… features in ‘Kisimo’, ‘Ododo Rose’ and ‘Akanke vs Akanni’
Lagos-based musician, Edaoto, is again in action in ORERE, a new album by popular performance poet, Akeem Lasisi. The dreadlocked artiste with a very rich voice is a long-term collaborator with Lasisi and he is emphatically back with him in the 10-track offering.
Edaoto, who had boldly and enrichingly featured in Lasisi’s earlier works that include ‘Eleleture’, ‘Udeme’ and ‘House of Memory’ (For Omooba Yemisi Shyllon), is the singer in ORERE’s title track as well as in ‘Ododo’, ‘Kisimo’ and ‘Ada, Ada’, while he gives a lady artiste (Phumzee) a good ‘fight’ in ‘Akanke Vs Akanni’, an interchange of witty lines between an estranged woman and her husband.
Edaoto says he and Lasisi have been together for long and really understand each other. According to him, it is a blessing meeting him just as he knows the poet too values his contributions to the development or evolution of his unique poetry calling.
“I dare say that my egbon, Lasisi, is not just Nigeria’s but also Africa’s biggest real performance poet. I am not situating him among core traditional legends like Ogundare Fonyanmu, Lanrewaju Adepoju and Alabi Ogundepo. He is building on their legacies, yes and those of modern poets especially our baba, Professor Niyi Osundare. When you look at the way he has transformed modern poetry in the past two decades or so, developing a compelling hybrid of poetry, music, drama and film rolled into one, how he has turned poetry, which is otherwise dry, into household entertainment piece, you will agree with me that he is in a class of his own. I am happy that we have been in the journey together.”
Edaoto adds that ORERE is another big experimentation, noting that they worked with a different producer, Kolawole Oduremi, who powered most of the tracks with what he calls modern sounds.
“We are always blessed with great producers. These include Sanjo (SOJ), Banjo and Tunde Obajeun. They variously produced Lasisi’s albums or projects in the past. But, in ORERE, Kay (Oduremi), who largely built the poems and songs on modern sounds.”
