i went to a wonderful femi kuti/ sunny ade concert a couple weeks back. of course it was packed with white people. i talked with many of them and asked if they know osadebe, rex lawson, sonny okosun. they didn't know. but they asked me about lagbaja and babatunde.

this always seems to be the case. i remember seeing some white people at a 9ja wedding. bride was yoruba and groom was igbo. when DJ played sunny ade and fela, oh the white people were dancing, or trying to. 

but they left when osadebe and oriental brothers was played. even with contemporary nigerian hip hop/ r&b. why is this?

news to me.

However, Fela's music wasnt Yoruba per se. He wasnt singing traditional Yoruba songs and his being Yoruba doesnt mean his music was.

He sang in pidgin English (not Yoruba)- this alone makes his songs accessible to a wider audience.

He employed half naked professional dancers and as you can see, played the piano because he was classically trained and a music graduate. In addition, he had numerous run ins with the govt because he was also a social critic who used music as an avenue for confrontation.


In short, he wasnt singing for a Yoruba audience but an international one.

Lagbaja is based on Fela so maybe the same applies, I dunno.

But I feel maybe you hang around Yorubas more which may explain why you think Oyibos only know Yoruba music.

Lagbaja is based on Fela so maybe the same applies, I dunno.

Lagbaja sings in yoruba.

davidif:

Lagbaja sings in yoruba.

he does?

His rhythms are modeled after Fela though.

anyway, I'm as puzzled about the OP's observations as she is.

   
Quote from Tpia:  « #1 on: August 30, 2009, 11:56 PM »

But I feel maybe you hang around Yorubas more which may explain why you think Oyibos only know Yoruba music.   

nope.
it's just something i've noticed for years. in college, lot of my white classmates in my music classes owned albums from yoruba artists and never heard of the classic igbo musicians. i just wanted to see if anyone had any insight or noticed the same. 

africhika:


nope.
it's just something i've noticed for years. in college, lot of my white classmates in my music classes owned albums from yoruba artists and never heard of the classic igbo musicians. i just wanted to see if anyone had any insight or noticed the same. 

well, you can give them samples of music you like from Igbo or other artists.

Oyibos/westerners tend to be very open to things like that.

@post

I wonder. My school's African music class emphasises more on Yoruba musicians such as kuti.

The truth is the Yoruba musician have from time immemorial dominated Nigerian music scenes

Fela, Sunny Ade, IK Dairo, Obey were international acts I even heard Sunny Ade was nominated for a Grammy award

Even till now, Igbos are not so much and big in the music industry even other people from other parts of Nigeria still find a way to sing in Yoruba language

dayokanu:

The truth is the Yoruba musician have from time immemorial dominated Nigerian music scenes

Fela, Sunny Ade, IK Dairo, Obey were international acts I even heard Sunny Ade was nominated for a Grammy award

Even till now, Igbos are not so much and big in the music industry even other people from other parts of Nigeria still find a way to sing in Yoruba language

what about Igbo musicians like Oliver DCoque,Onyeka, and Nico Mbarga (half Igbo).

and I thought psquare is considered famous?

Sweet Mother is sometimes called Africa's anthem and has been voted Africa's favourite song by BBC readers and listeners.


Although he only recorded one significant hit, "Sweet Mother," in 1976, which sold more than 13 million copies (and which is recognised as one of Africa's greatest songs), Mbarga played an important role in the evolution of African popular music. With his soulful vocals set to the light melodies of his acoustic guitar, Mbarga created a unique hybrid of Igbo and Congolese guitar playing and uplifting highlife rhythms



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nico_Mbarga

Among the Igbo people, Ghanaian highlife became popular in the early 1950s, and other guitar-band styles from Cameroon and Zaire soon followed.


After the civil war in the 1960s, highlife ceased to be a major part of mainstream Nigerian music, and was thought of as being something purely associated with the Igbos of the east.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_music

There's a massive difference between Yoruba music, Artists who sing in yoruba and Yoruba Artists.

@tpia

Nicole Mbarga was not igbo.His father was from Ejaghem ethnic group in Cameroon and mother was from Ekoi in present cross rivers state.However he was born and brought up in Abakiliki in Present Ebonyi state hence his perchance for doing igbo music.

And like omo ibo said,there is difference btw yoruba music and ethnic yoruba musicians.

Oliver D cogue and Onyeka Onwenu are not even so popular in Nigeria(I dont know any of their albums) probably not even as popular as KWAM1, Obesere and Pasuma

Hardly would you see anyone who hasnt heard of Fela Kuti, or Sunny Ade. These guys are Yoruba musicians and the either sing in Yoruba or English.

There's a massive difference between Yoruba music, Artists who sing in yoruba and Yoruba Artists.

Yoruba music is more popular than any other music in Nigerian language
Artistes sing in Yoruba more than any other Nigerian language
Yoruba artistes are more popular than from other parts of Nigeria

Yoruba dominates the music industry does not mean a thing just like Igbos dominate Business and Hausas dominate forex

dayokanu:

Oliver D cogue and Onyeka Onwenu are not even so popular in Nigeria(I dont know any of their albums) probably not even as popular as KWAM1, Obesere and Pasuma

actually, they are though maybe not to a younger generation. My dad had some Oliver Decoque music and thats how I got to know him.

Onyeka is quite famous- you may have heard her music before but not realised who the artist was.

Here are some samples:

Bia Nulu


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lze-9vugnWU


Ekwe


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpLMnnbvb7E











there was also Nelly Uchendu who sang Love Nwantitin.

Hardly would you see anyone who hasnt heard of Fela Kuti, or Sunny Ade. These guys are Yoruba musicians and the either sing in Yoruba or English.

Yoruba music is more popular than any other music in Nigerian language
Artistes sing in Yoruba more than any other Nigerian language
Yoruba artistes are more popular than from other parts of Nigeria

Yoruba dominates the music industry does not mean a thing just like Igbos dominate Business and Hausas dominate forex

some people may not have heard of Fela and Sunny Ade- it depends on where you are and who you ask. I'm not sure about northerners, for example, since they have their own music.

Most Yoruba musicians sing in Yoruba but Fela did not since he wasnt singing for a primarily Yoruba audience.

If you're talking of fuji,etc, now that's Yoruba music made for mainly Yoruba listeners, imo.




However, you and the OP may be right sha.

and I thought psquare is considered famous?

psquare ke?? a bunch of wanna be usher's. Oyinbo don't respect stuff like that, they respect authenticity. Why do you think senegalese artist Youssou N' Dour is the most popular African musician? If oyinbo people want to listen to there own music, they have usher and michael jackson to listen to and not some wannabe copy cat. Some Americans love diversity in music and not more of the same. That's why even on Common's first album, he did a tribute to Fela and even Talib Kweli came to lagos to see fela's son. I even saw a documentary over here on satellite about the Femi Kuti and the kalakuta republic (fun stuff) and on a side note the guy's voice was used on the video game Grand Theft Auto IV for a cameo. As of recent sef, a rock artist just featured femi kuti in his video along with a guest appearance by mandy moore, i didn't see them inviting psquare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F58TfYHqLak

Davidif, you're right. white people love youssou, salif keita, ali farka toure and all those francophone western african artists. me myself, i can't stand p square and they will never go beyond africa. oliver d'coque is great. but, again not international.

white people love babatunde olatunji. but i don't know many 9jas who listen to him.  2face and p square- they try to sound jamaican! it's annoying.

I imagine its because many Igbo artistes were quick
to adopt ''pop'' music, which is not necessarily what
whites want to hear when they scour for esoteric music.

Lagbaja will always have more of a dedicated audience
than say a P-square for example.

I have also met many white world music fans who are very
aware of the likes of Celestine Ukwu and Victor Uwaifo.
Admittedly, Osadebe less so.

Kai I fit listen to lagbaja from morning til night. That Guy's music no dey tire me jare.

german girl posted this song on her blog and i can't stop listening to it!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK8YkkGqC88

Yep, its an amazing song. I heard it when i was travelling to Texas for an Adeboye revival a couple of months ago.

Lol, it depends on which  people you are speaking to. Even if older people dont know new Naija music, when they hear groups like p-square they love it. Nigerian music as a genre has been carried to the younger African  by people like p square and tuface, whether people like it or not.

Young Africans see these musicians as belonging to them, not simply Nigerians.

I personally dont care what a White person likes, all I know is that today the music industry in Nigeria is a force to be reckoned with and is growing day by day, they represent Nigeria/Africa and not a tribe.

I first thought the OP was talking about Nigerian music in general, it looks as if it was just the usual Yoruba versus Igbo BS, its time for Nigerians to move forward and stop reliving the same flawed sense of tribal superiority.

Peter and paul are filling stadiums around Africa, I really doubt they are crying into their moin-moin because Mr smith from devon isn't playing their music, lol

in any case, why is the OP so concerned about what white people listen to?

How many white people listen to hiphop and rap- that hasnt disturbed the artists in that field.

@tpia, I agree with you as to why the OP is so concerned about what Whites think. However, most hip hop music in the US is bought by White Americans.

londoner:

@tpia, I agree with you as to why the OP is so concerned about what Whites think. However, most hip hop music in the US is bought by White Americans.

not true, unless you mean whites who live in black areas or who are dating black people.

Blacks are the biggest fans of hiphop.

_{Watch the movie RV if you dont understand what I mean.}

Tpia, even if there are more Black fans, white are the ones buying the music more.

   quote by londoner:  « #19 on: Today at 12:38:35 PM »

I personally dont care what a White person likes, all I know is that today the music industry in Nigeria is a force to be reckoned with and is growing day by day, they represent Nigeria/Africa and not a tribe.

I first thought the OP was talking about Nigerian music in general, it looks as if it was just the usual Yoruba versus Igbo BS, its time for Nigerians to move forward and stop reliving the same flawed sense of tribal superiority.

don't twist my statements. i never mentioned igbo vs. yoruba music. look back at my posts. people just took it that way. i don't believe in "tribal superiority." i don't even use the word tribe.


as an anthropologist and ethnomusicologist, i love music. i'm just interested in the international appeal of yoruba music over many other types of music in nigeria. i never implied that it isn't worthy of the appeal. just a casual observation. there's no need to start judging folks and making false implications. nigerians should be able to have intellectual discussions without claiming someone is being ethnically superior.

Yoruba music is more popular than any other music in Nigerian language
Artistes sing in Yoruba more than any other Nigerian language
Yoruba artistes are more popular than from other parts of Nigeria

Yoruba dominates the music industry does not mean a thing just like Igbos dominate Business and Hausas dominate forex

Why do Yorubas tend to judge Nigeria from their point of view. Yoruba music is popular among Yorubas just like hausa and igbo music. Go to Onitsha and check if you can get up to 50 non Yoruba peeps who knows kwam 1 and the like. Go to Kano and do the same survey. Yoruba music sells more because of their party culture. Musicians in yorubaland make more money from music sales because of the popularity brought by partying.  Presently, there are not many secular igbo musicians left because they lean towards gospel music and that is big business in the east.

Oliver D cogue and Onyeka Onwenu are not even so popular in Nigeria(I dont know any of their albums) probably not even as popular as KWAM1, Obesere and Pasuma

Except Onyeka who is a transcultural star; others are pretty much intra cultural. Olive De Coque was popular among his igbo brothers just like Kwam1, Obesere[whom I don't know] and Pasuma. I am sure a gazillion non Yoruba members here do not know these Obesere and Kwam 1's music . Many Yoruba high life music are x-rated and cannot be shown in any eastern television. Shina peters made one popular song in late 80's and that song was very popular in the east and that is all I can remember about popular Yoruba music down wast. Lagbaja sings poartly in Yoruba yet his music is not popular among south easterners and south southerners living in at home. One Ebenezar Obey was into secular music and he is considered legendary in yorubaland but do I know a single track from his music?. Oriental brothers were the best musical group from Africa yet they were known only in igboland.

@Op,
Everything depends on whom you met. Fela was legendary and no other musician in West Africa has achieved his feat in music.  The white people I know do not play Nigerian music at all even the ones they do now is still sub par. Again, one may be introduced into a kind of music through association with those people and since Yorubas love partying, there are more chances that oyibos who did such parties may know their music.

Personally, people have a right to enjoy any music they want but Femi Kuti Imho is not a musician. He is just riding on his fathers back.

londoner:

Tpia, even if there are more Black fans, white are the ones buying the music more.

maybe the whites you know are buying hiphop music. ie the ones in your neighborhood.

Most other whites arent.

It remains a black phenomenon.

Try to watch RV when you have the time.


I know its a fad to insert hiphop lingo into other forms of music, but its not all songs that have it.

Aloy~Emeka:

Obesere[whom I don't know]

abeg tell another lie.

If you dont know him why single out his name for emphasis.

After you don check dancing ikebe tire you come dey wipe mouth with napkin.

tpia.:

abeg tell another lie.

If you dont know him why single out his name for emphasis.

After you don check dancing ikebe tire you come dey wipe mouth with napkin.

Another foolish assumption. Where and how did I know obesere?. His name I've heard before but his face or music, I cannot place. If I cannot identify one Ebenezer Obey's music who I consider to be more legendary, why obesere?. I do not derive my pleasure from going to places where they advertise ikebe. So, look for another culprit.

I do not blame the poster rather I blame some S/W states that do not play Igbo and non-yoruba music. For the fact that for example Radio because Ibadan does not play Igbo music made the poster unaware of the popularity of Igbo musicians and music.

@poster: Osadebe's OSONDI OWENDI is the highest selling album in Nigeria till this day.

africhika:

i went to a wonderful femi kuti/ sunny ade concert a couple weeks back. of course it was packed with white people.

They sound like hipsters. they love to be "unique"

My roommate in college used to have me translate Fela lyrics for her.

anyway nothing wrong with it. Maybe if people would stop giving up their language in the name of trying to be more popular (ironically those who stick to their own language end up being the ones who are well known ) such things wouldnt be happening.

Londoner, stop making this out into something that it isnt.