Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe

The man nicknamed ‘Doctor of Hypertension' by music critics and fans alike, and who passed on early in the week, is so well known that a letter sent with his name on it needs no further address as well. Such is the fame of the music icon that when early in the week his demise was announced the impact was all too heavy to bear for his numerous followers and kinsmen.

For this High Chief of Atani, a town in Ogbaru local government of Anambra State , he was until now virtually the only remaining vestiges of a music genre in Nigeria that has defied all expectations as to how long it would last.

Indeed, the highlife music and Osadebe are virtually synonymous as any mention of the one would be incomplete with Put the other Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, therefore, represented the mirror with which to view the founding fathers of the music called highlife

Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, the highlife music icon and Atani high chief celebrates both a career of fulfillment in music and that spanning nearly half a century of well over 70 studio recordings, in addition to his 71 eventful years on the surface of the earth to attaining the enviable status of a cultural icon east of the Niger.

Born in March, 1936, Osadebe is the true replication of the rich and diverse cultural heritage often expressed in dances and songs about life and its complexities of the Igbo of which tribe he belongs and to a very large extent he constantly captures In his music.

Osadebe's launch into the highlife music genre in Nigeria is as eventful as it is full of tales and accounts. In the same way as one source has it that Osadebe started off his 'musical career as an apprentice musician with the legendary E.C Arinze's Empire Rhythm Orchestra in the 1950's and thereafter made his own mark with the release of his debut recording titled Adamma.

Another account has it that Osadebe began with Stephen Ameche's band precisely in 1958 but that his first recording was with the Zeal Onyia's band in 1959 and it was not Adamma as is widely speculated but instead a single recording titled; Lagos na so so enjoyment, a collaborative effort in 1959 between him and the iconoclastic late trumpeter Zeal Onyia.

That album dated 1958 and entitled; Adamma when it was released received much acclaim and acceptance even though it only contained two songs, one of which was Adamma, the title track and a tribute to a beautiful lady. While the 1959 recording titled; Lagos na so so enjoyment album contains just one song, the title track.

Which ever one or where the career of the Makojo exponent, started, though, what remains a fact b an account is that Osadebe's solo musical career Is nearing a whole 5 decades having took off in the 1950's. What is also incontrovertible is the fact that the singer went through a hard road to success.

The septuagenarian is believed to have achieved stardom the hard way as he worked his way through a circuit of night clubs and dance halls in Lagos, far away from his home, right from when he discovered his musical gift which had blossomed from his high school days in Onitsha , Nigeria 's commercial city, east of the Niger.

Till date, he has written over 500 songs, more than half of which have been released and circulated world-wide. Today, also he enjoys the prime prestige of being referred to as the doyen of highlife music in Africa. In some circles, especially within his' native Igbo community, he is even considered a cultural icon and fondly called 'Osankwa'.

Osadebe's musical growth drew from calypso, samba, bolero, rumba, jazz, waltz. all of which are the core formative elements of highlife music in its rustic form. And till date that style has managed to always retain that easy flowing, swaying, and ballroom format. The presence of horns and saxophones has been consistent in highlife, as much as Its celebratory ebb.

As a good student of musical expression, Osadebe did not initially give himself much room for much experimentation with Highlife's form. The Empire Rhythm Orchestra, led by E. C. Arinze provided room for Osadebe to learn. Nobody suspected that the little skinny young man was later to embody the accumulation of the pioneering efforts of Rex Lawson, Celestine Ukwu, Eddie Okonta, Victor Olaiya, Fred Coker, and Victor Uwaifo and several others.

Having become established, Osadebe took his music to another level in two major ways. The first was In incorporating satiric social commentary in his compositions. He was not as ribald and confrontational as Fela Kuti, nor was he as overtly benign as Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey. He often appeared to target personal foes, a factor that later hindered his lyrical purity. The second was in extending the duration of each song to accommodate the dance floor jolly mood of his audience.

During the period of the civil war in Nigeria , the southeastern knew very little about Western music or the bands that dominated the scene there like the Beatles, however, it was the likes of Osadebe that they embraced totally.

Singing in the Igbo language, with a sprinkling of Pidgin English, Osadebe began recording in 1958 and cemented his popularity by remaining in Igbo land throughout the entire duration of the war. Just as the 70s saw a transformation of Nigerian music as horn-driven dance tunes-better known as highlife-gave way to a funky sound influenced by soul singer James Brown.

Remarkably, too, Osadebe, kept his live performance schedule active both during and after the Nigerian Civil War, in spite of all the hardship of those years. By the mid 70's his career had reached its zenith. The album: Osadebe '75 gave him great success. Several hits followed in rapid succession and this continued as the Nigerian economy swam in its much wasted oil boom.

At nearly the age of 60, in 1995 Osadebe made his first tour of the United States and recorded what counts as among the finest West African albums available, Kedu America. Recorded in Seattle under the supervision of Andrew Frankel and Osadebe's Nigerian-born but Los Angeles, United States-based manager Nnamdi Moweta, Kedu contains new recordings of some of Osadebe's classic songs.

The music is thrilling throughout. The session opens with the entire band engaged in' raucous chatter-and then bursting into a blistering guitar line. Somebody mutters, "this is very nice music and the guitar trades parts with stuttering drums until the horns enter. By the time Osadebe joins with his groaning, bluesy voice reminiscent of John Lee Hooker in its gruffness-the band has turned every soulful phrase in the Ibo songbook,

He also survived several band split-ups. One positive result of this shaky period that he went through was that Nigerian music welcomed several voices that found expressions thereby enriching the high life genre. On the other hand, a negative bias crept into his artistry, which became increasingly compromised.

In 1984, Osadebe struck gold with the hit album; Osondi Owendi. His profile had" been established as the leading highlife musician. His bold innovative experiments paid off admirably. "Makojo which appears in this collection was a celebrated hit from the eighties. Not forgetting the worldwide hit album Kedu America and evergreen hit song and album People's Club of 1977 along with its special remake in 1987 to commemorate the club's 10th anniversary.

Through the years, his music has evolved a particular flow that features jazzy horns and strong guitar strokes atop bold native instrumentation. His voice, which is his major instrument, has maintained an incredible consistency through the years. He does as much singing as narrating in some of his songs.

Another feature of his musical evolution is the heroic praise he gives to social clubs and his rich patrons. This is a carryover from traditional African music, which celebrates the war and economic exploits of the local warriors and farmers. Again, this trait has threatened the more philosophical lyricism of his music as an art form. It is always argued that music is a mirror of the society. Palace patronage often presents the danger of over reaching itself, by going into hyperbole.

Culled from Saturday Champion.