Jùjú music
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Yoruba people Jùjú (Template:Ipa) is a style of Yoruba popular music, originated in Lagos, Nigeria.<ref name=":0" /> It first began developing in the 1920s with Tunde King (Abdulrafiu Babatunde King).<ref name=":2">Template:Citation</ref> Early styles of jùjú music consisted of banjo or acoustic guitar, drums, gourd rattle, tambourine, and vocals.<ref name=":2" /> Call-and-response singing is common in jùjú music along with harmonies, repetitive refrains, and polyrhythmic percussion.<ref name=":2" /> Other musical elements like improvisation and expressive vocal styles are often found.<ref name=":0" /> Although jùjú music was developing in the 1920s, a recognizable genre did not emerge until the mid-1930s.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Jùjú music emerged in Lagos in 1932, and was influenced by palm wine guitar music.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> Jùjú was also strongly influenced by Asikò dance drumming, which is tied to Yoruba Christian communities.<ref name=":3" /> Lyrics include praise and storytelling, reflecting themes such as identity, community, life, spiritual beliefs and social commentary.<ref name=":0" /> Jùjú performances often lasted hours without any breaks.<ref name=":1" /> Bands often had a repertoire that they could play from memory.<ref name=":1" /> The bandleader had the responsibility of assessing the crowd at the social event and adjusting their performance according to the audience's preferences.<ref name=":1" />
History
Instrumentation
When jùjú music was first developing, groups often formed as trios.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> This included a bandleader who sang and played the banjo, a tambourine player, and a sèkèrè (gourd rattle) player.<ref name=":1" /> Sometimes a fourth person would be added as a supporting vocalist.<ref name=":1" /> By the end of World War II, jùjú bands were mostly quartets.<ref name=":1" />
In the early days of jùjú music instruments would include acoustic guitar, banjo, drums, gourd rattle, tambourine and vocals.<ref name=":2" /> After World War II, musicians started to form competing bands, incorporating new instruments and regional styles.<ref name=":0" /> Some of these instruments included electric guitars, synthesizers, pedal steel guitar, and sometimes saxophones.<ref name=":2" /> Talking drums are also found in jùjú music, but were not introduced to the genre until 1948.<ref name=":3" /> Other instruments like the thumb piano, various conga-type drums and Hawaiian guitar emerged into the genre as well.<ref name=":3" /> The later adoption of electric amplifiers allowed for larger jùjú ensembles.<ref name=":3" />
Influences
There were three musical influences that helped shape Tunde King's creation of jùjú music.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref>
One key influence was the tambourine drum, which was introduced to Lagos in 1920 by The Salvation Army.<ref name=":6" /> It had the ability to mimic speech in interactive musical settings.<ref name=":6" /> The tambourine was locally known as “eight corners,” and was also believed to elevate mental and spiritual awareness.<ref name=":6" /> Because of this mystical association, people from Lagos began calling the music “jùjú”, which was a colonial term for African spiritual practices.<ref name=":6" />
The second key influence was samba music from the Brazilian community in Lagos, which was associated with the carata masquerade.<ref name=":6" /> Samba has a steady two-beat pulse which matched jùjú's duple rhythmic structure, but incorporates syncopated melodies layered over percussion patterns and steady guitar.<ref name=":6" />
The third influence came from Kru sailors from Liberia, whose folk songs (often call-and-response style) and two-finger guitar technique called “Krusbass” inspired the harmonic foundation of jùjú.<ref name=":6" /> This evolved into a standard tuning progression called “Johnny Walker is a Mighty Man,” which became central to Tunde King's compositions.<ref name=":6" />
Popularity and decline
Another name for jùjú music that was considered more performative is "Tombo bar music".<ref name=":1" />
Traditional African popular music is categorized into two types: one for dancing, and one for individual expression.<ref name=":0" /> Jùjú music, however, mixes the two styles to create a unique genre.<ref name=":0" /> Jùjú music was and is used for expressing cultural identity in Nigeria, especially in the late 1950s and early 1960s after World War II when Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom.<ref name=":2" /> This is when nationalism was at its highest in the country.<ref name=":2" />
Most jùjú groups remained semi-professional, which allowed them to make a second income.<ref name=":1" /> There were higher status and lower status ensembles of jùjú music that reflected the genre's diverse audience including civil servants, artisans and daily paid labourers.<ref name=":1" /> The most successful jùjú groups are based in Lagos, which is Nigeria's modern and cultural capital, and Ibadan plays a secondary role as a supporting hub for the popular music scene.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Modern jùjú music, by artists such as Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Adé, reflects the influence of modernization and cultural blending.<ref name=":7" /> However, it still strongly holds traditional Yoruba music styles and social values.<ref name=":7" /> Jùjú began among the lower class in Yoruba cities, but with the help of recordings, it has grown in popularity, crossing social boundaries and reaching people of different religions, ages and backgrounds.<ref name=":7" />
Competition from fuji music led to the decline of jùjú in the 1980s.<ref name=":3" /> Although jùjú music still remained popular, it has faced increased competition from newer genres.<ref name=":3" />
Influence of Tunde King
Tunde King (Abdulrafiu Babatunde King) was the first artist of jùjú music in the 1920s.<ref name=":2" /> A guitarist from Lagos,<ref name=":1" /> Tunde King began by playing and improvising Asiko music and folk songs during social gatherings with the "Area Boys" trio in Olowogbowo.<ref name=":0" />
His music mixed Asiko rhythms and social commentary, and used the two-finger guitar style known as "krusbass."<ref name=":0" /> He was known to have a high vocal register, and in the traditional norms of Yoruba music a high value is placed on the upper male voice.<ref name=":1" /> He also incorporated Christian hymns in vocal melodies, Asiko drumming, and Ijinle Yoruba poetic rhetoric.<ref name=":1" /> During his time, musicians were not considered to have a respectable profession in traditional Yoruba society.<ref name=":0" /> Tunde King often would play music with his face covered by a cap to maintain a level of anonymity and to avoid social stigma.<ref name=":0" /> He would perform usually during late-evening sessions at family compounds and never on the streets.<ref name=":0" />
Tunde King and his group were also the first jùjú musicians to be recorded in 1936, by the Parlophone record label.<ref name=":1" /> Tunde King said that influential patrons encouraged him to record his songs at a time when only select few groups with strong ties to African elites had access to recording facilities.<ref name=":1" /> The elites had the money to buy gramophones to listen to recorded music, which increased the popularity of the musicians they listened to. The elites also gave musicians live performance opportunities.<ref name=":1" /> The few jùjú bands that are widely known across Nigeria and other specific regions usually gained recognition from performing at high-profile events and celebrations of the elites.<ref name=":7" /> Tunde King talked about how his earnings from recordings were minuscule compared to his earnings from live performances.<ref name=":1" /> Musicians who did not have the opportunity to record were trapped in a cycle of no elite contacts, no recordings, and no chance for upward mobility.<ref name=":1" />
Tunde King's group laid the foundation for what would later evolve into jùjú music.<ref name=":0" /> They blended Asiko rhythms, socially reflective themes and some western instruments, making a significant impact on Nigerian music history.<ref name=":0" />
Performance contexts
Jùjú music is performed primarily by artists from the southwestern region of Nigeria, where the Yoruba are the most numerous ethnic group.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In performance, audience members commonly shower jùjú musicians with money, a tradition known as "spraying."<ref name=":1" /> "Spraying" involves a pleased recipient dancing toward the bandleader or another musician and attaching money to the sweat on the musician's forehead.<ref name=":7" /> The band manager will then go around collecting the money, placing it in a cardboard box on the bandstand.<ref name=":7" /> This commonly serves as a primary source of income for musicians.<ref name=":1" /> Some other sources of income include cash advances and record royalties.<ref name=":1" />
Performances of jùjú music often alternate between concerted choral and call-and-response singing.<ref name=":1" />
The three main contexts for jùjú music in the 1930s/1940s were parlour parties, urban bars, and neo-traditional ceremonies.<ref name=":1" /> Other performance venues include house parties, naming ceremonies, weddings, and wakes.<ref name=":1" />
Most jùjú musicians are based in "the zone of market forces," such as Ibadan.<ref name=":4">Juju, Christpher A. Waterman Retrieved 26 December 2020</ref> There are several contexts in which jùjú music is performed, such as hotels, nightclubs, and universities.<ref name=":4" /> Most activity takes place after nine p.m., and the hotels are the center of Ibadan's economic structure.<ref name=":4" /> Jùjú performances often lasted for hours without any breaks and there were often competitions between local groups.<ref name=":1" /> Bands often had a large repertoire of songs that they would play from memory.<ref name=":1" /> The bandleader of the group was responsible for evaluating how the crowd was feeling and adjusting their performance to the audience's preferences.<ref name=":1" /> When performing in ceremonies, they had to be familiar with traditional verbal genres and the life histories of any ceremonial participants.<ref name=":7" />
The bandleader could signal the band to change course using different signals such as verbal phrases, changes in melodic patterns on the banjo, and by using drums as surrogate speech (imitating tones) to comment on the performance.<ref name=":1" /> Whether on or off the stage, the bandleader was expected to be energetic, dignified and generous. If an argument were to break out among celebrants, he was expected to mediate it effectively.<ref name=":7" /> The ideal bandleader has a clear and strong voice. The bandleader is ultimately responsible wherever the band plays and whether the event is a success or failure.<ref name=":7" /> Tunde King talked about how his band was sometimes asked to play all night, and he was able to play for four hours at a time without stopping.<ref name=":1" /> Jùjú bands also dress colourfully and neatly, and usually have a good sound system so that the drumming and praise lyrics can be heard clearly by everyone.<ref name=":7" />
There was a nocturnal sub-culture that developed in Lagos, where jùjú music was played and performed mostly during the night. Even the most successful jùjú musicians often had an ambiguous status.<ref name=":1" /> The nighttime was known to be a time ofuncertainty in Yoruba traditions.<ref name=":1" /> Spirits and witches are known to be most active at night, and respectable families would tightly shutter their houses.<ref name=":1" /> Many musicians would tell stories of strange things happening on their way to or from nocturnal performances.<ref name=":1" /> Jùjú artist Tunde King even wrote some lyrics talking about the night. Musicians would also use their cigarette smoke to make a protective aura.<ref name=":1" />
Another context in which jùjú music is played is at celebrations called àríyá.<ref name=":5" /> For example, one jùjú artist named King Sunny Adé performed at àríyá.<ref name=":5">King Sunny Ade ariya Retrieved 26 January 2021</ref> These celebrations are parties which celebrate the naming of a baby, weddings, birthdays, funerals, title-taking, ceremonies and the launching of new property or business enterprises.<ref name=":5" /> Live music is crucial to the proper functioning of an àríyá.<ref name=":5" />
Musical features
The musical elements of jùjú music include its rhythmic foundations, which often involve complex rhythms like polyrhythms.<ref name=":0" /> Early jùjú music usually had a tempo between 130bpm and 150bpm, which was considered fast for most traditional Yoruba social dance drumming at the time.<ref name=":1" />
Percussion instruments include the jùjú drum (tambourine), talking drum (gangan), sèkèrè (gourd rattle), agidigbo (type of xylophone) and guitar (plays both lead and rhythm roles).<ref name=":0" />
Early styles of jùjú consisted of acoustic guitar or banjo, drums, sèkèrè (gourd rattle), tambourine, vocals (call and response, harmonies, repetitive refrain).<ref name=":2" /> Polyrhythmic percussion is more of an essential element in modern jùjú, along with other instruments such as electric guitars, synthesizers, pedal steel guitars, talking drums, and sometimes saxophones.<ref name=":2" />
Melodic and harmonic elements include a call-and-response structure, improvisation, harmony, and an expressive vocal style.<ref name=":0" /> Melodies were mostly diatonic and harmonized in parallel thirds, which is common in Christian musical practice.<ref name=":1" /> Jùjú was usually harmonized by a I-IV-V7 pattern, and early jùjú was structured as A-B-A or A-A-B-A, known as the "Johnny Walker".<ref name=":1" /> Male voices having a high register was placed at a high value and voices were usually slightly nasalized and barely had any vibrato.<ref name=":1" /> Oftentimes the banjo would also be used to foreshadow melodies of following vocals.<ref name=":1" />
Jùjú music has been influenced by different musical genres such as rock, funk and reggae.<ref name=":2" />
Lyrical content
Lyrics include praise singing and storytelling. Lyrical themes include identity, community, life, spiritual beliefs, and social commentary.<ref name=":0" /> Jùjú praise lyrics often draw from traditional sources, such as Yoruba proverbs and praise names (known as oríkì).<ref name=":7" /> These praise lyrics are usually aimed at an important person at the event, often the host who would have hired the band.<ref name=":7" /> The bandleader will sing the main melody, adding personal details about the person that is being praised.<ref name=":7" /> These solo lines will alternate will short call-and-response sections sung with the chorus.<ref name=":7" /> The talking drum also plays an important role by echoing phrases of praise and proverbs, adding rhythmic patterns that reflect the social atmosphere.<ref name=":7" />
See also
References
External links
- King Sunny Ade interview by Jason Gross from Perfect Sound Forever site (June 1998)
- "Sparkling Prince of Juju Music Called Ludare", Thisday, October 2016
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