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Great historic moments of culture and epoch-making sounds of music happen, for posterity, when iconic musicians overcome seeming competition and perceived rivalry and, rise above the simplistic press hype about the best musicians in the various genres of Nigerian contemporary popular music.

Such is the luck of Nigeria at 50 that two of the true giants of Juju music – with a little prodding from a team of journalistic connoisseurs and event management entrepreneurs par excellence – have agreed to perform together in a proverbial one-night stand in Lagos in a few weeks time.

Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade performing live together backed by one band is the dream monster mega-concert of Nigerian contemporary popular music come true and real; thanks to the foresight of Azuka Jebose-Molokwu and Taijowonukabe.

This first-of-its-kind joint Obey-Ade live- concert is a celebration of the coming of age of Nigerian contemporary popular music and the vibrant genre of Juju music in particular.

Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade (KSA) are definitely well worth celebrating. They are creative musicians who by sheer hard work, abundant musical talent, adventure and compelling ambition fired by innovativeness have elevated what is basically a regional and tribal folk tune and folklore-based and laced music, Juju, into a national and internationally-accepted and respected genre of contemporary popular music.

Juju music has deep roots in Yoruba culture as well as diverse levels of involvement and relevance within the same culture. Within the bigger picture of Nigerian contemporary popular music, it can be described as one of the hybrids that came out of Nigeria’s first genre of urban popular music, Highlife. The genre of Highlife itself grew out of the blending of indigenous folk tunes, rhythms, instruments with western musical instruments and socio-entertainment requirements of urbanisation in Nigeria as from the forties.

As an urban social-driven music, Juju has oscillated between being a somewhat crass praise-singing and status-referencing medium to a philosophy-laden and exemplary moral character-uplifting agent. It is no wonder then that Ebenezer Obey the philosopher-King of modern Juju music is now a ‘reformed’ Evangelist preacher-musician.

Origins

The musical roots of contemporary Juju music date back to Apala music, Haruna Ishola, Tunde Nightingale, Ayinde Bakare, I.K.Dairo, Fatai Rolling Dollar and their contributions towards fusing Yoruba rural music and rhythms. All in a quest to create a distinct Highlife flavour out of which Juju and to an extent, Fuji music, have both evolved. The distinguishing elements of these musical variations and their evolution were their peculiar and ‘original’ rhythm instruments and rhythmic patterns. The agidigbo; giant bass thumb piano, talking drums, bata drums, sakara, omele and other indigenous membrane drums as well as the shekere, agogo/metal gongs were the trademark of the music out of which modern Juju music has evolved and grown.

Evolution

Within this context. both Ebenezer Obey and Sunny Ade are notable pioneers in changing the instrumentation and sound of Juju music. They took a leaf from Rex Lawson and introduced two guitars, thus making juju music a guitar driven and led music. This explains why the long list of Juju music superstars and stars; including the woman star Decency, are all guitarists. In the quest to embellish the guitar sound, Sunny introduced the Hawaiian guitar for slide-drone effects. Then came the introduction of trap drums as the key rhythm instrument as in Highlife and Afrobeat; supplemented by indigenous rhythm instruments. Moses Akanbi, master trap drummer for Orlando Julius, joined Sunny’s band as KSA strove successfully with Syncro System to forge a seamless musical fusion between Juju, Afrobeat, Reggae and even Funk to become a truly international star and global chartbuster! Juju music has now become a recognisable brand of its own.

Great bandleaders

Obey and Sunny became great bandleaders; successful enough to maintain full orchestras for three decades. Both are also great lyrical singers; Obey the more classical and craftily sonorous and Sunny more punchy in his inflections and eclectic, due to his awareness of the other voices in the various genres of Nigerian popular music. Obey and Sunny, at best, are competent guitarists but definitely not master guitarists as claimed in the over-hype of their publicity machine of the heady early 70s, when as Commander and King respectively, they overseered the long string of Owambe parties and festivities of military officers and businessmen who were the major beneficiaries of the oil boom and Civil War. They remain great entertainers, unashamed to borrow trends like skimpily-dressed hip-shaking go-go dancers into their acts; to remain modern and relevant.

One Night Stand

Like most great ideas and inventions the thought of staging an Obey-Ade joint performance tagged One-Night Stand came to Azuka Jebose-Molokwu in a flash in faraway Raleigh, North Carolina, one Sunday morning when he was supervising his daughters Amaka and Nneka as they cleaned their room. In the process he ended up with a Sunny Ade CD and an Ebenezer Obey LP. “With a CD and LP in my hands, I conceptualised the idea,” he recalls. “I knew it could happen. I held it back for five or six years. In 2006, I came down for the ThisDay Music Festival. I met Sunny Ade and briefed him and we talked. After 22 years in America, I wanted to come back and contribute. So I told my great friend, Taiwo Obe, and presented him with One Night Stand; Obey and Sunny performing with one band on one night at one venue. I suggested we tie it in with the 50th anniversary and, we are going to do it. We have to do it right: accord Obey and Sunny their respect and acknowledge them as living legends. We then formed a company Grand Faaji Entertainment Company, which will handle the Obey-Sunny concert as well as the business of entertainment, management and ‘politainment’; which entails political entertainment and organising rallies!”

The movers

Azuka Jebose-Molokwu is a well-versed international veteran in the music and entertainment industry. Currently, he works for a community Jazz Public Radio Station 88.9 FM in Raleigh, North Carolina, US. He was a major force in the Nigerian print media as from 1983, working on the Entertainment Desk of Punch newspaper, founding Beats Entertainment magazine the first in Nigeria in 84/85. He was the West Africa Regional Editor for the London-based Africa Music.

The musicians in the backing band are going to come from Obey’s and Ade’s bands and Laolu Akins musician and producer of BLO and Salt international fame, is the producer who will harmonise the two bands into one orchestra; for which Sunny has described him as ‘Commander-in-Chief.’

Grand Faaji

“We are celebrating Obey and Sunny while they are alive,” Jebose-Molokwu emphasises. “We are appreciating them. In our eyes, they have given so much to our pop culture.”

How right and noble! Not surprisingly, Obey initially had reservations, for a man who had gone from secular to gospel music to come out after 17 years of gospel music to perform with KSA. However, by seeking permission through prayers and consultations as a Reverend responsible to his church, Obey finally agreed and is looking forward to the history-making musical event.

What kind of audience does Grand Faaji expect? “Those who love Juju music and have always celebrated Obey and Sunny Ade. And of course the next generation of their fan base,” Jebose-Molokwu responds. As they say, many more will prefer to be there and not to be told!

The Ebenezer Obey-Sunny Ade concert holds at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos on November 7.