Kola Ogunkoya
Encyclopedia
Kola Ogunkoya is a Nigeria
n afrobeat
musician who uses the term "Afro Gbedu
" to describe his style of music, which includes jazz, highlife
, Jùjú
, funk and traditional Yoruba music.
Kola was born on 20 August 1967 in Owerri
, Imo State
, Nigeria
but was of Yoruba
background, the son of an itinerant police officer.
After moving from Iboland to Lagos
, he attended Okota Community High School, a tough environment.
He was a successful amateur boxer as a teenager, but due to opposition to his pursuing this career from his father turned to music, singing and playing trumpet in his local church.
He now plays an array of instruments including saxophone - soprano, alto, tenor and baritone, trumpet, fluger horn, and slide trombone.
He was influenced by artists such as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Orlando Julius, Dr Victor Abimbola Olaiya, Dayo Kujore and King Sunny Ade
, and for two years played with Olaiya.
At age 18 he formed his own band in Lagos. Kola and his 15-piece Afro jazz Ensemble, which includes female dancers, has performed all over the globe.
He went to USA in 1996 where he had a successful tour. On return to Nigeria he opened a cultural club for Art and Music in Opebi, Allen, Lagos. He lost his investment to a corrupt businessman, and his brother was murdered in front of the club. Due to these experiences he returned to the USA, where he gained citizenship.
By 2010 he had recorded 8 CDs.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
musician who uses the term "Afro Gbedu
Gbedu
Gbedu literally means "big drum" and is a percussion instrument traditionally used in ceremonial Yoruba music in Nigeria and Benin.More recently, the word has come to be used to describe forms of Nigerian Afrobeat and Hip Hop music.-Tradition:...
" to describe his style of music, which includes jazz, highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
, Jùjú
Jùjú music
Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name comes from a Yoruba word "juju" or "jiju" meaning "throwing" or "something being thrown." Juju music did not derive its name from juju, which "is a form of magic and the use of magic objects or...
, funk and traditional Yoruba music.
Kola was born on 20 August 1967 in Owerri
Owerri
Owerri is the capital of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of the Igboland. Owerri consists of three Local Govern Areas including Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West, it has an estimated population of about 400,000 as of 2006...
, Imo State
Imo State
Imo State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria and lies to the south of Nigeria with Owerri as its capital and largest city.-History:Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
but was of Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
background, the son of an itinerant police officer.
After moving from Iboland to Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, he attended Okota Community High School, a tough environment.
He was a successful amateur boxer as a teenager, but due to opposition to his pursuing this career from his father turned to music, singing and playing trumpet in his local church.
He now plays an array of instruments including saxophone - soprano, alto, tenor and baritone, trumpet, fluger horn, and slide trombone.
He was influenced by artists such as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Orlando Julius, Dr Victor Abimbola Olaiya, Dayo Kujore and King Sunny Ade
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time.-Background:...
, and for two years played with Olaiya.
At age 18 he formed his own band in Lagos. Kola and his 15-piece Afro jazz Ensemble, which includes female dancers, has performed all over the globe.
He went to USA in 1996 where he had a successful tour. On return to Nigeria he opened a cultural club for Art and Music in Opebi, Allen, Lagos. He lost his investment to a corrupt businessman, and his brother was murdered in front of the club. Due to these experiences he returned to the USA, where he gained citizenship.
By 2010 he had recorded 8 CDs.
Discography
- Na jeje ooo (1990)
- Kola Ogunkoya - Loud
- PAN PAN PAN ROBO ROBO
- Kola Omo Baba Olopa