Category: Entertainment
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Elemure Ogunyemi; Ekiti-centric traditional musician from Nigeria. Elemure made more than 50 records, with Seramo in which he talked about petrol scarcity, shooting him into stardom. Because of this, he was invited to USA, Poland and Germany by the Ekiti indigenes living there. He passed on at the age of 70 in 2014. Travels…
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Jimoh Aliu; Actor and producer. In 1991, Aliu was the first Nigerian to present a Yoruba film at the Rio Cinema, London. Following this, he also released Arelu and Yanponyanrin. Arelu was such a success that the streets would be deserted when it was time to air it. Born November 11, 1936, Aliu was just…
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Tunde Kelani; Nigerian cinematographer. Using the vehicle of films and home video movies with Ti Oluwa. Nile 1 & 2, Kosegbe, Ote ku I & 2 and others, Kelani’s Mainframe began a renaissance in the promotion of Yoruba culture at more elevated rather than a pedestrian level, usually informed by crass commercialisation evidenced In the…
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Obey Fabiyi; Nigerian musician famed for many hit songs which remain evergreen and still being purchased five decades after release, due to its philosophical lyrics and style. Also known as Ebenezer Obey, he came into limelight as the creator of Miliki, a genre of juju music. His hits which were either in the Golden Disc…
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Kunle Afolayan; Nigerian Film maker who as son of his thespian father took up the gauntlet from where the elder dramatist left it, venturing after seven years as a bank staff into the movie industry. Kunle was auditioned by Biodun Aleja and Tunde Kelani who had worked with his father in the past, and through…
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Olufela Anikulapo-Kuti; Iconoclast musician who was the creator of the Afrobeat subgenre of highlife music. Fela returned to Nigeria after training at the Trinity College in London to join the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, NBC. In 1962 he formed Fela and the Highlife jazz Band and played contemporary highlife music. Several years later, he made an…
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Sunny Okosun; Popular Nigerian musician who came into the local music scene in the mid 1960s with an eclectic style which blended highlife, pop and calypso with organised reggae. His African reggae sound rendered in native Ishan language, vernacular and English is often steeped in sensitive national and global issues. Okosun’s 1977 release, Fire in…
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Adegeye Sunday; or King Sunny Ade is one of the most recognizable brand in Nigerian music, who with his unique Juju brand carved a long career that is successful. His music was famous for its multi-layered percussion, electric guitars and synthesizers, as well as the close harmony of his all-male vocalists. KSA achieved fame internationally…
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Moses Olaiya; a.k.a. Baba Sala, regarded in his heydey as the father of Nigerian comedy, alongside other dramatists like Hubert Ogunde, Kola Ogunmola, Oyin Adejobi and Duro Ladipo. Before he ventured into acting, Adejumo performed highlife music in 1960. He joined a group known as the Federal Rhythm Dandies in 1964, where he tutored and…
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Haruna Ishola; one of the most popular artistes of the Apala genre of music in his day was born in 1919 in Ijebu-Igbo. Haruna Ishola started music early, and moved with time and trend, following whichever way the wind of music blew. He released his debut album in 1948 titled, Orimolusi Adeboye: The Oba of Ijebu-Igbo.…