The Melody Web what each genre heard, and what it passed on

heard passed on Click or tap a node to recenter. Use a connecting line, or Influence, for the story.

Heard

Highlife genre · 1920–

Electric jùjú keeps Yoruba praise and talking drum and takes highlife’s guitar-band dance craft.

Influence
Palm-wine music genre · 1900–

Early jùjú keeps Yoruba praise and takes palm-wine’s two-finger guitar.

Influence

Jùjú

genre · 1930–

Also called juju music

Yoruba guitar-and-talking-drum popular music of Lagos and the southwest (Tunde King, Dairo, Sunny Adé, Obey). The hop into Afrobeat is the Yoruba percussion and praise-chant room Fela already knew. Early jùjú hears Palm-wine music for the guitar; electric jùjú hears Highlife for the dance-band craft. West African drumming leftover as a grouping, not a tight parent. Fuji leftover as a Yoruba sibling. Empty extra Given is historically checked.

Listen

  1. Salome I.K. Dairo (1962) YouTube
  2. Synchro System King Sunny Adé (1983) YouTube
  3. Ja Funmi King Sunny Adé (1982) YouTube
  4. 365 Is My Number / The Message King Sunny Adé (1982) YouTube
  5. Olomi Gbo Temi Ebenezer Obey (1972) YouTube · Spotify

Passed on

Afrobeat genre · 1968–

Afrobeat keeps jùjú’s Yoruba drum lattice and chant under funk and highlife riffs.

Influence

Highlife → Jùjú

instrumentationmeter and grooveform and structurestrength: mediumwell documented1960–1975recordingoraldance

Mechanism

Electric jùjú keeps Yoruba praise and talking drum and takes highlife’s guitar-band dance craft. Strength medium. Early acoustic jùjú is older; this hop is the 1960s–70s band.

Evidence

Dairo and Adé electric bands against Ghanaian/Nigerian highlife; Grove on that meeting.

Debate

Whether jùjú is only Yoruba and needs no highlife parent. The talking-drum job is local; the amplified guitar band is the highlife hop.

Mediators

artist: I.K. Dairo; artist: King Sunny Adé

Palm-wine music → Jùjú

instrumentationphrase and lickmeter and groovestrength: mediumwell documented1930–1962oralrecording

Mechanism

Early jùjú keeps Yoruba praise and takes palm-wine’s two-finger guitar. Strength medium. The later electric-band hop sits on highlife juju.

Evidence

1930s Lagos guitar jùjú against the coastal guitar school; Grove on that meeting.

Debate

Whether Tunde King is already highlife. The small guitar group is palm-wine; the Yoruba praise job is jùjú.

Mediators

artist: Tunde King

Jùjú → Afrobeat

instrumentationperformance practicemelodystrength: mediumwell documented1968–1975oralrecording

Mechanism

Afrobeat keeps jùjú’s Yoruba drum lattice and chant under funk and highlife riffs. Strength medium. Highlife is the dance-band parent; this hop is the Yoruba percussion room.

Evidence

Africa 70 talking-drum and percussion against Lagos jùjú bands; Grove on that local share.

Debate

Whether this is already “Yoruba traditional music.” Jùjú is the named urban popular school Fela’s city already used.

Mediators

artist: Fela Kuti