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The Rising Phoenix From The East By Obidike C Michael
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato
Growing up, I had watched my dad dance to the rhythms of classical Igbo highlife music. Sounds from highlife maestros like Late Chief Osita Osadebe and Late Chief Oliver De Coque, put my dad in a radical cheerful mood. As a child, I often wondered what the whole frenzy was all about.
But around the year 2016, my dad's frenzy made a lot of sense to me when my ears first met with the sound of a certain highlife band, called Umu Obiligbo. I have since come to appreciate their sound from then on, darting around and wiggling my body in revered ecstasy like my dad did, whenever their songs is being played.
Umu Obiligbo Biography
Umu Obiligbo is a sensational Igbo highlife band, whose music is highly philosophical and loaded with good moral messages.
The band is made up of two biological brothers, Okpuozo and Akunwafor.
Born Ifeanyichukwu and Chukwuebuka Obiligbo, in the year 1988 and 1992 respectively, to the family of Mr Ajana and Mrs Benedict Obiligbo of Umuazu village in Nteje, Oyi Local government Area of Anambra state.
The Obiligbo's are popular for their legendary Epkili style music.
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For those who are unaware, Chief Akunwafor Ezigbo Obiligbo( grandfather to Okpuozo and Akunwafor jrn), was a famous minstrel ( Akunwafor being his traditional Ozo title) whose career spanned the period 1940 till his death in the early 80's.
Obiligbo was a master lyricist, composer, poet and exponent of the Ekpili style and master of the native thumb piano ( ubo ) similar to the mbira of Southern Africa, but marginally different in the flat tapered metal key arrangements and the variations in size from smaller sized version to the larger varieties.
Obiligbo with his powerful lyrics- steeped deeply in native idioms and with thought provoking lyrics, layed the foundation for which the contemporary superstar band, Umu Obiligbo, is building a successful music career on.
"Umu Obiligbo" translated from the Igbo language to the English language means, "Obiligbo's Children".
The superstar highlife band have defiled the static culture of doing hit songs only in a place like Lagos, to record widely consumed hit tracks in Anambra, among which includes; EGWU EBUBEDIKE, OKWU EGO, UDO GA ADI... among others.
Their intensely melodious and dance oriented highlife sound is widely enjoyed around the world.
The Obiligbo brothers are fast becoming a household name among lovers of highlife music in Nigeria, Africa and the world.
The future is indeed bright as daylight for these young champs.
Umu Nteje Aborgu, obodo ekwelugo!
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