Babá Ken Okulolo (born September 12, 1950) is a

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bassist and bandleader who was first seen in the U.S. in 1985 with

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's world-touring band. He has played with renowned

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creator

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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 ...

master

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, and was a founder of the Afro-rock group Monomono in the 1970s. Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, he leads four bands that represent his various musical specialties: Kotoja (an international Afro-funk band); the Nigerian Brothers (traditional folk music); the West African Highlife Band (highlife hits of yesteryear); and the Afro-Beat Connexion (modern Afrobeat collaboration with other African and American musicians). Babá Ken has also headlined such venues as

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, the

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Yoshi's Yoshi's (also known as Yoshi's Jazz Club and Yoshi's Oakland) is a nightclub located in Jack London Square in Oakland, California, United States. The venue originally opened in 1972 as a restaurant in Berkeley, later moving to Claremont Avenu ...

, The Greek Theater, and the

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconies ...

Discography

Albums

*1976 – Ken Okulolo ''Talkin' Bass Experience'' (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd) *1990 – Babá Ken and Kotoja ''Freedom Is What Every Body Needs'' (Inner Spirit Records) *1991 – Babá Ken and Kotoja ''Freedom Is What Every Body Needs'' (Mesa/Blue Moon Recordings (Re-Issued)) *1992 – Kotoja "Sawale" (Mesa/Blue Moon Recordings Inc.) *1994 – Kotoja "Super Sawale" (Putumayo World Music) *1998 – West African Highlife Band ''Salute To Highlife Pioneers'' (Inner Spirit Recordings) *2001 – Babá Ken Okulolo & The Nigerian Brothers ''Songs From The Village'' (Inner Spirit Recordings) *2008 – Babá Ken Okulolo and the Afro Groove Connexion "Deep Down Beat" (Inner Spirit Recordings) *2009 – Babá Ken Okulolo "We Are All From Africa" (Inner Spirit Recordings) *2012 – Babá Ken Okulolo "African Drum Songs" (Inner Spirit Recordings)

Contributions

*1971 – Monomono – ''Adele'' (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd) *1972 – Monomono – ''Give a Beggar a Chance'' (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd) *1973 – Monomono – ''Dawn of Awareness'' (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd) *1978 – Emma Dorgu ''We Need Freedom'' (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd) *1979 – Tee Mac Collections ''Wake Up'' (E.M.I Nigeria Ltd) *1983 – Orlando Julius Ekemode ''Dance Afro-Beat'' (Afrobeat Recordings Inc.) *1995 – King Sunny Ade ''E Dide/Get Up'' (Mesa/Blue Moon Recordings) *1996 – Bata Ketu ''Bata Ketu'' (Bembé Records) *1998 – Chalo Eduardo "Samba Nova" (Carnaval Records) *1998 – King Sunny Ade ''Odu'' (Atlantic/Mesa Recordings) *2003 – Kelly Takunda Orphan "Give It to the People" (All of One Records) *2016 - Santana IV "Freedom in Your Mind" (Santana IV Records)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okulolo, Baba Ken 1950 births Musicians from Delta State Nigerian percussionists 20th-century Nigerian male singers Nigerian highlife musicians Nigerian emigrants to the United States Living people