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Post by Shymmex on Dec 3, 2015 13:18:24 GMT
FELA KUTI Fela Kuti was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He lived from Oct. 15, 1938, to Aug. 2, 1997.
Also known as Fela Anikulapo Kuti or simply Fela, he was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre, human rights activist and political maverick.
His political consciousness inspired him to change what he called his “slave name” Ransome and adopt the middle name “Anikulapo,” meaning “to have control over death,” in the late 1960s. In the 1960s, Kuti pioneered and popularized the Afrobeat genre, which is a combination of funk, jazz, salsa, calypso and traditional Nigerian music.
His rebellious song lyrics established him as a political dissident. Afrobeat was associated with making political, social and cultural statements about greed and corruption.
He was influenced by the teachings of American human rights activist Malcolm X. Kuti began to understand the effects white oppression and colonialism had on Africa. He also realized the importance of Pan-Africanism, unity of African nations and revolution.
Kuti fell in love with the growing Black Power movement happening in the United States in the 1960s. He was introduced to the Black Panthers while on tour in America in 1969.
When he returned to Africa, he was energized and wanted to create change and have an impact on the entire continent. All of his subsequent albums carried a political message.
His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was an activist in the anti-colonial movement. She influenced her son’s political activism. In 1977, Fela Kuti released the album Zombie.
It was a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers by using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the Nigerian military and the way, he believed, the soldiers blindly followed orders. In response, the military attacked him and threw his mother out the window of their home.
She later died from her injuries in 1978.
In 1979, he formed his own political party – MOP (Movement of the People). He also ran for president of Nigeria twice. The full-length documentary film Finding Fela, directed by Alex Gibney, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, one of the largest independent film festivals in the United States. In 2008, an off-Broadway production of Kuti’s life titled Fela! was produced. It was inspired by Carlos Moore’s 1982 book Fela, Fela! This Bitch of a Life.
The production was a massive success, selling out shows during its run and garnering critical acclaim.
On Nov. 22, 2009, Fela! began a run on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in New York City. Jim Lewis helped co-write the play (along with director/choreographer Bill T. Jones), and obtained producer backing from rapper Jay-Z and actor, rapper Will Smith, among others.
The Broadway production received 11 2010 Tony Award nominations and won Best Choreography, Best Costume Design of a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Musical.
In 1978, Kuti married 27 women in a single wedding ceremony. He would eventually divorce them all.
In the documentary Finding Fela, he explained the decision: “I wanted it to be meaningful … to have a meaningful life. Tradition expects me to marry 27 women.”
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Post by IrekeOnibudo on Dec 3, 2015 13:31:27 GMT
Big thread - this I had the opportunity to play percussion with Dele Sosimi's group (a Fela tribute band back then), a handful of times, when he first start playing in Ukaria ("UK area")  Knowing how much pressure these maestros perform under, I knew it was no vocation for a small time drummer like moi. Those were the days of fewer inhibitions...Lol |
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 3, 2015 13:37:45 GMT
Helen Folashade Adu Soul and jazz musician Helen Folashade Adu popularly known as Sade Adu was born on January 16th 1959 in Ibadan and was raised by her English mother Anne Hayes.
When Sade Adu was 11, she moved to Holland-on-Sea to live with her mother and after completing school at 18 she moved to London and studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Sade Adu first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the Brit and Grammy Award winning English group “Sade”.
Sade Adu has been an inspiration to many, even carving a niche for herself with her popular hair style “ Sade Adu”.
Just this year, Jean Paul Gaultier paid homage to Sade Adu’s signature style during his Spring 2013 runway show and designer Olivier Rousteing. specifically cited the singer’s feminine use of menswear as inspiration for Balmain’s current spring collection.
In 1989, Sade Adu married Spanish film director Carlos Pliego and the couple had a daughter Ila Adu but sadly their marriage ended in 1995.
In 2002, Sade Adu was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to popular music.
Sade has released hit singles, Smooth Operator, No Ordinary Love, Solider of love amongst others
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 3, 2015 13:45:12 GMT
Femi Kuti Femi Kuti was born Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti on June 12, 1962 in London. He grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where, at 15, he started playing saxophone in his father’s band, Egypt 80. In 1986 he formed his own band, the Positive Force. His first record was released in 1995 by Tabu/Motown, followed four years later by Shoki Shoki (MCA), which garnered widespread critical acclaim. In 2001 he collaborated with Common and Mos Def on Fight to Win, an effort to cross over to a mainstream audience, and started touring the United States with Jane’s Addiction.
In 2004 he opened The Shrine, his club, where he recorded the live album Africa Shrine. After a 4-year absence due to personal setbacks, he re-emerged in 2008 with Day by Day and Africa for Africa in 2010, for which he received two Grammy nominations. In 2012 he was both inducted into the Headies Hall of Fame (the most prestigious music awards in Nigeria), was the opening act on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ European arena tour and became an Ambassador for Amnesty International. He continues to expand the diversity of his artistry on his new album (2013) No Place for My Dream. Femi Kuti is now a judge on Nigeria’s huge TV show Nigerian Idol.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 3, 2015 13:48:02 GMT
Seun Kuti Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti (born 11 January 1983), commonly known as Seun Kuti, is a Nigerian musician, and the youngest son of legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Seun leads his father's former band Egypt 80Seun and his brother Femi are the two commercially successful musical offspring of the late Nigerian afrobeat innovator Fela Kuti. Seun has one younger sister who used to sing in his band. At the age of nine Seun expressed the wish to sing to his father. A short while later Seun started performing with his father and the band. Since then, Seun has followed the political and social ethos of his father.
After Fela had died in 1997, Seun, then only 14 years old, became the lead singer of Egypt 80. While in school Seun had to choose between a career in music and one in African Football. His 2008 debut album, Many Things, was produced by Martin Meissonnier, who had already produced two albums for his father.
About three quarters of the current Egypt 80 line-up consists of musicians that not only played with Fela Kuti, but often were arrested and harassed alongside the founder of the Afrobeat movement. Live sets consist of both new material and originals from Seun’s father. Since during his lifetime, Fela Kuti had never performed any songs live on stage which he had recorded in the studio, this is the first chance for many long-time fans to enjoy classics like Shuffering and Shmiling, Colonial Mentality and Army Arrangement in a live setting. A new studio album called From Africa with Fury: Rise was released on 5 April 2011. It was recorded in London, produced by Brian Eno, John Reynolds and Seun himself.
Seun Kuti is featured in Calle 13's song "Todo se mueve" (Everything Moves), on their 2010 album Entren los que quieran.
He participated actively in the Occupy Nigeria protests against the fuel subsidy removal policy of President Goodluck Jonathan in his native Nigeria, in January 2012. Seun Kuti is an atheist.
Seun and girlfriend Yetunde George Ademiluyi welcomed a baby girl on 16 December 2013 and named her Ifafunmike Adara Anikulapo-kuti.
Seun Kuti and the Egypt 80 Orchestra performing at Celebrate Brooklyn 2011. Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY
In 2014, Seun Kuti was given an honorary invitation to perform live for the first time at the Industry Nite
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 3, 2015 14:01:57 GMT
Seal Seal is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with an international reach known for hits like "Crazy," "Kiss From a Rose" and "Love's Divine."
IN THESE GROUPS
Synopsis
Born on February 19, 1963, in London, England, Seal went on to score a major U.K. hit, "Killer," before releasing his 1991 debut album. He's become an internationally renowned singer/songwriter with albums like Human Being and hits like "Crazy," "Prayer for the Dying" and "Kiss From a Rose," which won multiple Grammy Awards. He was married to supermodel and TV host Heidi Klum for several years.
Early Life and Career
Sealhenry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel was born in London, England, on February 19, 1963, of Nigerian heritage. He was raised in foster care for a time before being brought up by his stepmother and father, a difficult, angry figure who was physically abusive.
Seal earned a degree in architecture and worked various jobs before pursuing music, working with the band Push and traveling to Japan, Thailand and India. By the time he was 23, he had developed scars on his face as the result of a rare form of lupus.
Scores With 'Crazy'
Though he initially refused to be taken on by labels, Seal scored a major hit back in London with producer Adamski and the single "Killer," which went to the top of U.K. charts. He signed with ZIT, the label of producer Trever Horn, whom would work on the singer's first four studio albums.
Seal made his full-length, self-titled album debut in 1991 and scored with the moody, socially aware single "Crazy," which reached the Top 10 of Billboard's pop chart. The artist won several Britain-based awards and released his second self-titled album in 1994, a work that was sonically lusher than its predecessor and featured "Prayer Before Dying" and "Don't Cry," as well as vocals from Joni Mitchell.
Grand Hit, 'Kiss From a Rose'
Another album single, "Kiss From a Rose," was granted a spot on the Batman Forever soundtrack and became a No. 1 pop and adult contemporary hit, also catapulting Seal 1994 into multi-platinum status. The song and vocalist went on to win Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Seal made a contribution to the 1996 Space Jam soundtrack with a Steve Miller Band cover, "Fly Like an Eagle," that reached the pop and adult contemporary Top 10. His next full-length studio outing, Human Being, came forth in 1998, followed by another self-titled album in 2003 that showcased the single "Love Divine."
Dance Focus
After releasing a greatest hits collection and Live From Paris, Seal dropped System in 2007, the first album in which he didn't work with Horn. He instead collaborated with producer Stuart Price, known for Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor.
System had a more dance/up-tempo feel than its predecessors, though Seal's albums have generally incorporated electronic soundscapes into tunes that blend acoustic pop and R&B. His lyrics, framed by a gravelly voice, have tended to be ruminations on relationships and the ways that we live. He has also cultivated an image of a sophisticate who embraces fine art aesthetics, appearing nude on album covers and sporting debonair fashion.
'Soul' Covers
In the fall of 2008, Seal released Soul, a collection of covers featuring the works of R&B greats like Ben E. King, Curtis Mayfield and Otis Redding. He worked on the project with super-producer David Foster, and the two would collaborate again on 2010's Commitment. Seal returned to covers of classics—and reunited with Horn—on 2012's Soul 2.
Seal once again worked with Horn for his next album of original material, 7, slated for a mid-November release. The singer has lead off with several singles that include swoon-inducing ballad "Every Time I'm With You" and the uptempo "Life on the Dance Floor."
Marriage to Heidi Klum
Seal at one point dated supermodel Tyra Banks during the earlier part of his career. He later married Project Runway host Heidi Klum in 2005. The two, who lived in Los Angeles, sang together on the System track "Wedding Day" and have four children, with Seal adopting Klum's child from a previous union. Klum filed for divorce in 2012 and the couple issued an accompanying public statement, later speaking to the media individually about the split.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2015 14:36:36 GMT
I am a sucker for Sade music
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 3, 2015 17:18:06 GMT
Wale Olubowale Victor Akintimehin (born September 21, 1984), better known by his stage name Wale (/ˈwɔː leɪ/ wah-lay), is an American rapper from Washington, DC. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song "Dig Dug (Shake It)" became popular in his hometown. Wale became locally recognized and continued recording music for the regional audience. Producer Mark Ronson discovered Wale in 2006 and signed him to Allido Records in 2007. While signed to that label, Wale released several mixtapes and appeared in national media including MTV and various Black-American-focused magazines. A song called "Ridin' in That Black Joint" was featured in the popular video game Saints Row 2's soundtrack in 2008.
In 2008, Wale signed with Interscope Records for $1.3 million, and his debut album Attention Deficit was released in 2009 with the singles "Chillin", "Pretty Girls", and "World Tour". The album, although under-shipped, received positive reviews from critics. In early 2011, Wale signed with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, where members of the label released a compilation album, Self Made Vol. 1 on May 23, 2011. His second studio album, Ambition was released November 1, 2011, with mixed reviews. His third studio album, The Gifted, was released on June 25, 2013, to mainly positive reviews; it debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. His second Billboard number 1 album The Album About Nothing was released on March 31, 2015.
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Post by Honorebu on Dec 4, 2015 5:07:23 GMT
Salawa Abeni Born on the 5th of May 1961 into a polygamous home, 52-year-old Alhaja Salawa Abeni is one of the most popular female singers to come out of Nigeria. And age has not even slowed down her tempo. Mama Okikiola is still treating many of her fans to her unbeatable rhythms. An Ijebu woman from the Ijebu Waterside in Nigeria’s southwestern state of Ogun, Salawa Abeni did not grow up with her mother but with a guardian. She stated that her own mother was seriously sick for 15 years and her father did not even want her to sing initially. She stated that her father did not believe in educating female children and it was her guardian and headmaster that even ensured that she reached Primary Six at the LA Primary School, Igogu, Epe. Although she feels bad that her father curtailed her zeal for education, she says she is delighted that her children have read all that is to be read and that atimes she reminds herself that one can even read all the ‘Cambridge’ in the world and still be nothing.
It was not until the year 1976 that Salawa Abeni went professional. Following the brutal assassination of Nigeria’s immensely popular military ruler, General Murtala Muhammed, Salawa Abeni released her first album while still under Leader Records. It was titled Late General Murtala Muhammed (Memoriam) in honour of the slain general, and it really launched her into superstardom. She sold over one million copies, setting the record as the very first Nigerian female musician to have such a phenomenal success. Since then, Salawa Abeni has not looked back. Abeni would be with Leader Records until the year 1986 when she parted ways with Lateef Adepoju, the owner of the record label. She released Gentle Lady in 1991.
Following her exploits in the music world and her outstanding success, she was crowned the ‘Queen of Waka of Music’ by the Alaafin of Oyo in the year 1992. That explains why she is often referred to as Queen Salawa Abeni or QSA. Waka is a type of Yoruba traditional music influenced by Muslim traditions and it has been in place long before fuji or juju.
Like many other females in the Nigerian music industry, Salawa Abeni has been associated with a number of romantic voyages and she even sang about it in her albums addressing rumour mongers who would not mind their business but would prefer to call Salawa Abeni a flirt. That’s the song I was trying to sing in the opening. Following her split with Adepoju in 1986, Salawa Abeni joined the label of her lover and fellow musician, General Kollington Ayinla (Kebe n Kwara). The two got married and Salawa was with him until 1994. Olumo Records was the marketer while Ayinla was the record label owner.
Her times with Ayinla were not the best of times for her. In September 2013 at the Annual African Music Festival in London, she said:
“Even though Kollington and I have gone our separate ways 23 years ago, I still consider him a big part of my life because I bore him children who bear his name. His name will forever be written in the history of my life. Though we do not have a smooth relationship, and I have been solely responsible for the upbringing of my children up to university level, I still maintain the fact that he is part of me.
Just merely listening to her songs, one will notice that Salawa Abeni is very much attached to her children. If she is not singing about Okiki, it will be Olanrewaju. Well, that’s how all real Abiyamos are.One of the most tragic moments in her life was when she lost her son, Lanre, in October 2000. Aminat Okikiola Ilori aka Candy is her famous daughter who attended the University of Ilorin. Salawa hit the waves recently when she threw a superbash for Okiki’s 30th birthday. Her son, Big Sheff (Sheriff Ilori) is also a musician, a rapper to be specific.
-Salawa Abeni also had a son for her late producer, Lateef Adepoju who died in January 2000. The son was named Lanre and she lost him in 2000 in a road accident when they were returning from Ilorin, Kwara State. She took a break from singing for three years following the loss of her son.
Even as you are reading this, Salawa Abeni remains the favourite of many women, especially many of those in the southwestern Nigeria where Yorubas are mainly concentrated. Salawa Abeni endeared herself to the hearts of millions of Nigerian women not only with her sonorous voice but also because of the domestic issues that she always sang about. Using her songs, she became an activist denouncing the way women are maltreated by men.
Salawa Abeni did not have formal education and once said that she is very grateful to God for her fame and success because she never even imagined she would secure the job of a cleaner owing to her poor educational background. Well, your talent will take you where no degrees would.
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Post by Honorebu on Dec 4, 2015 5:07:55 GMT
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Post by Her Highness on Dec 4, 2015 5:14:54 GMT
1 million records in the 70s is beyond impressive.
Na wa! Impressive.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 4, 2015 16:26:17 GMT
Tunde Baiyewu
 Tunde Baiyewu (born Babatunde Emanuel Baiyewu, 25 November 1968) is a British singer of Nigerian descent and is a member of the easy listening duo, Lighthouse Family. In 2004 he embarked on a solo career, releasing the album Tunde, and in 2013 released his second album, Diamond in a Rock. Tunde Baiyewu was born in London, but moved to Nigeria at the age of five after the death of his father. Ten years later he returned to Britain, attending the University of Northumbria in Newcastle upon Tyne, and obtained a degree in accounting. He subsequently met Paul Tucker who was also studying at Northumbria University and was working at the same bar as Tunde – their partnership began and they formed Lighthouse Family. In 2005, he appeared on the BBC Television one-off special, Strictly African Dancing. He came last, but he learned the Bata dance in the process. On 12 November 2006, Baiyewu appeared in an ITV documentary called Faith in Music. This documentary charted his life and music, from his roots in Africa, through Lighthouse Family and into his current solo incarnation. It also showed him performing an acoustic set featuring tracks from his latest album. In January 2007, Baiyewu held his first tour in over four years (the last time being with Lighthouse Family). He did four concerts from 13 to 16 January 2007 in Edinburgh, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London respectively. He combined his solo material with Lighthouse Family hits and dedicated each and every song to his nephew Funto. Baiyewu released his second solo album, Diamond In A Rock, in the UK on 4 March 2013.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 4, 2015 16:26:46 GMT
Ade Bantu
 Adegoke Odukoya, better known as Adé Bantu (born 13 July 1971 in Wembley, London), is a Nigerian-German musician, producer and activist. He is best known as the founder of the Afro-German musical collective and NGO Brothers Keepers and as the front man of the 12 piece band Bantu[2] He received the Kora Award (the Pan-African equivalent of the Grammy) for his album "Fuji Satisfaction" in 2005. Adé Bantu was born in Wembley, London. He is biracial, being the son of a German mother and a Nigerian father. In 1973 he relocated to Lagos, Nigeria with his parents Adeleke Odukoya and Barbara Odukoya. After the death of his father in 1986 he moved with his mother and 3 siblings to Germany.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 4, 2015 16:27:59 GMT
Skepta
 Joseph Junior Adenuga (born 19 September 1982, in Tottenham, London), better known by his stage name Skepta, is an English rapper, grime artist, songwriter and record producer of Nigerian descent.[1] He is most commonly known for releasing grime music. He released his debut studio album Greatest Hits in late 2007 and his second, Microphone Champion in 2009, both independently, while his third studio album Doin' It Again was released in 2011 by 3 Beat Records. His fourth studio album, Konnichiwa, is expected to be released in late 2015. Skepta was originally a DJ from Tottenham-based grime crew Meridian Crew, early in his career Skepta released a number of instrumentals the most notable of which were "DTI (Pirate Station Anthem)" and "Private Caller", the latter of which was released as a single and vocaled by various other members of Meridian Crew. Skepta began emceeing shortly before Meridian Crew disbanded in 2005, after which Skepta, alongside his brother JME, joined Roll Deep for a short period of time before becoming founding members of Boy Better Know in 2006. In 2006 he clashed Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2 in what is remembered as one of the biggest grime clashes.This clash created a long running dispute between the two MCs culminating in war dubs being exchanged in 2015.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 4, 2015 16:28:43 GMT
Taio Cruz  Jacob Taio Cruz (born 23 April 1985), best known by his stage name Taio Cruz, is a British singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, and entrepreneur.In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which he wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the United Kingdom and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In October 2009, Cruz released his follow-up album Rokstarr, which includes the number one singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". Cruz has collaborated with Kesha and Fabolous on the single "Dirty Picture", as well as Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy on his single "Higher". Additionally, Cruz penned and recorded the song "Telling the World" as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2011 animated film Rio. Cruz's third studio album, TY.O, was first released in Germany in December 2011. In 2012, Cruz co-wrote the David Guetta song "Without You". In April 2015, Cruz released the first single, "Do What You Like" from his forthcoming Roses Collection. Cruz was born in London, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother. He attended Bilton Grange, a private prep school in Rugby, Warwickshire, and Christ's Hospital, a boarding school in Horsham, West Sussex. Cruz began writing songs when he was 12. His songwriting career began at age 19 as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment. Cruz achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a Brit Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game". Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". The single attracted significant attention from radio, and also from music industry insiders, who were already well aware of the artist's potential; manager Jamie Binns, who began representing Cruz at this time, later told HitQuarters: "He was a guy that everyone had earmarked to do damage in the future". Although the single received a reasonable amount of radio airplay, it did not perform as well as expected in either territory.However, rather than lose faith in Cruz, the labels were eager to negotiate an album deal, as by this time they had listened to his other songs and were ever more convinced by his capability. Cruz's admirers included Island Records's Darcus Beese and Monte Lipman, who, according to Binns, "both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic". In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records. |
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