The Most Accomplished Musician In Nigeria

Lagbaja the masked musician is the most accomplished musician in Nigeria. And those who understand music will agree with me. Because, this Nigerian musical phenomenon
has no rival in Nigeria. He is a multi-instrumentalist and intellectual lyricist.
The dexterity and ingenuity of Lagbaja make him stand apart from the other musicians in Nigeria. His genius is charismatic and enigmatic. He plays Jazz, Highlife and Afrobeat and his peculiar mystique makes Lagbaja unique.

I love his music and I never get bored of listening to it. And if you have not collected Lagbaja, you are missing a lot.

Here is more on Lagbaja from his web site.

The first question that is often asked when Lagbaja is encountered is, “Why the mask?” Basically, Lagbaja’s mask is used as an icon of man’s facelessness.
Lagbaja is a Yoruba word that means somebody, nobody, anybody or everybody. It perfectly depicts the anonymity of the so called “common man”. The mask and the name symbolize the faceless, the voiceless in the society, particularly in Africa. Once you see Lagbaja’s mask you are reminded of your own facelessness. This symbolism is so powerful that Lagbaja’s mask has popularized the use of the mask concept by other artistes both in Nigeria and beyond.

Though the concept was developed long before that, his first album (entitled Lagbaja) was released to National acclaim in 1993. Over the years and more albums later, the music continues to fascinate with its unique focus on a core of African drums. His music is a product of various influences ranging from traditional Yoruba music to Jazz. Often the music is purely instrumental- an interplay between traditional Yoruba percussions, drums, chants, and western instruments, especially the saxophone. When there are lyrics, they are primarily sung in Yoruba, English or a blend of the two as is colloquially spoken in Yoruba cities. Many of his songs dwell on serious social issues, while others simply entertain. Some are dance inducing while others pass serious messages in humourous ways.

One thing that links all the songs together is his use of traditional African drums. Traditional Yoruba drums are the most prominent. Four families of these drums are employed in creating different grooves and moods. The dundun/gangan family is the most prominent and at times up to five drummers combine all the various components to create the polyrhythms. The bata ensemble is led by two musicians who alternate between soft high toned driving rhythms with their omele bata, and thunderous loud talk with their mum drum- iya ilu. The general percussionist leads the sakara ensemble. The fourth family, used as the backbone of the groove is the ogido, a derivative of the ancient gbedu. The ensemble of drummers constitute the larger part of the band. Vocalists and western instrumentalists make up the rest. Lagbaja’s groovy fusion has been refered to as afrojazz, afrobeat, higherlife and afropop until now that he himself has christened the music AFRICANO, alluding mostly to the central role of African drums and grooves in his music.

In March 1997, Lagbaja established his club, Motherlan’ in the heart of Ikeja in Lagos. Motherlan’s design is influenced by the traditional African town or market square, where people gather under the moonlight for ceremonies and artistic events like dance, music, story telling, wrestling etc. True to this function, over the years, it has become a place for many comedians to polish their act in front of a demanding audience.

With a serene gorge of beautiful trees and greens as background, the venue merges traditional Africa with the contemporary, creating the ambience of the countryside in the urban city. Lagbaja performs at Motherlan’ every last Friday of the month to a full house of faithfuls.

Lagbaja is fast emerging in the forefront of contemporary African music, rich in the traditions of the continent while cosmopolitan in attitude. He has started to take his music beyond the shores of Nigeria, performing in festivals and venues around the world