General Prince Adekunle was a Nigerian

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 ...

ian. He was of Egba origin, from

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding a ...

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to th ...

. Prince Adekunle was a major innovator and force in the jùjú music scene, with his distinctive driving Afrobeat style. Famous musicians such as

Sir Shina Peters Sir Shina Peters (born 30 May 1958) is a Nigerian Jùjú musician. Life Born Oluwashina Akanbi Peters in Ogun State, Peters' career in music began at a young age when he played with friends under the handle Olushina and His Twelve Fantastic Bro ...

and

Segun Adewale Omoba Segun Adewale (born 1949) is a Nigerian musician. He is considered the pioneer of Yo-pop, a mix of funk, jazz, juju, reggae, and Afro-beat. Biography Omoba Segun Adewale was born into a royal family in Osogbo Nigeria. Because his father o ...

started their careers playing with his band, the Western Brothers. Although he toured in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the early 1970s, he did not become well known outside

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Music

Jùjú music, first developed by

Tunde King Tunde King (born 24 August 1910), was a Nigerian musician credited as the founder of Jùjú music. He had a great influence on Nigerian popular music. Lagos in the 1920s and 1930s was peopled by a mixture of local Yoruba people and returnees from ...

in the 1930s, formed the basis of Prince Adekunle's music.

Highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its 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 wester ...

musicians like

Bobby Benson Bernard Olabinjo "Bobby" Benson (11 April 1922 – 14 May 1983) was an entertainer and musician who had considerable influence on the Nigerian music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife style of popular West African m ...

and Tunde Nightingale introduced jazz concepts and new instruments.

Ebenezer Obey Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi (born 3 April 1942), known professionally as Ebenezer Obey, is a Nigerian jùjú musician. Early life Obey was born on 3 April 1942 to an Egba–Yoruba ethnic background family. Obey, whose real ...

and Sunny Adé brought in amplified guitars and synthesizers. All these formed the basis for Adekunle's innovative and forceful new style of juju music.

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

, pioneered in the late 1960s by Fela Kuti and others, was another major influence on Prince Adekunle and his band the Western State Brothers, later the Supersonic Sounds. With a cool but driving, sophisticated style, Prince Adekunle is considered one of the great artistes of Jùjú music.

Influence

Afrobeat also influenced Adekunle's protege Sir Shina Peters who created a unique high-speed "Afro juju" sound. Sir Shina Peters recalls that when he was young, he was befriended by Prince Adekunle. An agent said he should be called Prince Adekunle's son as a publicity stunt, and that was how he became known as Shina Omo Adekunle. Although the adoption was not real, people accepted it and in a way it became real. Shina Peters and Segun Adewale, who became two of the biggest stars of the 1980s, both started their careers performing in the mid-1970s with Prince Adekunle. Jùjú music star and Soko Dance exponent, Dayo Kujore, was another musician who owed much to Prince Adekunle, playing lead guitar on some of his classics such as "Aditu ede" and "Eda n reti eleya". In May 2004, he was among other musicians who met to discuss ways to reverse the current decline of jùjú music, while opposing the proposal by

King Sunny Adé Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye (born 22 September 1946), known professionally as King Sunny Adé, is a Nigerian jùjú singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is regarded as one of the first African pop musicians to gain international s ...

to form a jùjú Musician's Union.

Death

Prince General Adekunle Died on Saturday September 2, 2017.

Discography

A partial list of LPs:

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adekunle, Prince Nigerian male musicians Living people Yoruba musicians Musicians from Abeokuta Yoruba-language singers 20th-century Nigerian musicians 20th-century male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)