In Nigeria, culture plays a dominant role in the lives of the people. It serves as a symbol of unity and help in shaping the way people perceive things. This is evident among the people of the South West where cultural norm and values are held sacred.
As part of their culture, indigenous music has a lot of influence on their socio-economic lifestyle. It is perceived as a medium of communication where the instruments are used to send messages for correcting the ills plaguing the society or as a means of relating what the deities have concurred on issues of vital importance.
The importance attached to their culture is evident in the way they greet, an attitude which has become part of their daily life. While greetings are exchanged, it is important for the people to smile and when asked about the wellbeing of someone, time is given to respond as this is considered to be polite.
The Yorubas greet their elders with a lot of respect. The boys prostrate to greet their elders, while their female counterparts greet by kneeling on one or two knees depending on the tribe.
Also, other aspects of the people’s culture are seen in the way they dance, in art works, dressing and philosophy. Proverbs and adages form an important part of their everyday language and are used extensively in all forms of communication, but music plays a dominant role in uniting the Yorubas without barriers.
This has brought to fore the efforts made by Goldberg, also known as ‘Your Excellency,’ a product from the stables of Nigerian Breweries Plc, in promoting the rich cultural heritage of the people of the South West through music, like the Fuji t’o Bam musical concerts.
It is a talent hunt initiative aimed at discovering promising Fuji artistes and empowering them to contribute to the growth of the entertainment culture of the people of the South West.
It would be recalled that the brand in 2012 launched the Fuji t’o Bam initiative and has since then produced young Fuji musicians with bright future.
Fuji music which has grown in leaps and bounds is a fusion of certain musical influences like ‘Sakara, Apala, Juju and to an extent, highlife. Indeed, the growth of Fuji music has been astronomical, particularly, since the mid-80s when the ace Fuji music artiste, Wasiu Ayinde Barrister waxed his ground-breaking ‘TALA-84’, apart from establishing his musical hegemony and imprint in the minds of the South west elite.
To every Yoruba in the South West, Fuji music needs no introduction. It is so engrained in the socio-cultural life of the people such that it easily appeals to their feelings and admiration. This was one of the factors that led to the success of previous Fuji t’o Bam concerts organised by Goldberg in the South West.
The indigenous musical platform, which concluded its fourth edition in 2016, had led to the discovery of Fuji talents. Apart from Tope Ajani, who after months of thrills, drills, excitement and emotions, emerged the Wura1 for the 2016 contest; Fuji t’o Bam has also brought to the limelight young Fuji musicians like Akeem Okiki from Osogbo in Osun State after winning the 2015 title; Twinzobia Twins from Ibadan, Oyo State in 2014; and Antenna, winner of the first edition in 2013.
This year, Goldberg would bring the best of Fuji and Juju music under an umbrella body called “Ariya Repete”, which would commence audition and selection in major cities in the South West in April.
It would be an unparalleled experience where young Fuji and Juju artistes would compete in their various capacities to win fabulous prizes and recording deals.
Meanwhile, the inclusion of Juju music, christened ‘Juju to Gbayi’ into Goldberg’s musical concerts came from feedback from lovers of Juju music who felt marginalised and even tried to pass off as Fuji musicians so as to get a chance to contest.
They felt the urge to partake in similar musical competition where Juju artistes can also be nurtured for future development.
To achieve the desired results in this initiative, Nigerian Breweries Plc recently organised the Ariya Repete roundtable, like it did for Fuji t’o Bam to deliberate on how to make Ariya Repete a household emblem in Yorubaland.
The special guest of honour was the Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi, (Ojaja II), who was represented by Oba Adebiyi Asoya, the Asoya of Ile Asoya Kingdom.
In the course of this, notable speakers such as Prof. Tunde Babawale, former Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) and of the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, gave the keynote address on the topic: Our Music as a Socio-Cultural Lubricant: Juju and Fuji Music Genres of Southwest Nigeria as Case Studies.
He traced the origin of Juju music to the old Saro (Olowogbowo) quarter of Lagos where the music genre emerged from ‘asiko’ music associated with “area boys” in the quarter and added that it also incorporated Brazilian Samba elements and the guitar style of Kru sailors from Liberia.
According to Babawale, the music of the culture of the people of the South West, which is Juju and Fuji, has positively impacted every area of life of the Yorubas, including the reduction of socio-economic tension and the prevalence of religious tolerance.
Babawale posited that it was a man named Tunde King who later transformed ‘Asiko’music into Juju. Tunde King and his contemporaries such as Akanbi Wright, J. O. Araba, Daniel Ojoge Aleshinloye and others introduced dundundrums, electric guitars and later acoustic guitars in the process of creating Juju music.
He said until the 1960s, Juju music rendered in Oyo dialect was mainly performed in Lagos. By the early 60, its performance had spread to other parts of Yorubaland incorporating other Yoruba dialects like Ijesa and Ekiti.
