Bisade Ologunde (in Lagos, 1960) is a
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
afrobeat
Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...
musician, singer-songwriter and percussionist. Widely known as Lágbájá for his signature use of mask which covers his identity. He believes in social reform through music.
Early life and career
Ologunde adopted the name Lágbájá (meaning "Jane Doe" or "John Doe"- A person whose name, identity is intentionally concealed in Yoruba) as he embarked on his career in the early 90s. His name was reflected in his choice of stage attire – a slitted textile and rubber mask adopted so that the artist represented the ‘common man’ in keeping with the carnival tradition of Yoruba Culture. He formed his first small band in 1991 in Lagos after he had taught himself to play the saxophone. With a high quotient of percussion instruments including congas and talking drums, Lagbaja's album ''We Before Me'' (IndigeDisc/PDSE), released in 2000, demanded honesty from politicians and urged brotherhood and unity. He shared lyrics of his songs with a backup singer,
Ego Ihenacho, and equally plays tenor saxophone. With a firm, brawny tone akin to that of
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
and
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
, he emblazoned the melodies of the songs, sometimes with
Ego scat-singing along.
Awards
*2006
Channel O Music Video Awards
Channel O Africa Music Video Awards, once known as Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, are Pan-African music awards organised by South Africa -based Channel O television channel. The awards were first held in 2003 under the name Reel Music Video A ...
– Best Male Video ("Never Far Away")
Discography
* 'Ikira', 1993
* ''Lagbaja'', 1993
* ''Cest Un African Thing'', 1996
* ''ME'', 2000
* ''WE'', 2000
* We and Me Part II, 2000
* ''ABAMI'', 2000
* ''Africano... the mother of groove'', 2005
* ''Paradise'', 2009
* ''Sharp Sharp'', 2009
* ''200 Million Mumu (The Bitter Truth)'', 2012
See also
*
List of Yoruba people
References
External links
Lagbaja's official home page
{{Authority control
Year of birth missing (living people)
Nigerian songwriters
Yoruba musicians
Living people
Musicians from Lagos
20th-century Nigerian musicians
English-language singers from Nigeria
Yoruba-language singers of Nigeria
20th-century Nigerian saxophonists
21st-century Nigerian saxophonists
20th-century Nigerian male singers
21st-century Nigerian male singers
Masked musicians