King Sunny Ade and His African Beats

 

Since the evolution of juju music in Nigeria in the thirties no exponent
has made a more lasting impact in the genre than King Sunny Ade. As
a singer, composer and guitarist, he has succeeded over the years in
taking this Nigerian social music type to international heights.
Ade came on the scene in 1966 following his induction as a samba
player in a small group led by showman and comedian Baba Sala,
known in real life as Moses Olaiya. And with his own ten piece band,
the Green Spots, Ade made his first record in 1967, playing the guitar
solos himself. He however, blazed into prominence a year after with a
hit single in praise of Stationery Stores football club which carved him
a gold disc as a result of its massive sales. Since then Ade has been in
the limelight.
The late sixties found Ade searching for a credible sound identity that
tended to fuse the influence of Tunde Nightingale with the techniques
of his mentor, Moses Olaiya in order to forge his own individuality and
direction. Emphasis was therefore placed on melodic exploration,
simple vocal themes and accompaniment based merely on social
commentaries than clear-cut, definitive tunes.
But it was in the seventies that he really got himself together, trying to
perfect a sense of direction within the juju format. Attention began to
be focused on rhythmic integration, lead singing began to assume a
more defined and aggressive pattern with such hits as “Ekilo fomo
ode” “Esu biri biri,” “Nitori awa wa”, some of which were steeped in
highlife.
In the mid-seventies Ade adopted a new cultural dimension when he
was influential like every other musician by the cultural wind that
began to blow through Africa. He was influenced by Fela Anikulapo
Kuti’s Afro beat, evidence of which was prominent in his
instrumentation where the guitars riffed figures that were imitative of
the Afro beat legend’s creations. His guitar solos were also affected as
he did not only include the tenor guitar which was Fela's concept, he
actually lured Fela's famous exponent of this instrument, Sony Ohiri
into joining his own aggregation which had metamorphosed from
Green Spots to African Beats. And it was a new development for juju
music. A typical Afrobeat influenced tune from this era was “synchro
system” which was predicated mainly on an Afrobeat bass movement
aside from the singing.
The 1980s experienced a consolidation in Ade’s orchestral
arrangements which now took preeminence over every other element.
He began to play with the confidence and authority of a super star,
developing a sense of melodic inventiveness woven around simple
structures. He had established a sense of direction and reached the
peak of his performing career with well choreographed steps and the
professional stage act that was predicated on flamboyance and athletic
movements.
Fortunately, for Ade, it was at this peak of his blossoming career that
his popularity was scientifically tested and acknowledged by a hit
parade that was being conducted by Research and Marketing Services
Limited for Radio Nigeria 2, the then leading FM Station in the country.
Ade often topped the Nigerian social music category of this chart with
such hit albums as “Afefe yeye,” “Check E,” “Searching for my Love,”
“Juju Music” among others. This success gave Ade a kind of larger
than self popularity which exposed him to the international scene.
Ade no doubt has brought a number of innovations to juju. His arch
rival, Ebenezer Obey had succeeded in transforming the music from its
neo-traditional status to an urban social music type with the
introduction of the trap drums and three guitars. But Ade further
revolutionized juju music by increasing these guitars, adding more
drums, introducing flamboyance of a robust type, elegance and dignity
to the live performance of the music.
His words: “When I met juju music musicians were still sitting down,
with instruments arranged in front. I found it hard because I knew
people were not getting full value for their money. So I started
standing and dancing. I moved the instruments backwards to allow
them enjoy their money and gave my boys a microphone each to
dance and sing.” Continuing, he said, “At that time too, they were
playing only one guitar. I increased to two, three, four, five and the
present six. I dropped the use of the accordion and introduced
keyboards, the manual jazz drum and now the electronic jazz drum. I
introduced the use of pedal steel otherwise known as Hawaiian guitar,
increased the percussion aspect of the music, added more talking
drums, introduced computer into juju music and de-emphasized the
use of high tone in the vocals.”
When Ade signed on with Island Records in 1982 as a result of
attracting international attention, he was perhaps the biggest natural
phenomenon on the Nigerian music scene where massive record sales
kept him at the top of the charts. With the release of the album “Juju
Music”, Ade was launched personally onto the Western pop scene, and
his presence generated the kind of buzz associated with a big star. He
was presented as a Yoruba prince and referred to as king. His
musicians called him chairman.
Elegant, youthful-looking and courteous, Sunny Ade had the charisma
to match his new status. He even had the air of regal candor to go
with his title, “the king of juju music.”