The Fuji Diaries: On KWAM 1’s New Era

He has been so influential that even contemporary pop acts have adopted some of his inventions. The greatest proof of his reach came when Olamide sampled him on ‘Anifowoshe’ (2013). Unlike his conservative predecessors, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal experimented and introduced alien tunes to the genre. 

On his album Nigeria: The New Era, produced and marketed by Babalaje Music, he introduced a gospel tune at the start of first track ‘Kuku Ojo’. This gospel tune is normally accompanied by these words, “what has been ordained can never be upturned.”

A fuji music fan may want to question this adoption of gospel as the fuji genre is mostly associated with the Muslim population of South West Nigeria. Except for notable examples Remi Aluko and Adewale Ayuba (who converted to Christianity later) all fuji musicians are devout Muslims. But the fuji maestro giving thanks was of course no accident. In 2008 there was news of his arrest in the United States of America. The Ultimate, as he is also known by his fans, remains the most controversial fuji musician, and has, on occasion, been linked with Nigerian politics—and, like many other artists, with hard drugs.

He has mostly ridden over such rumours, converting bad news to positive currency. For example, even a casual fan knows that to be a successful fuji musician, one’s voice must be peculiar: not sweet as can be said for a conventional choir, but coarse. Ayinde Marshal acquired his voice by accident. An incident at the start of his career had him vomiting blood and left him with damaged vocal chords and a distorted voice. Today that distortion is the norm for fuji musicians.

After the gospel tune passes, ‘Kuku Ojo’ begins proper with a Yoruba proverb; “Oro lagbaja to gbo kuku ojo, to bosi eyinkule, to lo da omi inu agbaja nu”. [Translates roughly as, “Stay clear of propaganda or hearsay. Do not, because the clouds look heavy, turn out the waters already in store”.] He tells this profound proverb and goes on thanking fans, friends and relations who called on him during his trial.

This, however, was not what provoked the title of the album. At the time of the album's release, Nigeria was new to democracy and King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, like every other Nigerian, had hopes of a better future. This is what he means by the title. He directly addresses his political concerns on the track ‘Oro to wa nile Yi’.

KWAM-1, who is the most successful of all fuji musicians, past and present, saw himself to be the one to prepare his countrymen for the expected change in governance.

In some climes, reggae is conscious music; in Nigeria, music owes her consciousness to fuji. New Era conveys a message of social, economic and political transformation. K-1 possibly adopted his political consciousness directly from his master and mentor, the late Ayinde Barrister who would stop a recording without messages of amity and peace for his country’s more than 500 ethnicities and many religions.

No fuji music is worth the genre without praising the elites. And King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal has never been in want of whom to praise. Even if himself. In ‘Eni Madun’, with folklore mixed with eulogy for kings, he reminds his listeners that he was crowned by the Royal King of Lagos, the Olu Omo of Fuji - a title which translates to, heir of the fuji music throne.

'Nigeria: the New Era' is available for sale via iTunes.