One man that has remained a constant face of Fuji music for close to forty years is the widely acclaimed King of Fuji, K1, an Ijebu-Ode prince, born at Idumagbo area of Lagos Island as Wasiu Adewale Omogbolahan Olasunkanmi Ayinde Anifowoshe on the 3rd of March, 1957, to the Fidipote Ruling House of Ijebu-Ode.
K1 could not complete his secondary education as a result of the untimely demise of his father. Providence, however, took him to the musical group of the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister where he became an instrument ‘packer’; but in fulfillment of destiny, an event that happened in 1974 permanently altered the course of his life, when, Barrister, the band leader, went on a trip to England and the entire band members had to wait for his return before they could start playing music again.
This experience made the young Wasiu Ayinde resolve to become a professional Fuji musician, leading to the birth of his own musical group. Though he debuted with his first album titled Iba (Tribute) in 1980 on the label of Adetunji Omo Aje records, owned by the incumbent Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba(Dr) Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, K1 released his landmark hit album, TALAZO’84 in 1984 and has never looked back since, with a string of successful hit albums in quick succession likeTala’86, Dance For Me, American Tips, Fuji Collections, The Ultimate, Consolidation, History, Statement, among others.
Some common features of K1’s professional life over the years are the core values of hard work, consistency, focus, loyalty to people, and above all, his constant self- improvement. As a musical brand, he has repackaged himself over the years, starting with Wasiu Ayinde Barrister, later changed to Marshal The Ultmate, KWAM 1, and later K1.
K1 was about the first indigenous musician of Yoruba extraction to employ a trained Management expert to oversee the affairs of his organisation when he hired a UK-trained, London-based Management consultant, Dayo Adekunle Olomu of D.O & Associates as his Manager. This paid off with his increased “acceptability across different strata of the Nigerian social establishment.”
Also, it is to K1’s credit that Fuji music was rescued from the effect of Juju music with the sterling performances of the likes of King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and Shina Peters who introduced Afro Juju through his hit record ‘ACE’ in 1989 which made modernisation and re-launching of Fuji music an imperative if it was not to go into extinction.
K1 responded to fill that gap by releasing the first real fast-track Fuji album titled ‘American Tips’ in 1990 which marked a significant turning point for Fuji music as Fuji from then on expanded its frontiers to become the toast of many more educated Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora who practically abandoned Disco to identify more with K1’s new brand of modern Fuji.
Many younger artistes were inspired to take Fuji music as way of earning a livelihood and fame, and this is one of the greatest achievements of K1, the architect of modern Fuji. It will be a disservice to talent and vision to attempt to rob K1 of the credit for revolutionising Fuji into a classical brand with millions of followers and fans.
One important lesson Nigerian youths can pick from the life of this iconic Nigerian entertainer and Fuji King is the power of vision and the tenacity to pursue it.
At the time he began his Fuji career, that brand of music was perceived (rightly or wrongly) as an exclusive preserve of uneducated and low-class Nigerians, compared with other genres of music in the land; but the story changed with the persistent and consistent rebranding which K1 spearheaded, thus pushing Fuji to the top chart of the Nigerian entertainment industry.
The pioneering effort of K1 endeared him to the corporate world, earning him a consistent place at corporate events like the famous Benson & Hedges Golden Tones and the prestigious Havannah Carnival gigs, organised by the Sigma Club of the University of Ibadan where he remains one of its longest performing artistes after the likes of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti and the King of World Beats, Sunny Ade.
Considering the long chain of individuals and organisations making their living from Fuji as singers, producers, promoters, record distributors, marketers, artiste managers and other value- added service providers, this is no mean achievement for Alhaji Wasiu Adewale Anifowoshe and I believe strongly that he deserves a National Merit Award for working hard to create direct and indirect jobs for many others with his God-given talent.
In addition, K1 is an opinion-molder who has employed his music to ventilate his political ideas and political thoughts in a way he believes he can contribute to the enthronement of good governance in Nigeria by associating with the All Progressives Congress(APC) and its previous incarnations, right from the Bola Tinubu years as Governor of Lagos State up till the build up to the 2015 General Elections when he played a major role, singing to the delight and admiration of people at all the campaign rallies of the APC, including that of then presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari.
One thing K1, however, does well is to refrain from politics with bitterness as he never allows his leanings towards the APC to have negative impact on his long-standing relationships with some of his friends and acquaintances in other political parties, just like he has been able to sustain for nearly 40 years now, his business and father -to-son relationship with the present Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, who was said to have nurtured him as a young artiste, tutoring him on the business aspect of Fuji, following him all the way to stardom; and the relationship is still intact till today as evident in K1’s visible involvement in the coronation activities of the Olubadan a year ago.
This is vintage K1, who cherishes friendships and relationships with people in every part of the country, his friends of over 40 years ago are still his friends today. In addition to having a glowing and enviable music career, he also recorded a huge success as a father raising lawyers, accountants, economists and other professionals as children who graduated from top universities across the globe.
I commend the life of this great Nigerian to our youths for inspiration to see hope in despair, to see possibility in impossibility and to always see far beyond their discouraging circumstances.
K1 was able to define a future for himself, traveling through that rough and thorny road to fame, stardom and wealth. On this occasion of his 60th birthday, I join his numerous fans, well- wishers and other Nigerians from all walks of life to felicitate with this rare gem and distinguished Nigerian.
- Adegoke is an Ibadan-based legal practitioner.
