Music of the Nigerian People Through The Years

There was no CD, DVD, No Ipods or Ipads, Black or White was the ing of
Colours! The "nl# Visi$le Variant colour is that of Nature! No Phone nu%$ers
to e&change $ut onl# %o%ents to share while listening to '(V() *)((N'
+"N*+!
To get a feeling of what it feels like to to li,e in -./s Nigeria, *et a cop# of
Victor uwaifo/s '0oro%i', listen to it while dri,ing #our ,olkswagen '$eatles'
car to place of work , dont forget to wear a wig and %ake sure #ou whistle
and nod while #ou dri,e! Your present da# friends %ight 1nd it funn#, $ut this
what '+W2*' would %ean wa# $ack then!
Music has a wa# of e,oking Past Me%or#, To *et the attention of %ost adults
now, 3ust sing a song fro% the 4./s or 5./s, The# i%%ediatel# relate it to an
e,ent or scenario in the past, %ost ti%es the response is a wide grin or s%ile!
*i,e it a Tr#, +ing Dan Mara#a/s ' 3awa$in 2ure' to an 6ausa Man, Chief "sita
osade$e 'osondi owendi' or "li,er de Co7ue '2na (nwe o$odo (nwe' to an
ig$o %an , $etter still sing 'Ba$# Mi 3owo' 'o%o wa re so0a' , 'osika g$a$e
ola' of Chief ($ene8er o$e# to a #oru$a %an! These songs share co%%on
features, asides cutting across language $arriers, The +incerit#
l#rical9%essage: content, The su$tlet# of %usical instru%entaton and
richness of sound and %elod# all contri$ute to the reason wh# the songs are
tagged '(V() *)((N'!
The earliest st#les of Nigerian popular %usic were pal%;wine%usic and high
life! which spread in the <=>./s, In nigeria, pal% wine $eca%e the pri%ar#
$asis for 0u0u, a genre that do%inated popular %usic for %an# #ears!
?ollowing world warII, Nigerian Music started to take on new instru%ent and
techni7ues, including electric instru%ent i%portaed fro% the united states
and europe, )ock N/ roll, +oul and @ater ?unk Beca%e popular in Nigeria and
(le%ents of these genre were 2dded to 3u0u $# artist such as I dairo!
Meanwhile, 6ighlife had $een slowl# gaining popularit# a%ongs the ig$o
people! 2t The sa%e ti%e, 2pala/s 6aruna Ishola was $eco%ing one of the
countr#/s $iggest stars! in the earl# %id; <=4.s, of the $iggest na%es in
nigerian %usic histor# were at their peak, ?(@2 ATI, (B(N(B() "B(Y, IN*
+ANNY 2D(, C6I(? "@IV() T6( C"CA(, C6I(? "+2D(B(! Traditional +tars
Include D2N M2)2Y2 who was so well known that he was $rought to the
$attle1eld during the <=-4 Nigerian Ci,il War to @ift The %orale of The
?ederal Troops!
"ther 2rtist of the 4.s;5.s include, Victor "lai#a9The onl# nigerian to e,er
earn a platinu% )ecord:, Celestine ukwu, "riental Brothers, +unn# "kosun,
Victor Awaifo and "rlando owoh whose distinctice st#le fused 0u0u and hight
life!
In toda# Nigeria, what we ha,e is h#$rid genres that are hinged on %usic of
the -./sD4.sD5.s or an entirel# new st#les fro% outside the shores of the
countr#, especiall# the popular $eat of whi8kid, da,ido etc which are grafted
fro% the cal#pso $eats of the carri$ean!
+o, If You need a $reak toda#s noise, *i,e #ourself so%e -./s Treat! You are
going to feel #oung again!