The Cavemen (stylized as The Cavemen.) are a Nigerian

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 ...

band consisting of sibling duo Kingsley Okorie, a

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

and Benjamin James, a drummer. They were discovered by

Lady Donli Zainab Elizabeth Donli, known as Lady Donli, is a Nigerian musician. She is an alternative R&B, hip hop, alternative jazz and Afrobeat singer and songwriter. Biography Lady Donli was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the youngest of six childr ...

and are known for their live performances. They won the 2020 Headies Award for the Best Alternative Album.

Early life

The Cavemen are natives of Orlu,

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

and started out as choristers. Kingsley earned a law degree from

Babcock University Babcock University is a private Christian co-educational Nigerian university owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria. The university is located at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, equidistant between Ibadan and La ...

and Nigerian Law School's

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

campus. Benjamin however attended Peter King College of Music,

Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...

, Lagos. The Cavemen were officially formed in March 2018 and they stylised their band name with a dot to avoid lawsuits from a New-Zealand artiste with the trademarked name.

Career

They released their debut single, ''Osondu'' in 2020 and released their debut album, ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'' in August 2020. The album was recorded in their living room and was fully produced by the duo. They also produced 11 of the songs on

's ''Enjoy Your Life'' album who in turn was a co-executive producer on ''Roots''. They performed at the finale show of the fifth season of

Big Brother Naija ''Big Brother Naija'', formerly known as ''Big Brother Nigeria'', is a Nigerian reality competition television series, based on the Big Brother television franchise, in which, contestants live in an isolated house and compete for a large cash pr ...

. The duo's sophomore album Love and Highlife was released in October 2021, with guest appearances from

Cobhams Asuquo Cobhams Asuquo ( Efik pronunciation: ) (born January 6, 1981) is a Nigerian musician, producer, and songwriter. In 2005, Asuquo was signed on with Sony ATV London as a songwriter. After working as Head of Audio Productions at a local label, Que ...

Made Kuti Omorinmade Kuti (born 26 September 1995) known professionally as Made Kuti, is a Nigerian afrobeat singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. He released his debut album titled '' For(e)ward'' in 2021. Early life Made Kuti was born to Femi and Fun ...

, PC Lapez and Etuk Ubong.

Legacy

The Cavemen. have often been praised for recreating highlife in a way which retains its essence. The writer, Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera writes about Cavemen's second album for Afrocritik,

“Love and Highlife” embodies an innovative effort to perfect the recreation of Highlife while remaining conservative. The combination of drums, trumpets, piano, and other supporting musical instruments creates a sound that retains the traditional essence of Highlife. "The Cavemen. teaches us that innovation supersedes creating what is new—which is a beautiful thing to do—and that one can be innovative by taking what was there before and owning it. "The subject of The Cavemen.’s music is love and philosophy. There is no talk of money, clothes, women, or inane vanities. This lends a purist quality to the music. The duo seems to have derived some of their philosophy from the music of Oliver De Coque; and even the third song in the album, “Biri” is a sample of Oliver De Coque’s classic “Biri ka m Biri,” a song which espouses the principle of “Live and Let live.” But even while they have borrowed from Oliver De Coque’s music, they have been careful to avoid adopting the praise of politicians and wealthy people in society, a style rife in Oliver De Coque’s music. Oliver de Coque as well as Osita Osadebe were pioneers of praise-singing for wealthy and sometimes corrupt individuals in the southeast. The music created by The Cavemen. is made so that it is self-sustaining. It does not pander to any clique, nor does it seek validation from any group of people."

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Videography

Bena - 2020

Awards

References

{{Reflist Nigerian highlife musicians 21st-century Nigerian musicians Musicians from Imo State Nigerian musical duos