User:Roy Madu

WHO IS ROY MADU THE TOWNCRIER? At the dawn of the 21st century, a new chapter is being written with a new wave of revolution in the roots of African music popularly known as 'Highlife'. Critics call it 'progressive highlife' or “Funkified Highlife”. The Towncrier is part of that vision and he tags his music Afro-Marinba. The Towncrier is the pseudonym for Roy Madu, a Nigerian born, USA based song-writer, composer, singer, script-writer, actor, comedian, and producer. The relevance of his stage name stems from the primitive style of disseminating information before the advent of technology, where “The Town Crier” with his gong is the accepted medium of mass information. The Towncrier has this philosophy that an artist as a role model should use music or movie to mirror the society, and help formulate social values and influence culture through creativity for a better tomorrow. The African Refugee or the Pan-africanist as he is often called within a circle is one artist who could cross you by the roadside without your noticing him because of his simple nature. He does not believe in weird and outlandish attires, which most entertainers find succor in. His style is to be identified with the street man out there he is crying for. His hobbies are writing poems, listening to music, watching soaps and playing table tennis (ping-pong)

The Towncrier originated a brand of music called Marinba Music. Marinba is coined from an African instrument that gives the tone of a symphony, generally known as Marimba or thumb piano because it is played by using the thumb to strike the reeds. Marinba tone dominates his style of music, which has its root in "highlife music", Nigerian artistic heritage and blended with Afro beat to cut across cultures. His music bemoans the political and socio-economic problems inherent in Africa. Through the universal language of music The Towncrier tries to project a better understanding of humanity from the African cultural perspective by exploring the communicative and entertainment value of Nigerian artistic heritage".

His musical career dates back to mid 1990s in Nigeria when he debuted his “towncrier” album under own label Marinba Muzik. Then, as a member of Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMEAN) he featured in so many shows in Lagos Nigeria. Notable among them was “Ecowas Musical Festival” on December 7, 1997 and the “Black Race Concert” on February 20-22 1998 organized to save the African Children. In 2003 Roy Madu ventured into movie production when he co-produced a movie titled “Cross My Heart” with now late Sampson Augu Barry featuring Zack Orji, Benita Nzeribe etc.

Today Roy Madu owns an umbrella production outfit, Marinba Productions. In 2009 Marinba Productions released Afro-Marinba Hits Vol. 1 CD as composed and sung by The Towncrier and a movie: Desmond Elliot production titled: “Before the Light” featuring Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Desmond Elliot, Ini Edo and Mercy Johnson. In 2010, Afro-Marinba Hits Vol. 2 CD and a movie titled “I surrender All” written and produced by Roy Madu, featuring Roy Madu, Pascal Atuma, Vida Darko, is hitting the market. Roy Madu is one of the pioneers of producing African movies in USA. At the moment he is the Executive Secretary of The Guild of African Movie Producers (GAMP) USA Inc. Learn more about Marinba Productions by visiting their site: http://www.marinbaproductions.com