

LIFE&BEAT focuses on popular Nigerian musicians, past and present, whose children are poised to follow in their footsteps

King Sunny Ade/ SAJ

Popular juju musician, Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, aka King Sunny Ade, is regarded as one of the most successful

entertainers in Nigeria and among those that have successfully exported the rich content of contemporary Nigerian music to the rest of the world.

At the peak of his career, KSA was considered to be one of Nigeria’s best choreographers. Like some of his peers, his passion for music was inherited from his father, who was an organist.

Interestingly and not unexpectedly, on Sept 7, 2011, Sunny Adegeye Junior, the son of the juju legend, released his maiden CD, a single album titled, Samba.

Also known as SAJ, the singer is an undergraduate of sociology at the University of Lagos. Like his father, the love of music runs deep and hot in his veins. The only snag is that he has chosen to be identified with hip hop rather than juju.

In spite of this, all eyes seem fixed on Junior’s fledgling music career. The young man himself appears to have decided to follow in his father’s footsteps by seeking a niche in the Nigerian entertainment industry. He is currently the chief executive officer of Take Over Records, a subsidiary of S.A.J. Entertainment Agency.

Ebenezer Obey/Tolu/Orejaiyeola

Whenever fun lovers mention the word, ‘miliki,’ a slang that connotes pleasure and enjoyment, one name comes to mind easily: Chief Ebenezer Fabiyi, aka Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey.

Alongside KSA and a handful of other juju musicians, Obey set the dance floors on fire and helped make the slang word popular among fun seekers in many parts of the country in the 1970s.

Obey’s son, Tolu and daughter, Orejaiyeola, look quite poised to keep the music thread running in the family for awhile.

While Tolu has decided to walk the exact path chosen by his father many years ago, his sister prefers Christian gospel music.

Orejaiyeola is on the verge of releasing an album.

Oliver De Coque/Oliver Jnr/Darlington

Late highlife musician, Oliver Akanite, aka Oliver De Coque, did pass on a legacy to his children, after all. Although his sons–Oliver Junior and Darlington, may not have inherited the gift of the guitar from him, they appear determined to build successful careers like their father did.

Oliver Junior aims at continuing in his father’s footsteps by aspiring to bridge the gap between contemporary highlife and traditional Igbo music. But it is not known if the young man, whose debut album was released eight years ago, will retain the identity of his father’s kind of music.

On the other hand, Darlington, the younger of the two, hopes to make his mark as a hip hop artiste.

Oliver De Coque named his music after the Ogene, a double-headed bell used in traditional Igbo music.

Sikiru Ayinde Barrister/Barrymade/barry showkey

Fondly called Alhaji Agba, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister is a pioneer of modern fuji music. He was said to have taken the music to Europe and other parts of the world through extensive tours made in the 1970s.

However, two of his children have begun the elaborate and difficult task of filling the vacuum created by their late father’s exit. One of them even cut a CD long before their father’s death. Modinat Ayeloja, aka Barrymade, already has four albums to her credit. In her own little way, she tried to stop the feud between her father and some other juju musicians.

Barrymade said on several occasions that her father influenced her to go into music. She sings Islamic music genre. Barrister’s son, Adewale Balogun, fondly called Barry Showkey, by friends and fans is also a juju singer and his sound is similar to his father’s own.

Alhaji is believed to be the originator of fuji music, which he defined as the combination of highlife, afro, juju, sakara music and others. He came up with it when he saw a poster at an airport advertising the Mount Fuji, which is the highest peak in Japan. He started playing ‘were’ in 1958. It was in 1966 when juju, apala, sakara and highlife music was the other of the day that he decided he would fuse all the styles of music to create a new genre distinct from ‘were’ music, which was then perceived solely as an Islamic rendition.

IK Dairo/Paul Play

I.K. Dairo (now late) was the only musician in Africa to receive an honour from the British monarch,  Queen Elizabeth II, in the 1960s.

I.K. Dairo’s music career entered the fast lane when he founded a ten piece band called the Morning Star Orchestra in 1957. In 1960, during the celebration of Nigeria’s independence, the band was called on to play at a party hosted by a popular Ibadan based magistrate.

With a lot of prominent Yoruba patrons at the venue, I.K. Dairo showcased his style of juju music and earned attention and admiration from other Yoruba patrons present, many of whom later invited him to gigs during cultural celebrations or parties.

Later, he renamed the band, Blue Spots, and also won a competition televised in Western Nigeria to showcase the various talents in juju music. During the period, he was able to form his own record label in collaboration with Haruna Ishola and achieved critical and popular acclaim and fame.

Dairo’s son, Paul, aka Paul Play, has since carried on with his family legacy. A multiple award winner, Paul Play does a cocktail of genres mixing Western world R&B and rap to traditional highlife music and juju music. He started as a producer, songwriter and back up vocalist before hitting the limelight.

After brief stints with various music groups, Paul Play went solo in 1999 and went on to release the album, Dairo Music Foundation Project, featuring hit songs like Mosorire, Happy Day, and Yes O. To keep his passion for music and the legacy left behind by his father intact, his debut album is a blend of remaking his fathers old hit with influences from R&B.

Christy Essien-Igbokwe/Kaka

Also known as the Lady of Songs, Igbokwe was the first female president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria. She put Nigeria on the world music map with her hit song, Seun Rere.

Although she was not Yoruba, most of her hit songs were delivered in the language.

 Igbokwe’s fluency in Yoruba, English, Igbo and her native Ibibio earned her an appeal, which cut across tribal and ethnic boundaries.

Igbokwe who died last year, lost her mother at age 12 and her dad in 2005. Growing up, she lived with her late mother’s friend, who encouraged her singing career and bought her a fairly used cassette player to record her songs. She began her music career in secondary school, singing at various clubs in Aba, Abia State, such as Uka Onu’s Club and Unikoko.

The singer, who had featured in many national and international shows. She died on June 30, 2011. Before her death, she was involved in private business, running the non-governmental organisation, Essential Child Care Foundation, involved in child welfare needs and rights as well.

Fortunately, Igbokwe’s second son, Chinwuba , fondly called Kaka, has stepped in her shoes and is currently having a good run of the Nigerian music scene as an up-and-coming hip hop artiste and producer.

FeLA Anikulapo-Kuti/femi/seun

Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo-Kuti, popularly known as Femi Kuti, is the eldest son of late Afro beat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The Anikulpo-Kutis are a classic case of music families’ afflicted with the successor-syndrome. It is almost unimaginable that a male member of the family would shun music and abort the thread that runs rigidly in the family line.

As a youth, Femi joined his father’s band. And like Fela, he has shown a strong commitment to social and political causes throughout his career.

As Femi followed in Fela’s step, so has his son, Orinmade. Bubbling with passion for Afrobeat, Orinmade is currently studying classical music in London and is gearing to step in his father’s shoes.