When I was in Boston a few weeks ago K surprised me with a great gift: Celestine Ukwu. Now, if you’re a big music guy like myself I don’t think there’s anything sexier than a cute girl with good taste in West African highlife. Thanks, Kate.

During the 1960s Rex Lawson and a host of other Igbos popularized highlife music before it fell out of favour during the civil war of 1967-70. By the mid-1970s, however, the Nigerian highlife scene had started up again with bands like the Oriental Brothers, Prince Nico and perhaps most importantly, Celestine Ukwu.

Ukwu’s style is slightly different from that of his contemporaries; he was apparently a soft-spoken, relaxed kind of guy and this is reflected in the music he plays. You’ll hear slower rhythms and even things like steel slide guitar poking up from beneath the palmwine acoustic. Even the name of his band is pretty chilled-out: Professor Celestine Ukwu and the Philosophers National. Why don’t bands give themselves names like that anymore?

You can pick-up today’s track at Stern’s on Celestine Ukwu Best Collection Volume 1.

Celestine Ukwu – Ife Sina Chi

Fatai Rolling Dollar, the ex-highlife music legend from Lagos, Nigeria, is staging a comeback at the tender age of 78. His recently released album, Won Kere Si Number, is enjoying great success in Nigeria. Dollar, whose real last name is Olagunjo, suddenly finds himself playing loads of gigs and getting some media attention from major Nigerian publications.

Fatai Rolling Dollar, like so many other highlife musicians of the 60s and 70s, was largely forgotten during the 1970s when Nigeria entered its sketchy phase of multiple military dictatorships, corruption and violence. For years he worked as a security guard and did some gigs as a church guitarist. It wasn’t until 2003-2004 that anyone remembered his music or he recorded anything new. Jazzhole put out three new albums in two years and suddenly he was a household name again.

Unfortunately his albums’ success didn’t make him any money. He still lives in a dusty one-bedroom in Mushin, Lagos. To quote Lagos’ Sun News, he “doesn’t even have a car” and until recently had to play his guitar on the street for smokes. Not surprisingly, Fatai feels that Jazzhole, the label/store that released his album, is ripping him off. If you’ve ever been to Lagos you’d understand that this is entirely possible, even though Jazzhole has a great reputation and is one of the better West African music stores.

Following the success of his latest release he’s now split from Jazzhole and is putting together an album for wider global release with a guy named Barry White (no, not the dead, smooth talking master.) Look for it soon and in the meantime here’s some music from Won Kere Si Number. Sorry for no purchase links but I think you can only buy this in Nigeria.

ps- thanks again to Didier for this CD. I’m very jealous that he got to see all this great music in Lagos last week.

Fatai Rolling Dollar – To Ba Fe Mo Dollar (acoustic version)

First of all, big shout-out to my friend from Dakar, Didier, his sons, Max and Tito, and the lovely Caro. Didier just got back from a business trip to Lagos and was nice enough to bring me a signed copy of Lágbájá’s latest album, Africano. (Didier caught Lágbájá live on the Lagos mainland last week.) Fantastic. The CD reads, “MATT! LAGBAJA!”, which is appropriate given how I feel about his music.

Anyway, the gift sprung me back in Benn loxo action. I’m really sorry there hasn’t been much music here lately – things have been wildly busy and I need to find new ways to build a daily post into my schedule. I’ll try my best.

Lágbájá is one of the quintessential Nigerian musicians still living and playing music in Lagos. He’s probably most famous not for his music but rather for the mask he always wears. Lagos urban legend tells that nobody except his mom knows what he looks like.

The word Lágbájá is Yoruba for nobody or everybody at once. Lagbaja wears his mask so that he can remain faceless, most likely due to his frequent sharp criticism of Nigeria’s corrupt Big Men. You have to respect a guy who shies from public recognition and fame, especially in an often bling society such as the one you often find in Lagos. He has a great web site if you want more info – check it out here.

His music is fun, too. Loads of Yoruba percussion, positive lyrics and a some of the Nigerian afrofunk that continues to touch so much of the music coming out of Lagos.

Lágbájá – Skentele Skontolo