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Gbedu
Gbedu literally means "big drum" and is a percussion instrument traditionally used in ceremonial Yoruba music in Nigeria and Benin. More recently, the word has come to be used to describe forms of Nigerian Afrobeat and Hip Hop music. Tradition The Gbedu drum is traditionally used on state occasions or during ceremonies of Ogboni, the ancient Yoruba secret society. The Ogido/Gbedu is one of the four major families of Yoruba drums; the other families are the Dundun/Gangan or talking drum, the Batá drum and the Sakara drum. Each family includes drums of different sizes, with the mother drum (iya ilu) playing the lead role and other drums playing in support. The Gbedu backing drums are each played by a drummer using both his open palm and a stick. The Gbedu drum is said to have been brought to the Lagos area in the seventeenth century by Edo diplomats, symbolizing the hegemony of the Benin Empire. Among the Yoruba, the Gbedu drum signifies royalty. The largest of the Yoruba drums, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kola Ogunkoya
Kola Ogunkoya (born 20 August 1967) is a Nigerian afrobeat musician who uses the term "Afro Gbedu" to describe his style of music, which includes jazz, highlife, Jùjú music, Jùjú, funk and traditional Yoruba music. Biography Kola was born on 20 August in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, but was of Yoruba people, Yoruba background, the son of an itinerant police officer. After moving from Iboland to Lagos, he attended Okota Community High School, a tough environment. He was a successful amateur boxer as a teenager, but due to opposition to his pursuing this career from his father turned to music, singing and playing trumpet in his local church. He now plays an array of instruments including saxophone - soprano, alto, tenor and baritone, trumpet, flugel horn, and slide trombone. He was influenced by artists such as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Orlando Julius, Dr Victor Abimbola Olaiya, Dayo Kujore and King Sunny Adé, and for two years played with Olaiya. At age 18 he formed his own band in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoruba People
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 42 million people in Africa, are a few hundred thousand outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 21% of the country's population according to CIA estimations, making them one of the largest List of ethnic groups of Africa, ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers. In Africa, the Yoruba are contiguous with the Yoruboid languages, Yoruboid Itsekiri to the south-east in the northwest Niger Delta, Bariba people, Bariba to the northwest in Benin a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sakara Drum
The Sakara drum is one of the four major families of Yoruba drums of Nigeria. The other families are the Dundun/Gangan or talking drum, the Batá drum and the Gbedu drum. Each family includes drums of different sizes, with the mother drum (iya ilu) playing the lead role and other drums playing in support. The Sakara is also made and used by the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. The Sakara is a shallow drum with a circular body made with baked clay. The clay shell is perhaps ten inches in diameter and one and a half inches deep, sloping inward funnel-wise towards the back. The skin is secured to the shell with twine and tuned using pegs spaced around its body. The men use goat skin to make the heads of these drums, or for the largest drum may use cow or antelope skin. The fingers of one hand change the tone of the drum, while the drummer hits the face of the drum with a stick. When several sakara drums are played together, the iya ilu is the main voice, and dictates the pace and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoruba Music
Yoruba music is the pattern/style of music practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. It is perhaps best known for its extremely advanced drumming Drumming may refer to: * the act of playing the drums or other percussion instruments * Drummer, a musician who plays a drum, drum kit, or drums * ''Drumming'' (Reich), a musical composition written by Steve Reich in 1971 for percussion ensemble ... tradition and techniques, especially using the Talking drum, gongon hourglass shape tension drums. Yoruba folk music became perhaps the most prominent kind of Music of West Africa, West African music in List of Caribbean music genres, Afro-Latin and Caribbean musical styles; it left an especially important influence on the music used in Santería practice and the music of Cuba. The Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria are also one of the most socially diverse groups on the African continent. A major feature that sets them apart from other groups in Nigeria is their accom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oyo Empire
The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba language, Yoruba-speaking state and rose through the outstanding organizational and administrative skills of the Yoruba people, wealth gained from trade, and a powerful cavalry. The Oyo State, Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in the entirety of Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon people, Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west. History Legend of origin The origins of the Oyo Empire lie with Oranyan (also known as Oranmiyan), the last prince of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ile-Ife (Ife). Oranmiyan made an agreement with his brother to launch a punitive raid o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dele Sosimi
Bamidele Olatunbosun Sosimi (born 22 February 1963) known as Dele Sosimi, is a Nigerian-British musician. Biography Sosimi was born in Hackney, London, England. His career began when he joined Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's Egypt 80 (1979–86). Sosimi then created Positive Force band with Femi Kuti, with whom he performed from 1986 to 1994. In both bands he was keyboard player, also musical director taking care of re-orchestrating and arranging music as well as handling the recruiting and training of new musicians. Based on Afrobeat, Dele's music is a blend of complex funk grooves, Nigerian traditional music, African percussion, underpinning the jazz horns and solos from other instruments, as well as rhythmical singing. His keyboard work can be heard on several of Fela's albums, as well as some of Femi's. Dele has also performed often with Tony Allen. Following his first solo album ''Turbulent Times'', he was invited to select the tracks for the 3-CD compilation "Essential Afrobeat" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jùjú Music
Jùjú is a style of Yoruba popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name juju from the Yoruba word "juju" or "jiju" meaning "throwing" or "something being thrown". Juju music did not derive its name from juju, which is a form of magic and the use of magic objects, common in West Africa, Haiti, Cuba and other South American nations. It evolved in the 1900s in urban clubs across the countries, and was believed to have been created by Ababababaa Babatunde King, popularly known as Tunde King. The first jùjú recordings were by King and Ojoge Daniel in the 1920s, when King pioneered it. The lead and predominant instrument of jùjú is the ''Iya Ilu'', talking drum. Some juju musicians were itinerant, including early pioneers Ojoge Daniel, Irewole Denge and the "blind minstrel" Kokoro. Afro-juju is a style of Nigerian popular music, a mixture of jùjú music and Afrobeat. Its most famous exponent was Shina Peters, who was so popular that the press called the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highlife
Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (British colony), history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and western jazz melodies. It uses the melodic and main rhythmic structures of traditional Akan people, Akan music, Kpanlogo Music of the Ga people, but is typically played with Western instruments. Highlife is characterized by jazzy Horn section, horns and multiple guitars which lead the band and its use of the two-finger plucking Guitar picking, guitar style that is typical of African music. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound. Highlife gained popularity in the genre "Native Blues" prior to World War II before production was shut down. After the war its popularity came back within the Igbo people of Nigeria, taking their own traditional guitar riffs and the influence of the Ghanaian highlife performi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fela Kuti
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers". AllMusic described him as a musical and sociopolitical voice of international significance. Kuti was the son of Nigerian women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa 70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which he was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria's military juntas. In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oluewu
Oluewu was the Alaafin (''emperor'') of the Oyo empire in northwestern Yorubaland, West Africa, from 1833-1835. Oluewu was then bound to Shita, the Emir of Ilorin. However, he refused to embrace the Islamic religion and sought help from Borgu to defeat the Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...s. Initially, he recorded some success in battle, but a final putsch to recover the northern part of Yorubaland from the Fulanis led to his death by Okedare lanloke and that of many of Oyo's leading nobles. References Alaafins of Oyo 19th-century Nigerian people 19th-century rulers in Africa {{Alaafins of Oyo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilorin
Ilorin is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, capital city of Kwara State in Western Nigeria.. Retrieved 18 February 2007 As of the 2006 census, it had a population of 777,667, making it the List of Nigerian cities by population, 7th largest city by population in Nigeria. History Ilorin was founded by the Yoruba people, Yoruba, one of the three largest Demographics of Nigeria, ethnic groups in Nigeria, in 1450. It became a provincial military headquarters of the ancient Oyo Empire, and later became a Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Northern Nigeria protectorate when Shehu Alimi, an itinerant Ulama, Islamic preacher and teacher, took control of the city through the spread of Islam in Nigeria, Islam. The capital was occupied by the Royal Niger Company in 1897 and its lands were incorporated into the British Empire, British colony of Northern Nigeria in 1900, although the emirate continued to perform ceremonial functions. The city retains a strong Islamic influence, alth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
