Music
Orlando Owoh: the carpenter who became Nigeria’s “King of Toye”
Orlando Owoh, born Stephen Oladipupo Olaore Owomoyela in Osogbo, started out as a carpenter, joined Kola Ogunmola's theatre…
nigerian music
Music
“Fall”: the Davido love song that became Afrobeats’ slow-burn American hit
Davido's "Fall", produced by Kiddominant and released in 2017, became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song on Billboard and…
Arts + Culture
South Africa banned “Fire in Soweto”. The townships played it anyway: Sonny Okosuns and the songs against apartheid
In 1977, Nigerian musician Sonny Okosuns released "Fire in Soweto" and "Papa's Land", attacks on apartheid South Africa.…
Arts + Culture
One album changed juju music in 1989: Sir Shina Peters, Ace and the Afro-juju craze
Sir Shina Peters and his International Stars released Ace (Afro-Juju Series 1) in 1989 on CBS Records Nigeria.…
Arts + Culture
The Elegant Stallion: Onyeka Onwenu, singer, journalist and politician, who died in 2024
Onyeka Onwenu, known as the Elegant Stallion, was a Nigerian singer, actress, journalist and politician. She made hit…
Arts + Culture
“Seun Rere”: Christy Essien-Igbokwe, the Lady of Songs who sang in Yoruba, Igbo, Efik and English
Christy Essien-Igbokwe, known as the Lady of Songs, was one of Nigeria's most popular singers of the 1970s…
Arts + Culture
“Sweet Mother” came out in 1976 and never left. Prince Nico Mbarga’s song for every African mother
Prince Nico Mbarga and Rocafil Jazz released "Sweet Mother" in 1976. Sung in Pidgin English over a highlife…
Arts + Culture
Afrobeat or Afrobeats? One letter separates Fela’s revolution from Burna Boy’s stadium tours
Afrobeat is the style Fela Kuti and Tony Allen built in Lagos in the late 1960s and 1970s.…
Arts + Culture
He named his music after a mountain in Japan. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and the birth of fuji
Sikiru Ayinde Barrister built fuji music from the were songs sung to wake Muslims for the Ramadan meal,…
Arts + Culture
King Sunny Adé turned 80 last week. In 1983 he became the first Nigerian ever nominated for a Grammy
King Sunny Adé, the king of juju music, turned 80 on 22 September 2026. In 1982 Island Records…