Akanbi Wright who was also known as ''Akanbi Ege'' was a Nigerian musician from Lagos and an important figure in the early history of
juju music
''Juju Music'' is the 1982 major label debut of Nigerian jùjú band King Sunny Adé and His African Beats. It was produced by keyboard player Martin Meissonnier, who introduced synthesizers and Linn drums into Adé's established juju sound. I ...
, he was instrumental in the popular use of
talking drums
The talking drum is an Hourglass drum, hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone (linguistics), tone and Prosody (linguistics), prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather t ...
within that music genre. His music gained popularity in the 1930s, playing with a band that once included another early juju exponent, Julius Araba. Wright's lyrics included political commentary about domestic and national issues, he was a supporter of
Herbert Macaulay
Olayinka Herbert Samuel Heelas Badmus Macaulay (14 November 1864 – 7 May 1946) was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, surveyor, engineer, architect, journalist, and musician and is considered by many Nigerians as the founder of Nige ...
's
NNDP and his last major hit was ''Demo lo L'eko'', a boast about NNDP's widespread support in Lagos.
During the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, he composed songs in support of the British war effort and
Nigerian soldiers in Burma, one such song was a popular hit, ''The Five Nigerian R.A.F''
about five Nigerian trainees enrolled with the Royal Air Force.
Wright grew up in Olowogbowo, then a neighborhood dominated by
Saro residents. He changed his last name from Wright to Ege, to support Nigeria's nationalism struggle.
Recordings
*Everybody likes saturday night
*The five Nigeran RAF
*Emi mi lowo re
*Ore mi Ore mi
*Ore ala ida
*Hitler to nda yeru
*Iyawo to mo koko fe
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Akanbi
Nigerian musicians
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing