Sikiru Adepoju (born 10 November 1950) is 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 ...

percussionist and recording artist, primarily in the genres of traditional African music and world music. He plays a variety of instruments and styles.

Background

A master of the

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

, Adepoju comes from a musical family from Eruwa in western Nigeria. He and his brothers Saminu and Lasisi were taught drumming very early by their father, Chief Ayanleke Adepoju, whose very name, Ayan, means "descended from drummers." While still in his teens, Sikiru toured with and recorded several albums with the Inter-Reformers Band, the band of one of the pioneers of Afro-beat, Nigerian Juju artist Chief Commander

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 ...

Musical career

In 1985, Adepoju came to America to play with O. J. Ekemode's Nigerian All-Stars, and three months later met

Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nige ...

. He became an integral part of Olatunji's Drums of Passion, and through Olatunji met Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. Since then he has frequently been a guest percussionist during Hart and

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

's "Rhythm Devils" segments of Grateful Dead concerts, and played talking drum with Mickey Hart's group Bembe Orisha, which toured in 2001. He has been a part of most of Mickey Hart's projects since they first met, including the albums (and associated tours) ''

Mickey Hart's Mystery Box ''Mickey Hart's Mystery Box'' is an album by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released on Compact Disc, CD and Compact Cassette, cassette by Rykodisc, Rykodisc Records on June 11, 1996. The album combines Hart's percussion instru ...

'', ''At the Edge'', and '' Supralingua'', and was a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

contributor to Mickey Hart's '' Planet Drum'' and ''

Global Drum Project ''Global Drum Project'' is an album by Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain (musician), Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo. It was released by Shout! Factory on October 2, 2007. The album combines music played on a variety of drums and ot ...

'' albums. Sikiru is a member of the Mickey Hart Band, has recorded on their CD Mysterium Tremendum, and is featured on vocals on the song "Who Stole the Show?". He has collaborated with

Muruga Booker Steven Bookvich known as Muruga Booker (born December 27, 1942) is an American drummer, composer, inventor, artist, recording artist, and an autonomous Eastern Orthodox priest. Biography Booker was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 27, ...

and Olatunji on the CD ''Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations'' (recently remastered and re-issued by Chesky Records as ''Circle of Drums''). He plays with Muruga Booker and Badal Roy as part of the Global Village Ceremonial Band, and appeared with them at the Starwood Festival in 2003, which led to the creation of the SpiritDrum Festival (a tribute to Jim_Donovan_of_Rusted_Root.html" ;"title="Jim_Donovan_(musician).html" ;"title="abatunde Olatunji, which also featured Jim Donovan (musician)">Jim Donovan of Rusted Root">Jim_Donovan_(musician).html" ;"title="abatunde Olatunji, which also featured Jim Donovan (musician)">Jim Donovan of Rusted Root, Perry Robinson, Richie Shakin' Nagan, Richie "Shakin'" Nagan, Jeff Rosenbaum and Halim El-Dabh). He has recorded albums with artists as varied as Carlos Santana, Airto Moreira, Bola Abimbola,

The String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percus ...

, Stevie Wonder, Zakir Hussain, Chief Ebenezer Obey, the Inter-Reformers Band, and the Nigerian All-Stars. Adepoju also leads groups of his own, including The Honeymakers, Afrika Heartbeat, and Sikiru Adepoju & Heart Beat. Afrika Heartbeat debut their first CD, entitled ''Ijinle Ilu'', in 2003. The band Sikiru Adepoju & Heart Beat debut on 22 July 2009 at the 29th Starwood Festival, featuring Douglas "Val" Serrant (

steel drum The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descript ...

and djembe), guitarist Peter Fujii, percussionist Deen Badarou, trap drummer Deszon X. Claiborne, and DJ Deegan Mack Adams. At the same event he and Serrant joined a re-launch of the Rainforest Band as a tribute to

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polyt ...

, the site of their last performance, featuring his son Tony Saunders, Michael Hinton, and other members of the Rainforest Band and other Saunders' projects. Adepoju's current project is entitled "Riddim Doctors". It features Sikiru Adepoju,

Giovanni Hidalgo Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist. Early years Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...

, Zakir Hussain, Ian "Inx" Herman, Femi Ojetunde, Peter Fujii, Sola Babatola. and Douglas "Val" Serrant.

Discography

* '' The Apocalypse Now Sessions'' (1979) –

Rhythm Devils The Rhythm Devils is a band led by former Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. Grateful Dead The Rhythm Devils had their origins as an informal but frequent fixture in the Grateful Dead concert repertoire starting in the mid-t ...

* ''Juju Jubilee'' (1985) – Ebenezer Obey * ''Drums of Passion: The Invocation'' (1988) – Babatunde Olatunji * ''Drums of Passion: The Beat'' (1989) – Babatunde Olatunji * '' At the Edge'' (1990) – Mickey Hart * '' Planet Drum'' (1991) – Mickey Hart * '' Jungle Fever'' (1991) – Stevie Wonder * ''Drums of Passion: Celebrate Freedom, Justice & Peace'' (1993) – Babatunde Olatunji * ''Big Bang'' (1995) – various artists * ''

'' (1996) – Mickey Hart * ''Watchfire'' (1996) – Pete Sears & Friends * ''Best of Ellipsis Arts'' (1997) – various artists * '' Supralingua'' (1998) – Mickey Hart * ''

The Rose that Grew from Concrete ''The Rose That Grew from Concrete'' is a posthumous album based on the poetry/writings of Tupac Shakur, released on November 21, 2000. This album features a large cast of celebrities reading Shakur's poetry and writing, much in the spirit of ...

'' – (2000) * ''Honour Simplicity, Respect the Flow'' (2000) –

Kai Eckhardt Kai Eckhardt (born 15 June 1961) is a German born musician and composer who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin, Vital Information, Torsten de Winkel, Billy Cobham and Garaj Mahal—a band he co-founded. Educated at the pr ...

* '' The Best of Mickey Hart: Over the Edge and Back'' (2002) – Mickey Hart * ''Ijinle Ilu'' – Afrika Heartbeat (2003) * ''Life After That'' (2003) – Airto Moreira * ''Soup's on Fire'' (2003) – Jana Herzen * ''21 July 2004 San Francisco Ca: On The Road'' (2004) –

* ''Circle of Drums'' (2005) – Babatunde Olatunji * ''Ara Kenge'' (2005) – Bola Abimbola * ''

'' (2008) – Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, Giovanni Hidalgo * '' The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience'' (2009) – Rhythm Devils * '' Mysterium Tremendum'' (2012) – Mickey Hart Band * ''

Superorganism A superorganism or supraorganism is a group of synergetically interacting organisms of the same species. A community of synergetically interacting organisms of different species is called a holobiont. Concept The term superorganism is used m ...

'' (2013) – Mickey Hart Band * ''

RAMU The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea. Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...

'' (2017) – Mickey Hart * '' In the Groove'' (2022) – Planet Drum

Filmography

* '' The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience'' (2008 two-disc DVD)

Awards

Sikiru Adepoju won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2008 for his contribution to the title album of Mickey Hart's Global Drum Project at the 51st annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

References

External links

Sikiru Adepoju Official Website

Planet Drum Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adepoju, Sikiru 1950 births Living people Nigerian drummers Nigerian percussionists Nigerian emigrants to the United States Planet Drum members Rainforest Band members