Sikiru Ayinde Barrister
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Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, a Fuji performer, is a native of Ibadan, a city in sourthern Nigeria. Appropriately and fondly referred to as "Mr. Fuji" by his worldwide fans, he started his music career as the lead singer of a popular were music or ajisari group, Jibowu Barrister, in Lagos, under the leadership of one Alhaji Jibowu. This group sang during the holy month of Ramadan to arouse the Islamic faithful in and around Lagos for prayers and early morning meals (saur or sari).
The were music or ajisari genre was popularized by other Ibadan singers/songwriters such as, the Dauda Epo-Akara and Ganiyu Kuti or Gani Irefin, but most especially by Epo-Akara. The music quickly found its way into the mainstream Yoruba culture (since a significant number of Yoruba are Muslims anyway). The were music or ajisari singers started playing at parties and concerts in Ibadan. Ultimately both the late Epo-Akara and Ganiyu Kuti dropped a number of hit tracks on Short-Play records. A bitter rivalry quickly ensued between the two crooners, but it was not long before Ganiyu Kuti was musically subdued and creatively rendered irrelevant. Epo-Akara then moved on to producing LP records. At the same time, another talented were music or ajisari musician, Barrister, started producing LP records in Lagos, but most Yoruba music lovers had never heard of his name. In fact, it was Epo-Akara who first introduced him, musically, to the people of Ibadan.
Struggling to modernize the were music or ajisari genre, which was derisively considered a "local music" by the students and educated elites of Nigeria, Barrister created a new style of music called Fuji. In one of his popular LPs, "Fuji Reggae Series II," which he used to chide critics for tagging his music local and un-civilized, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister asked, rhetorically, "Who can tell me the full meaning of Fuji [music]?" He then explained that it '...is a combination of... apala, sakara, agogo, gudugudu, agidigbo, aro, highlife and etc.' Barrister once said that he chose the name for the musical genre when he saw a poster advertising Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, at an international airport. In 1980, Barrister released an LP, "Oke Agba," which became an instant hit. Edging out popular genres like Juju music, and smashing the Nigerian music charts within months, "Oke Agba" went platinum. This made both the genre and its creator, Barrister, to become very popular nationwide even among their most virulent of critics, the students and the educated elites. Today, this LP record, "Oke Agba," has become a classic.
