Elijah Adebero
Multitalented performance poet, Akeem Lasisi, has deepened his experimentation with Yoruba traditional musical as he invokes the musical style of deceased musician, Ayinla Adegator.
This he does in ‘Ododo Rose’, one of the tracks in his new album titled ORERE.
Adegator, who hailed from Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, reigned in the 1980s, alongside the likes of Ayinla Omowura, Dauda Epo Akara Olanrewaju Adepoju (a poet), Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and even Kollington Ayinla, who is the only one still alive among them.
His distinct apala music is often witty as he condemns vices and rocks the waves with flowing tales.
In ‘Ododo’, the award-winning poet deploys a love song upon which he lays romantic poems, with the song coming in the arresting rhythmical form of Adegator. The song is superbly rendered by Lagos-based afro artiste, Edaoto.
Speaking on the essence of ‘resurrecting’ the old musician, Lasisi says it is a form of salute to him (Adegator), while also propagating his musical legacy.
He explains in a statement, “Like many other Yoruba people, especially older ones who savoured the moving lyrics of the 1980s and 90s, I enjoyed Adegator’s works on radio and other players in those days. I still do now, anyway. So, flirting his form is a kind of tribute to his memory. Besides, I like to experiment with old voices to bring them back to the present. And, in ‘Ododo’, the background music also becomes a vehicle to share poetry, so that we are shooting more than two sparrows with one gun.”
The poet, in the same ORERE, experiments with other brands such as hip hop, folklore and the Haruna Ishola type of apala, the last happening in the track titled ‘Apala Romance’, where the producer of the album, Kunle Oduremi, takes the song on which the poet lays poems.
All the 10 tracks of ORERE are on music platforms like Spotify, YouTube Music, Boomplay and Apple.
