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Nigerian luminary brings juju stateside
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Chicago Tribune, Nigerian luminary brings juju stateside >>
If Chicago soul radio deejay Herb Kent wanted to extend his weekly Battle of the Best debate to African music, he'd have a field day hyping an upcoming Nigerian concert.
Headliner King Sunny Ade is one of Africa's biggest luminaries and has released more than 120 albums since the 1960s. The younger Prince Obi Osadebe, who comes from a celebrated Nigerian musical family, is also on the bill. A slick radio host would also accentuate the different traditions they represent.
Ade is heralded as the king of lilting juju, which is primarily the domain of Nigeria's Yoruba people. Osadebe sings big-band highlife dance music and represents the country's Ibo population. The tribal groups have a history of conflict. And rivalries between Nigerian musicians (and their fans) can be fierce, as scholar Christopher Waterman describes in his 1990 book, "Juju." But despite generational, stylistic and ethnic distinctions, Ade and Osadebe stress what they have in common.
"We want people to come together and enjoy themselves," Ade says. "Whether you're Yoruba, Ibo or whatever. The music has a language of its own."
Andrew Frankel, Ade's record producer and manager, adds, "Everybody in Nigeria was raised on King Sunny Ade's juju music, and most of his favorite musicians were the highlife musicians of the 1950s. So I think there's a lot of mutual admiration [between Ade and Osadebe]."
Royal roots
While Ade's title is mostly honorific, he actually is part of a Nigerian royal family. His parents did not approve of his decision to become a professional musician, and he went on to teach himself how to play guitar. Ade formed his own band, Green Spot, in the mid-1960s and this group evolved into The African Beats in the early 1970s. About 10 years later, the multinational Island Records tried to market him to a Western pop audience (selling Ade as the next Bob Marley), but the results were financially unsuccessful.
Still, Ade continued to actively record and tour worldwide and his music has proven more enduring than industry trends. He also runs his own label, Sunny Alade Records.
"I went from being a rebel to being an ambassador now," Ade says. "But within my family, I know that they know I'm the rebel."
Two recent compilations of Ade's earlier recordings offer valuable insights into his own career and the growth of juju. "The Best of the Classic Years" (Shanachie) collects his seminal work from the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Syncro Series" (IndigeDisc) repackages long-lost albums from 1982 and 1983.
Juju has been evolving in Nigeria since the 1930s. The music's most recognizable feature is the hand-held Yoruba "talking" drum. While Ade has added such innovations as keyboards, he adheres to classic juju interplay. This is when each guitarist performs individual motifs that are also musically connected with the entire group.
"It's easier to divide the energy into three parts than if you just have one guitarist," Ade says. "If that one person is unable to perform, you could lose that whole line."
Once the guitarists are grooving in lockstep, Ade asserts his leadership through brief, piercing solos. He also has adopted the American pedal steel, which the bandleader says is similar to the African kora. But Ade is a fan of another genre that uses the same six-string instrument.
"Yes," Ade exclaims. "I love American country music!"
As Frankel says, Ade has also drawn from highlife, which is noticeably distinctive from juju. Highlife brings Latin rhythms into the mix and can feature a horn section. Although Ghana is the highlife hub, the music is popular throughout West Africa.
In the family
Ever since the 1950s, one of Nigeria's biggest highlife stars has been Chief Stephen Osadebe, Obi Osadebe's father. Although musicians have been in their family for generations, Obi Osadebe says he experienced the same uncertainty early on that Ade experienced.
"In 1988, I told my dad that I wanted to sing," Osadebe remembers. "And [during a concert], he said, `Go ahead.' I told the band to start the song and I got onstage and looked behind me and he was gone. By the time I got home that night at 4 a.m., he was waiting for me and said, `Oh no, you are not going into music!' But there was no way I could stop."
04/03/05
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