Page Four

Contemporary Yoruba Music

	Yoruba Culture & Religion
	Talking Drums
	Yoruba Dance
	Chronology
	Digital Bibliography

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The Yoruba of West Africa

Scholars credit composer Hubert Ogunde as the father of the new Yoruba music drama, which started around 1944. Ogunde derived his sense of rhythm from the nonorthodox churches of Lagos, the island state of the south coast of Nigeria. The style of Ogunde reflects the influence of neo-traditional church music (Euba, 1970, p. 98). Ogunde’s new music drama maintains the Yoruba tradition while accommodating for socio-political changes. These performances retain the traditional elements of Yoruba drama, such as the concern with efficacy and tonal variation. Euba (1970) applauds the efforts at a new style of music that adheres to traditional elements, but does not try to recapture an identical or “absolute” traditional performance. However, Euba also critiques of the lack of audience participation and collective creativity evident in Ugunde’s performances (a result of European influences). In contrast to traditional performance roles, the composer controls the artistic direction and production of the music dramas and their band. Rather than the open-ended style between the drummer and the dancers, the composer of new music drama discourages spontaneity by the other musicians. Ugunde’s efforts as a composer are frequently overshadowed by the more popular Yoruba music of today.

The musical artist Lagbaja (pictured above), which is a Yoruba word-meaning nobody, somebody, anybody, everybody, utilizes juju music for contemporary social critique. Lagbaja emerged as a Lagos musician during the controversial Nigerian presidential elections in 1993, in which dictator Sanni Abacha eventually took over the country (African music profiles, 2004). Lagbaja draws from ancient Yoruba drumming and elaborate costumes in his performances in order to make a social statement about community and cultural values. In public, he hides behind a mask to obscure his identity. His appearance and performances promote a sense of a Yoruba and Nigerian cultural community. His album “We Before Me” communicates his emphasis on societal interests over individual interests. He claims his music is most influenced by his traditional Yoruba background (especially the drums) and the Western styles of jazz and funk music. Lagbaja’s drumming attempts to replicate the “talking drums” of traditional Yoruba. Lagbaja’s music is just one example of the social function of Yoruba music.

Juju music entered the Nigerian music scene in the 1930s in Lagos and remains popular today. Juju music retains some of its religious connotations and is commonly played at Yoruba weddings, funerals, and professional gatherings. However, its secular popularity far exceeds its religious uses.

Tunde King is often accredited with the “invention” of the juju style (Alaja-Browne, 1989). King collected common items, such as cigarette cans and beverage bottles and used the "instruments" to create a variety of sounds. Current juju music in Nigeria features a variety of Western and Yoruba instruments, including talking drums, guitars, and keyboards. Later artists such as King Sunny Ade popularized juju music internationally with the release of his album, "Juju Music." Sunny Ade and his band members (all 20 of them) demonstrate the intensity, complexity, and symphony possible with juju music.

Contemporary juju performances promote a sense of unity and relay a vision of the ideal community. The neo-traditional religious songs of the 1940s heavily influence juju music. The Christian influence on Yoruba music affect the structure of juju music in particular (Alaja-Browne, 1989, p. 232). In addition, asiko dance music influences the form of music. The Yoruba use asiko dance as a form of social critique that requires audience participation. Both asiko dance and juju music use a call and response format to make a effective socio-politico statements during their performances. Alaja- Browne (1989) evaluates the value of the call and response form of juju music, “Since juju music is premised on performer/audience relationship, the images of performance and music embody values and characteristics with which people can identify. These values and norms form part of the common cultural heritage of the society and, in particular, the Yoruba cultural heritage” (p. 240).

Many musical styles influences the juju music, such as the tambourine drum, which provides “talking” potential and the ability to heighten once spiritual emotions. Rather than calling on a deity, bandleader directs her or his praise songs at the host of the event to express gratitude and wish them good fortune. However, the guitarist, rather than the drummer, controls the structure of a performance through musical and verbal cues (Waterman, 1982, p. 61). Samba music influences the rhythm of juju music along with the folksongs and musical instruments of the Kru sailors that often visited Lagos (they also utilized the call and response form in their music). There are a variety of instruments used in juju music including electric guitars and basses, maracas, bongos, and gourd rattles (Waterman, 1982).