Beautiful Nubia
"Nigeria's King of Melody!”
(National Mirror, Sept 1, 2006, Nigeria)
"One of the best things to have happened to contemporary music in Nigeria...a rare creator of rich sounds and a gifted performer.”
(The Punch, January 21, 2005, Nigeria)
Beautiful Nubia’s songs of cultural celebration, social upliftment and public enlightenment have inspired millions in his land of birth. And now millions more around the world are starting to awaken to this new voice of courage and rare wisdom.
With an uncanny ability to reach back into the past, re-invent ancient rhythms and mesh them with original melodies to produce soul-churning sound offerings, this singer, songwriter and bandleader has evolved a form of music that continues to defy classification and appeals to a continuously growing market comprising all sections of the populace – the poor and the rich, unlettered market-women and university professors, students and teachers, male and female, young and old. All elements of the society can be found at a Beautiful Nubia concert and, as he likes to say, “Everyone is welcome to Beautiful Nubia’s party!”
His music has been described by various critics as “folk fusion”, “a relative of afrobeat” and "modern African music with meaning" but the artist himself recently described it as “reflecting the roots of modern popular music genres”. Whatever your music taste, there is something here for you.
In 1997, while pondering how to introduce himself as a musician, Segun Akinlolu, then a young, practising veterinary doctor, decided upon the performance name of Beautiful Nubia to remind every young African of a time when people like them ruled the world and were masters of the ocean, the air and the land. In doing so, perhaps, young Africans would find something positive and inspiring to hold on to from the past which they could employ in projecting to the future. His first album Seven Lifes followed shortly after and he has not looked back.
Jangbalajugbu, his 2002 album, has sold in excess of a million copies. Awilele and Fere, which followed, have been praised for their tight arrangements and novel sound. Kilòkilò, his latest album, brings together the diverse elements upon which Beautiful Nubia’s music has been built throughout his decade of recording, fusing the didactic with the spiritually elevating and the gently grounding. As usual, he comes with a message of hope and love. Of renewal and growth. Of a place where we can have peace if we learn to share of ourselves so that others may smile.
There seems to be a lot of smiling going on here too. And the good feeling reaches out and surrounds you as you get drawn in by the smooth horns, the deep soothing lead voice, the sweet-like-honey (as a typical Yoruba would say) back up vocals, and the flighty, punchy, ethereal music. There are songs here decrying bad leadership in Africa and lamenting the quality of life of the common African but they are well balanced by feel-good songs celebrating the beauty of a continent rich in culture and awash in immense potential. Through it all, there is an infectious high-spiritedness and warmth, as if the whole band was possessed by the resident spirits of the 50-plus year-old analogue studio where the album was recorded.
In this album, Beautiful Nubia’s ability to fuse ancient tradition and rhythms with contemporary sounds reaches a distinctly new level of achievement. In summary, you will love the music!
Discography: Kilokilo (2007); Fere (2006); Awilele (2004); Jangbalajugbu (2002); Fire On The Roof (2001); Voice From Heaven (1999); Seven Lifes (1997)