Omoba Benjamin Aderounmu, popularly known as Kokoro, (25 February 1925 – 25 January 2009) was a blind minstrel from
Lagos,
Nigeria. He was born into a royal family in
Owo
Owo is a local government area in Ondo state, Nigeria. Between 1400 and 1600 CE, it was the capital of a Yoruba city-state. The local government area has a population of 222,262 based on 2006 population census.
History
In their oral traditi ...
,
Ondo State, and became blind when he was aged ten. He developed a unique style of singing accompanied first by a drum, later by a tambourine. He moved to Lagos in 1947, where he became exposed to major local musicians such as
Ayinde Bakare,
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
Victor Olaiya. In the 1960s and 1970s he featured regularly on Federal and local radio stations, and was widely respected for the depth and wisdom of his lyrics.
An early pioneer of
Jùjú music, he sang in
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
about love, money, conflicts and urban decadence.
He had wide influence on other musicians.
The author
Cyprian Ekwensi
Chief Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi (26 September 1921 – 4 November 2007) was a Nigerian author of novels, short stories, and children's books.
Biography
Early life, education and family
Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi, an Igbo, was born in ...
wrote a fictionalized version of his life in his novel for adolescents, ''The Drummer Boy''.
He performed in many cities in Nigeria and overseas, but was exploited by people who took advantage of his blindness. Often he was homeless, playing on the streets to make ends meet.
However, in 2007 the governor of Lagos State
Babatunde Raji Fashola
Babatunde Raji Fashola ( yo, Bàbátúndé Rájí Fáṣọlá; born 28 June 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician currently serving as the Federal Minister of Works and Housing of Nigeria. He served two terms as Governor of Lagos State f ...
donated him a two-bedroom apartment after meeting him at a performance by
King Sunny Adé. Kokoro died of a diarrhea-related ailment shortly before the planned release of his album titled ''Igi Araba'' He was survived by his wife of 32 years, Abike Beatrice Adewunmi.
External links
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokoro (Musician)
1925 births
2009 deaths
20th-century Nigerian male singers
Blind musicians
Nigerian blind people
Blind singers
Musicians from Owo
Yoruba-language singers
Yoruba royalty