Nigeria: Fuji Music in Nigeria – New Documentary Shines Light On a Popular African Culture
Nigerian singer Síkírù Àyìndé Barrister (1948-2010) pioneered fújì, a Yorùbá genre of popular dance music. In February 2024, historian Saheed Aderinto’s documentary on the musician’s life and times premiered. The Conversation Africa’s Wale Fatade asked Aderinto about the film and the music it brings to our attention.
What is fújì music?
Fújì fuses Islamic philosophy and wordsmithing with Yoruba poetry and meaning-making to create sound, idioms and recreational habits. It does this across social classes, from the wealthy in the corridors of political power to the poor at the fringe. Its messages, politics, performance styles, space and sophistication reflect a wide range of realities.
However, fújì did not begin as a secular and commercial sound. Its musical ancestor, wéré, was a seasonal Islamic performance during Ramadan. Wéré’s origin dates to the 19th century or earlier when Islam established firm roots among the Yoruba. The Yoruba are one of the numerous ethnic groups in Nigeria.
From the early 1970s, Ayinde Barrister began to expand the domain of wéré’s performance. He turned it into an all-year-round commercial secular music drawing from established secular forms. By the mid-1970s, fújì emerged as a distinct genre through his pioneering efforts. He combined numerous elements of existing music, such as sakara, apala, juju and Afrobeat, to create a hybrid sound that also borrowed from Yoruba aesthetics of praise singing.
By the mid-1980s, fújì was a staple in the Nigerian soundscape. As the 20th century eclipsed, it was one of the most dominant popular music styles across the African diaspora.
Today, fújì exhibits all the conventional elements of global entertainment music. Its beat-making, computer-based production technology, new electronic and digital circulations, and eclectic performativity all align with similar global forms such as Afrobeats. And fújì is not immune to common criticisms of popular music: sexualising women, portraying unrealistic notions of socio-economic mobility, and promoting obnoxious ideals of self-making.
By Saheed Aderinto
