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"King Sunny Ade; Synchro System" from Synchro Series
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"King Sunny Ade; Ota Mi Ma Yo Mi" from Synchro Series
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The Beginner's Guide to African Late-Night Parties

What to Expect. Like much African music, Yoruba and Ibo popular music from Nigeria is deeply rooted in social tradition, from births, weddings and funerals, to the launch of a new venture or celebration of any other milestone. On these occasions music plays several important roles, from social lubricant, as it is used here in the US to reinforce the social and class structure (who is hot and who is not)  in a uniquely African way, to praise singing. This tour will transplant the Nigerian praise singing, night party tradition to American shores and put it on stage for Nigerian immigrants and mainstream American audiences alike.  

Praise Singing. Praise singing literally recounts the important deeds, history and achievements of individuals through song. Masterful musicians, such as King Sunny Ade or Prince Obi Osadebe, achieve their status through their masterful poetic abilities to pull together bits of history, cultural knowledge and popular vernacular into a unique personal narrative in honor of an individual. This experience can be tremendously powerful. Imagine you are at a gathering of 200 or more of your friends and acquaintances, and the most popular musician in the land, begins to wax metaphorically on your family history, personal achievements and those of your forebears, the history of your town and your people, and predicting a marvelous future for you. All of this to the tune of the latest popular dance music. This is an experience that would naturally swell even the most humble head.  

Spraying. To show their appreciation for such fine praise, these momentary recipients react by placing, pasting, or literally showering money on the head of the singer. This is called spraying, and it is one of the greatest sources of predictable revenue for many Nigerian musicians. The longer and monetarily greater a patron can spray, the longer he gets to enjoy having his virtues publicly extolled. Not only is this emotionally uplifting, it is an opportunity to shift social mobility and enhance ones personal reputation.  It is the African version of the famed Warholian 15 minutes of fame. Everyone can be famous for as long as they can afford to.  

This tradition makes for some creatively ostentatious behavior, which increases the voyeuristic pleasure of the audience. Hearing how the artist may twist a new phrase in praise of each patron, seeing how each successive patron dances, their elegant or outrageous clothes, and even the idiosyncratic styles which they use to swagger up to the stage and to spray the artist, all become central to the entertainment value of the show, making an African night party experience more than just good music, but a fully interactive community showcase of wealth, style and prevailing social order. The entertainment value for observers as well as participants is beyond measure.

Additional Info
The Art of Praise Singing and Grass-Roots Patronage:King Sunny ...
The Beginner's Guide to African Late-Night Parties
Examples of Praise Singing Topics
Beginner's Guide to Spraying
Glossary of terms you may hear in praise singing

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