This is a 3-part critique of Lágbájás seminal album “We before Me” released in 2000 (selections from the double album “We”/“Me” released a year before). I delve deep into the multi-dimensional perspectives of Lágbájá as a musician, a performance artist, and a political satirist.
Part III:
Súúru Lérè pulls from a rich tradition of political satire to tell us the history of Nigerian democracy.
Seriously Funny
Satire must be able to do two things simultaneously to be effective: entertain as it provokes thought. It employs a range of concepts to do this, humor to inspire joy and give relief, sarcasm to ridicule and provoke, mockery which attacks as it amuses and irony to show shortcomings and hypocrisy. If done well, its intent…
This is a 3-part critique of Lágbájás seminal album “We before Me” released in 2000 (selections from the double album “We”/“Me” released a year before). I delve deep into the multi-dimensional perspectives of Lágbájá as a musician, a performance artist, and a political satirist.
Part II
The costume Lágbájá wears in Feyin E, which is reminiscent of the Egúngún, stuns when refracted through an art-historical prism, it finds us searching for meaning in the unknown and pondering our existence.
Looking At Loss
Seeing does not preclude belief. For the Yoruba, religious practices and divinity systems are typically hidden or shrouded in secrecy. An example of this are the crowns with beaded veils worn by the Oba, which visualize the deep correlation between power and concealment. Another example is masquerades like the Egúngún who are ancestors reincarnated. For an…
This is a 3-part critique of Lágbájá’s seminal album “We before Me” released in 2000 (selections from the double album “We”/“Me” released a year before). I delve deep into the multi-dimensional perspectives of Lágbájá as a musician, a performance artist, and a political satirist.
Part I
Konko below shows us the value of the old and the wealth of the new as it identifies the Yorùbá musical influence on Afrobeat.
Body Language
Sometimes Yorùbá can sound like singing, it has a rhythmic bounce in the mouth and leaves a euphonic ring in the ear. The diacritics and heavy tonal use are responsible for this intrinsic musicality because they alter pronunciation. This quality makes it perfect for songwriting because it lends itself easily to alliterations, rhymes, metaphors, and double…
An analysis of the pivotal album Shoki Shoki
I write about Femi Kuti’s extraordinary ear, his famed album Shoki Shoki, and how it’s cultural and political messaging remains timely even 21 years later. This album is the coming of age in a journey to connect black consciousness through music. I put a spotlight on an often forgotten but important element in the Afrobeat and Afrofusion zeitgeist.
Cool as Chlorophyll
When a seed germinates in a dark room it eventually opposes the pull of gravity and its leaves grow towards a window in search of sunlight. In the Yoruba ethos, darkness “okúnkún”, is symbolically…
Maria Somorin
Yoruba art history buff and Afrobeat enthusiast.
