Pasuma In Search Of The Next Fuji Star

In a quest for discovering new talents in Fuji music, popular musician and Fuji star Wasiu Alabi better known as Pasuma has started a new reality TV show titled ‘Ohun’.
Auditions for the show which will take place in June, will be held in four cities; Ikeja, Ibadan, Akure and Ilorin. After auditions, the grand finale will then be held in August.

‘’Ohun’ was initiated by management company AO21 Media in November 2008 but for one reason or the other we could not kick off till now. There are quite a lot of music talent shows but all seem focused on Hip hop, Pop and RNB and no one is paying attention to Fuji music. Fuji music is the most popular indigenous music in Nigeria but what happens when my generation stops singing? There are quite a lot talented young men out there who want to sing Fuji music but since no one is encouraging them, their talent is just wasting away. Over the years I have wondered if someone will ever think of doing a Fuji talent show. Rather than wait, I have taken up the responsibility to contribute my own quota to the growth of Fuji music. I am optimistic ‘Ohun’ will open doors for more Fuji talent shows and the more credible shows like ours the better it is for the industry’, Pasuma expressed.
‘Ohun’ a Yoruba word when translated to English Language means ‘Voice’, but the Fuji star explained that it meant more than that going on to include sound, melody, beat and rhythm were also induced in its meaning.

source: www.thenetng.com

Barrister's Corpse Fail To Arrives As Mourners Refuse To Leave Fuji Chamber.

                                               Condolence register in honour of Mr Fuji
Following the passage of the Fuji icon, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister in the early hours of Thursday, December 16, 2010 in a London hospital; his corpse which was initially expected in the country on Saturday, December 18, and later penciled for today (December 20), is as we write, yet to arrive – with all hopes still high in anticipation of the remains of the deceased.

family source who spoke to NET in anonymity noted that different things (which he refused to enumerate) have been stalling the corpse from arriving the country ‘like today all flights in Europe were canceled because of bad weather – we’re hoping the air will be certified safe to fly soon’, the source tells NET.
Meanwhile, the Lamina Lawal, Isolo, Lagos home of the Fuji Garbage hit maker has turned into a Mecca of sorts since Barrister was announced dead. Our reporter who visited the house scooped that the Lagos State government has made provisions for caterers to serve food to all the mourners present at the house daily.

                                                 Cross section of mourners at the fuji chamber



No official word yet from the family, but sources say Barrister will be buried in his Lagos home, even though key family members are insisting that he be buried in his hometown in Ibadan.

‘I just left there now. There are no signs that they’re expecting his corpse or that they’ll be burying him there yet. They’ve not mapped a location for his grave in the compound. I know they’re still divided over whether he should be buried here in Lagos or in Ibadan. But all that will be resolved in the coming days’ a top family source told NET tonight.

News source : www.thenetng.com

DR. SIKIRU AYINDE BARRISTER IS DEAD.

                                           Alh. Dr Sikiru Ayinde Agbajelola Balogun Barrister.

One of Nigeria's best-known singer/songwriters, Chief Doctor Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (born: Sikiru Ayinde on 9th Feb 1948.) has played an essential role in the evolution of the music of his homeland. The leader of a 25-piece band, the Supreme Fuji Commanders, and a smaller group, the Africa Musical International Ambassadors, Barrister has continued to be one of the leading purveyors of fuji, an exciting, amplified dance music combining juju, apala, and traditional Yoruba blues that he introduced in the late-'70s. Barrister has been singing most of his life. By the age of ten, he had mastered a complex, Yoruba vocal style that was traditionally performed during the holy month of Ramadan. Although he briefly attended a Muslim school, Yaba Polytechnic, in 1961, financial difficulties prevented him from continuing. Leaving school, he found employment as a stenographer. During the Civil War that swept through Nigeria between 1967 and 1970, he served in the Army.

Signed by the Nigeria-based Africa Songs, Ltd. label, Barrister recorded many groundbreaking singles during the 1970s and '80s. With his heartfelt vocals set to a rhythmic mix of talking drums, claves, bells, shekere, drum set, and Hawaiian-style guitar, he laid the foundation for fuji, which he named after Mt. Fuji, the Japanese mountain of love. The style has been described as "juju without the guitars" and a "percussion conversation." http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/ described it as a "high speed assault by 12 wild percussionists."

Barrister renamed the musical style "Fuji garbage" in 2000. Recently it was rumour that Mr Fuji is dead, but report confirmed that Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister was still alive then,but in a critical condition

Now the latest report from a reliable source is confirming it to us that Chief Dr Sikiru Ayinde Balogun is dead, he passed on to the great beyond early yesterday 16th Dec 2010 morning at St Mary Hospital in London. (Barrister 1948-2010)Adieu MR FUJI, We pray that his gentle soul rest in perfect peace

                                                 Alh. Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister

Meanwhile Nigerians have started reacting to his death.According to Yinka Ayefele,  “the death of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister is still a shock to me. He was a great man and he created the Fuji music that is waxing stronger by the day. May God grant him eternal rest.
Former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, described his death as a big loss to the country.
Oyinlola, in a statement, on Thursday, said, the death of Barrister had left the nation poorer, just as it had robbed the entertainment industry of one of its pillars.
The Oyo State governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, said the late Sikiru Ayinde would be missed for the message of his lyrics.
In a condolence message signed by his Special Adviser on Public Commu-nications, Dotun Oyelade, the governor said the deceased was a world class entertainer when he was alive.
excerpt from tribune.com.ng.