User:Oluwafemi101/sandbox



King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal I, or KWAM1 (Born Wasiu Ayinde Adewale Omogbolahan Anifowoshe on the 3rd of March 1957 in Agarawu, Lagos Island in the south west of Nigeria), has assumed his mentor's role as "king of fuji," a popular Nigerian musical genre. It arose from the improvisation Ajisari/were music tradition, which is a kind of music performed by Muslim youths, to wake Muslims up before dawn during the Ramadan fasting season. Were music/Ajisari itself was made popular by Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. Wasiu Ayinde was a member of Chief Doctor Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's band, the Supreme Fuji Commanders, from 1978 until 1984. A prolific recording artist, KWAM1 continues to update the fuji style. He also cranked up the tempo and added western instruments like keyboards, saxophone and guitar to the typical Fuji line up. In 1984 he released his classic album Talazo 84 and his new sharper, feistier take on Fuji was dubbed the Talazo System. Talazo/Fuji is hi-energy dance music, propelled by orchestral amounts of percussion and crowned with swooping chants and guitar or keyboard riffs. Wasiu was crowned King of Fuji Music and regally renamed King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, or KWAM 1 for short, by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Ibadan on the 2nd of July 1993. In addition to incorporating such Western instruments as keyboards, saxophone, and electric guitar, KWAM1 has expanded his musical vocabulary to include rock, funk, and hip-hop influences. Although he initially sang Koranic chants and rhymes, KWAM1 has increasingly focused on youth-oriented themes. The recipient of a Nigerian music award as Best Fuji Artist of 1995, KWAM1 was named Best African Artist at the following year's WOMAD Festival in Reading, England. In May 2001, he was granted the title "Olu Omo" (golden child) by the king of Lagos, King Adeyinka Oyekan II. Recording as a soloist since 1980, KWAM1 had his greatest success with his 1984 album, Talazo 84, which introduced a new, turbo-charged style of music that became known as the Talazo system.