Juju Music In Nigeria

1.2.5 HISTORY OF JUJU MUSIC IN NIGERIA

Juju as a word carries different socio-cultural meanings. In the European societies it conjures ghoulish, fetish and ritualistic practices of African peoples. Similarly, juju is the borrowed psychedelic name for amulets that possess supernatural potency in the African context. Whatever the connotation of the word in different societies, juju connotes and conveys music among the Yoruba speaking people of Nigeria today.

Juju music is a popular traditional music genre in Yorubaland that started in Lagos, and its formation dates back to the third decade of the twentieth century.

Findings revealed that it is indebted to several musical traditions: western folk songs, European sea shanties, church hymnody,

Oyesiku, and Ojoge Daniel (Daniel Ojoge Aleshinloye) were the stars. I.K. Dairo dominated the Juju scene until the mid-1960 when Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade emerged. Both of them remained the dominant Juju musicians throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.

During the late1980s, Shina Peters became a major Juju musician until the end of the period under review. By 1995, Juju was in decline following the emergence of gospel and other neo-traditional genres at the national level.

Today, we still have notable Juju musicians rocking the Nigerian music scene, keeping alive this genre of music in Nigeria under the umbrella body of the Association of Juju Musicians of Nigeria (AJUMN), with Mrs. Queen Ayotunde Kofoworola Balogun as the president. Her 30-man band is named Ayo Balogun and Harmonic Voices.

Other prominent juju musicians include Sir Shina Peters; King Sunny Ade; Prince Adekunle; Ebenezer Obey; and Yomi Peters; amongst

He started his musical career by playing the guitar in the band of famous Juju musician, General Prince Adekunle, and later went on to co-own a music group with another well-recognized musician, Segun Adewale, producing numerous albums together. He became more popular and was launched to stardom with the release of his album ‘Ace’ (Afro Juju se-ries 1) in 1989, followed by the second one titled ‘Shinamania’ which he produced with his band known as Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars.

King Sunny Ade also known as KSA is a multi-instrumentalist, mostly known for his skilfulness at handling the guitar. He is the pioneer of modern World Music. He started his career with a highlife band but later moved on to form his own band. He was brought to limelight with the release of his first album; ‘Juju Music’, which was closely followed by his second hit album; ‘Syncro System’ in 1983. The second album earned him his first Grammy Awards nomination in the Folk/Ethnic Music