A Long Read for Sunday: Something about Nigerian music.

“Circa 98, the Nigerian musicscape was not a space for creativity to thrive. There were hardly any new musicians stirring the airwaves. The old timers were very wary, especially of the polity. Censorship was at an all-time high. Fela was visibly ill and continued to suffer victimisation in the hands of the government of that era. Lagbaja was popular and his anonymity ploy, his masquerade damask, spoke to the reality of the day, even though his music was an upswing and jazzy form of highlife enjoyed by patrons who wanted to distract themselves from the reality of the moment. Television and radio stations of this era played old numbers by King Sunny Ade, Onyeka Nwenu, Sir Shina Peters, Ayinde Barrister, Salawa Abeni and KWAM I. The reggae-tinged music of the 80s also enjoyed unbridled radio play. Tunes from Majek Fashek , Ras Kimono, Alex O, Krist Okotie, Mike Okri to name a few were popular because there was almost no new material breaking out of the meadows barring the slight revolution from Ajegunle that introduced songs by Daddies Showkey & Fresh and Baba Fryo.” Continued reading here.