Jacob Nguni
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Jacob Nguni
OR:
Jacob Nguni on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Jacob Nguni (22 November 1956 – 25 April 2015), nicknamed "Pa Jay" or "Micro-wave", was a Cameroonian singer, high-life guitarist, activist, humorist whose partnership with late Prince
Nico Mbarga Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 – 23 June 1997), better known as Prince Nico Mbarga, was a Cameroonian-Nigerian highlife musician, born to a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father in Abakaliki, Nigeria.Sweet Mother "Sweet Mother" is a highlife song by the Cameroonian and Nigerian singer Prince Nico Mbarga and his band Rocafil Jazz. Released in 1976, it remains one of the most popular songs in Africa. The demo-tape of "Sweet Mother" was turned down by EMI i ...
that redefined the era of High-life music in Africa. The song would go on to become the Africa's best selling song with 13 million copies. The song was equally voted in 2004 in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
poll as Africa's favourite song. He died in his sleep in the late hours of Saturday 25 April 2015 in Washington D.C.


Early years

Jacob Nguni was born on 22 November 1956 in Hausa Quarters, Kumba as the fourth and last son of Cameroonian parents Pa Boniface Nguni (
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Veteran) and Antonia Nguni. The young Jacob was a lover of music but his talented as guitarist was first spotted in college at Form 2, by his classmates at St Joseph's College Sasse, a prestigious
catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
boy school located in the colonial town of
Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and P ...
, Cameroon. He is known to have practiced ferociously until he could play the popular tunes of
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
,
Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...
and the licks of popular Congolese guitarists Vata Mombasa, Ricos Kinzoga, Lipua Lipua and Bella Bella. He otherwise excelled in his studies. Against all odds and the wishes of his father, he decided to go professional and left college for
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 ...
, where he had in no time joined and become lead guitar of Prince
Nico Mbarga Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 – 23 June 1997), better known as Prince Nico Mbarga, was a Cameroonian-Nigerian highlife musician, born to a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father in Abakaliki, Nigeria.Sweet Mother "Sweet Mother" is a highlife song by the Cameroonian and Nigerian singer Prince Nico Mbarga and his band Rocafil Jazz. Released in 1976, it remains one of the most popular songs in Africa. The demo-tape of "Sweet Mother" was turned down by EMI i ...
" was turned down by
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
in 1974, citing the song's "childish appeal." “Sweet Mother" was later also rejected by Decca Records and Philips Records, before it was eventually released in December 1976, by Rogers All Stars, a
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
recording company based in
Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. ...
. The song is a celebration of motherhood, sung in Nigerian Pidgin English introducing a new age of West African high life with Congolese
Soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...
-style guitar
finger-picking Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectr ...
.


Career

Jacob a small but promising gigs but what launched his career was his "Sweet Mother". The song was an instant hit as it went on to become one of the most popular hits in Africa, selling over 13 million copies. These days, the song has been labelled Africa's anthem after it was voted Africa's favourite song by BBC readers and listeners in 2004, edging South Africa's "Vuli Ndlela" by
Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop", the "Madonna of The Townships" or si ...
and "Lady" by Nigeria's
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 p ...
’s, Franco's"Mario" and
Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...
’s version of "
Malaika Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahi ...
". From 1976 through to the early 1980s A.B Waza performed in over 20 African countries, and later, Europe. In the early 80s Jacob left Prince Nico's Rocafil Jazz to form Waza Collection (later Waza Rocafil Jazz & A.B. Waza). Age 28 Jacob with the coming of his first daughter, he recorded the song "Congratulations" y dear wifeon A.B Waza’sfirst album in 1984. The seminal high life tunes displayed more of the raw guitar licks and artistry that had propelled the Rocafil
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
. Others songs "Never-Never",”Onitsha Township", "Daddy & Jummy" were well also received in and around West Africa. A.B Waza didn't release another album after however. Through the 80's and 90's Jacob occasionally returned to
Kumba Kumba is a metropolitan city in the Meme department, Southwest Region, Western Cameroon, referred as "K-town" in local slang. Kumba is the most developed and largest city in the Meme Department and has attracted people from the local villag ...
where his rock star-status never faded with continued performances at the popular cabarets. He continued to work closely with Cameroon's high flying artists at the time in Douala and Yaounde including Sam Fan Thomas, Talla Andre Marie, Kotto Bass, Lapiro, Petit Pays. There were several collaborations with other of Africa's Soukouss top brass Sam Mangwana, Franco & TP.OK Jazz, The Kilimambogo Brothers. An export of Rocafil Jazz for the West Indian market (Rocafil W.I) saw collaborations with Bod Guibert to create the "Super stars of Africa" album with songs like "Indifference" (sung in an Antillian language). In 1999, Jacob explored the music scene around Washington DC with a fleet of Cameroon musicians. There had been talks of a comeback mini-American tour of the cities with strong African presence by the old Rocafil Band around 2000. This didn't happen after the sudden death of his colleague and great friend Prince Nico Mbarga. He later returned moving his family in 2005 taking all his kids along with him, with focus on family life and giving his kids a chance. He continued to perform at the local Jazz festivals all through up to about 2010. His virtuosity with the guitar impressed artists at Washington DC mesmerized by his plucking and double stringed high-life playing style. Jacob had become passionate about the plight of Cameroonians especially musical talents in the diaspora and hotly explored social issues in many online forums coined the handle "Microwave". Many on these popular forums recall his heated musings on those who opposed his ideology. He is remembered for his deep concern for those struggling with social issues and was outspoken about the deprived, health issues and Cameroon politics. He was a member of the All Cameroonian Cultural & Development Foundation (ACCDF) and CAMUSA: Cameroonian Musicians Association of the United States. Along with his work in the Cameroonian Musician's Association CAMUSA, Jacob is known for many selfless smaller musical ventures. He co- wrote and produced several African gospel songs for local artists in his local Maryland hometown and beyond. Around 2010 Jacob formed the “Jacob Nguni & the Sweet Mother band” willingly performing a long line of songs at private family bereavements serving the endearing “Sweet Mother”
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
to halls of overjoyed families singing along all verses and choruses of the song.


Ill-health and death

He was diagnosed with
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
early in 2010 and had survived numerous blast crises by the end of 2014. He was often keen to impress doctors with the knowledge of his own pretty serious symptoms and toyed with the idea of writing a book, an account from a patient's viewpoint. Jacob survived these seizures and surgery over the course of these five years often recovering to the point of being able to play bigger stages. His remains was brought back to Kumba, his hometown. He was laid to rest in his village of Dschang, in the Western Region of Cameroon


Family and friends

His eldest daughter, took care of him throughout his illness till the time of his death. He died on 25 April . Jacob leaves behind his daughter Cynthia Nguni and three sons Carrington Nguni, Stalone (Jr) Nguni, Prince Nguni. Nguni was childhood friends and confidant of controversial makossa singer Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger also known as " Lapiro de Mbanga". Their friendship grew stronger when they reunited in the United States after Lapiro had served a five-year jail term and died shortly after moving to the United States. Nguni said "Lapiro used music to criticize the policies of the government and they did not like that and wanted to punish him" According to him, Lapiro never forgave Cameroonian authorities for refusing him treatment when his illness was first diagnosed. He was also friends with
makossa Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a ...
artist, Sam Fan Thomas.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguni, Jacob 1956 births 2015 deaths