Sakara music
Encyclopedia
Sakara music is a form of popular Nigeria
n music based in the traditions of Yoruba music
.
It is a Moslem-influenced style, mostly in the form of praise songs, that uses only traditional Yoruba instruments such as the solemn-sounding Goje
violin, and the small round Sakara drum
, which is similar to a tambourine and is beaten with a stick.
Sakara music overlays the nasalized, melismatic vocals of Islamic music on the traditional percussion instruments.
The music is often brooding and philosophical in mood.
One of the first performers of this type of music in Lagos
was Abibu Oluwa, who started playing in the 1930s. On his death in 1964 his place in the band was taken by Salami Alabi (Lefty) Balogun (October 1913 - 29 December 1981), a talking drummer, who released over 35 records.
Other members of the band included Baba Mukaila, and Joseph (Yussuf) Olatunju
.
Yusuf Olatunji (alias Baba l’Egba), who died in 1978, did much to popularize the musical genre and released many records on the Phillips Nigeria label. A street in Abeokuta
is named after him.
Sakara music had considerable influence on other genres, including Jùjú
and Nigerian Hip Hop.
Fuji music
is a mixture of Muslim traditional Were music
with elements drawn from Sakara and Apala
music.
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 music based in the traditions of Yoruba music
Yoruba music
The music of the Yoruba people of Nigeria is best known for an extremely advanced drumming tradition, especially using the dundun hourglass tension drums. Yoruba folk music became perhaps the most prominent kind of West African music in Afro-Latin and Caribbean musical styles...
.
It is a Moslem-influenced style, mostly in the form of praise songs, that uses only traditional Yoruba instruments such as the solemn-sounding Goje
Goje
The Goje, is one of the many names for a variety of one or two-stringed fiddles from West Africa, almost exclusively played by ethnic groups inhabiting the Sahel and Sudan sparsely vegetated grassland belts leading to the Sahara. Snakeskin or lizard skin covers a gourd bowl, and a horsehair...
violin, and the small round Sakara drum
Sakara drum
The Sakara drum is one of the four major families of Yoruba drums of Nigeria. The other families are the Dundun/Gangan or talking drum, the Batá drum and the Gbedu drum....
, which is similar to a tambourine and is beaten with a stick.
Sakara music overlays the nasalized, melismatic vocals of Islamic music on the traditional percussion instruments.
The music is often brooding and philosophical in mood.
One of the first performers of this type of music in 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...
was Abibu Oluwa, who started playing in the 1930s. On his death in 1964 his place in the band was taken by Salami Alabi (Lefty) Balogun (October 1913 - 29 December 1981), a talking drummer, who released over 35 records.
Other members of the band included Baba Mukaila, and Joseph (Yussuf) Olatunju
Yusuf Olatunji
Yusuf Olatunji, also known as Baba Legba or Baba L’Egbaa was a Nigerian Sakara drum player, who popularized the sakara music style....
.
Yusuf Olatunji (alias Baba l’Egba), who died in 1978, did much to popularize the musical genre and released many records on the Phillips Nigeria label. A street in Abeokuta
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....
is named after him.
Sakara music had considerable influence on other genres, including 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...
and Nigerian Hip Hop.
Fuji music
Fuji music
Fuji is a popular Nigerian musical genre. It arose from the improvisation Ajisari/were music tradition, which is a kind of music performed to wake muslims before dawn during the Ramadan fasting season...
is a mixture of Muslim traditional Were music
Were music
Were music is an indigenous Yoruba music, which, like ajisari, is a way of using music to arouse the Islamic faithful to pray and feast during Ramadan festival in Yorubaland. Ajiwere or oniwere means "one who performs were music."...
with elements drawn from Sakara and Apala
Apala
Apala is a musical genre, originally derived from the Yoruba people of Nigeria.It is a percussion-based style that developed in the late 1930s, when it was used to wake worshippers after fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan...
music.