Nigeria: K1 De Ultimate criticised over Barrister comments

He claimed that the late Sikiru Ayinde (Barrister), widely acknowledged as the father of the genre, only facilitated its popularity, as opposed to the accepted narrative that he created Fuji music. This comment has attracted a series of rebuttals from fans of the music and of Barrister, who took to Facebook to express their anger at Kwam 1’s comments.

Many made allusions to how Barrister had created Fuji out of Were music, and how he added the piano sounds and interludes that made it what it is today. Some called for boycotts of Wasiu Ayinde’s music, while others questioned his intellect. But Kwam 1 was not without his own defenders, including a fan, Adeyemi Neeyaaz, who said, “Either you like it or not, K1 Ayinde knows more than you people.”

Wasiu Ayinde entered the Fuji Scene in the 1980s and was known widely as Barrister’s protege. The older man took his side in many battles against other Fuji artists like General Ayinla Kollington. This isn’t the first time Wasiu Ayinde has questioned Barrister’s role in the creation of Fuji. In a track titled ‘Orin d’owo’, which features on his 2005 album Flavor, he called out names of those he claimed had played the genre before Barrister.