Monday, July 31st, 2006
Gentlemen raise your guitars!
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. My name is Fox from naijaYouth.com and life is my lazy dog. I pretend to be a Computer Systems Engineer on a daily basis in Maryland, USA by way of Lagos, Nigeria. As a born, bred and buttered Naija boy I celebrate our wonderful heritage in every way that I can. Nigerian music has grown in leaps and bounds over the past couple of years; our ability to diversify and still retain our unique sound is ingenious. For this reason I implored Bobo to allow me use naijajams.com as a Bata drum to spread the good word about these Nigerian guitarists, singers and songwriters.
KUKU
KUKU grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to the United States in 1993. A resident of Alexandria, VA he fell in love with acoustic music and began playing the guitar in 2002. Since then he has perfected his art which is displayed in his new album Unexpected Pleasures. A truly soul stirring work, KUKU was able to draw from various musical backgrounds including folk, soul and jazz. He fused them into a unique type of music that he calls Afro Soul – a medley of delicious melodies delivered in a minimalist style and greatly influenced by his mastery of the acoustic guitar.
One of the songs in the album, “Ife”, speaks about love in KUKU’s native tongue, Yoruba. The song begins with a soft intro on the acoustic guitar that gets richer with time and gently evolves into a robust rhythm that makes you want to bob your head and rock ever so slightly to the beat. In this song KUKU exhibits his extensive vocal range. In the background you can hear a beautiful high pitched voice repeating the title of the song and accompanying is deeper tone. Both voices belong to none other than KUKU who has a 5 octave vocal range that is a beauty to listen to. The lyrics tell us that there is nothing in the world more than love. The love that a mother has for her child, the love that a wife has for her husband, the love that God has for the world cannot be compared to anything else. KUKU is right about that and one more thing we love his unique sound. You can find out more about KUKU on his website and come see him at NaijaFest 2006 on August 12th.
Ka-Chi
Music does different things for different people. Some listen to it for entertainment, some for consolation and others for inspiration. Ka-Chi’s song “Give my Soul Liberty” entertains, soothes and inspires. He implores you to take control of your future and steer your destiny to the direction you want. This has been a rallying cry for this singer, song writer and guitarist who comes from humble beginnings in Lagos, Nigeria.
An Electrical Engineer by day Ka-Chi fell in love with music at a very early age. His first instrument was the keyboard which he taught himself to play and on which he composed his first song at age eight. The song “Don’t be rude” as Ka-Chi fondly remembers featured back up vocals from his sisters. He describes the song writing process as an extension of his introspective personality. As a youngster he frequently committed his thoughts to paper and won a handful of literary awards. After moving to Maryland, USA in the late 90’s Ka-Chi was drawn to music once again and considered going back to the keyboard but was inexplicably drawn to the guitar. “When I pictured myself making music I always saw myself with a guitar” he says. He began learning to play the instrument and drew from his analytical engineering background to see patterns on the fret board which he used to form chords and produce beautiful music. He is now working on his first album and is featured regularly in events in the Baltimore MD area. Visit his website and MySpace page for more information.
Nell
Bringing up the rear but by no means the least in terms of talent is Nell. A resident of Baltimore, MD since he moved out of Nigeria in the mid 90’s Nell chose the guitar as an avenue for his musical expression as it complements his style of music and is portable.
While listening to his song “Just a Dream” the first thing that stands out is Nell’s sonorous voice that sounds like early Paul Simon. “Just a Dream” is a beautifully written song that is performed in a style that reminds one of easy Sunday mornings when you wake up late with no plans made and not a worry in the world. The sweet vocal work is accompanied by Nell on the acoustic guitar using his impressive skills to make you snap your fingers to the beat as you wonder if you really are listening to a Nigerian artist who sounds this good or is it just a dream. Be sure to check out Nell on MySpace.
Like many of you out there, Lagbaja is one of my favorite Nigerian artists, and has been since I heard his material almost 10 years ago. Since then, his popularity has grown with each release and he’s now at the forefront of Nigerian music, with ever increasing popularity internationally.
