Lagbaja: Biography, career, songs, net worth, face

Bisade Ologunde, popular as Lágbájá, is a Nigerian afrobeat singer and artist.

He is popular for wearing a mask to conceal his identity. He is a supporter of musical and social change.

Table of Content hide 1Biography 2Career 3Songs 4Net worth 5Family 6Lagbaja’s face 7Conclusion

Biography 

Lagbaja was born as Bisade Ologunde in Lagos on January 17, 1960. He hails from Odogun’s Compound in the Ijagbo Community of Oyun Local Government Area, Kwara State.

By birth, he is a Baptist. He used the moniker Lágbájá (which in Yoruba translates to Jane Doe or John Doe a person whose name and identity are purposely concealed) when he started his career in the early 1990s.

His theatrical outfit, which included a slitted textile and rubber mask to depict the common man in keeping with his Yoruba tribe’s carnival culture, reflected his name.

Career

Lagbaja formed his first simple band in 1991 after learning to play the saxophone on his own. 

His We Before Me, released in 2000, demanded transparency from politicians and promoted fraternity and unity. It also featured a high proportion of percussion instruments, including congas and talking drums.

He played the tenor saxophone and wrote the lyrics with support from singer, Ego Ihenacho Ogbara.

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He left the melodies with a strong, brawny tone reminiscent of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane, and occasionally Ego would scat-sing along. 

Lagbaja is an advocate of using music to change society. He won the Best Male Video category for Never Far Away at the Channel O Music Video Awards in 2006.

Although the idea was conceived much earlier, his first album, Lagbaja, was released in 1993 to widespread acclaim.

The music’s distinctive concentration on a foundation of African drums has continued to intrigue listeners over time and through additional albums. His music is the result of various influences, including jazz and traditional Yoruba music. 

Lagbaja performs his songs in English, Yoruba, or a combination of both. 

While some of his songs are merely entertaining, many of them deal with important social themes. Other songs tackle complex social issues with biting wit, palatable by disarming parables, irony, and multilingual puns. Some compositions begin simply with time to dance, informing the audience of lengthy dance numbers. 

He uses traditional African drums, one element that unites all the tunes. The predominant instrument is traditional Yoruba drumming.

These drums come in four families, which are used to produce a variety of grooves and moods. The dundun/gangan family is the most well-known, and up to five drummers can occasionally mix all the different elements to form polyrhythms. Two musicians in the bata ensemble alternate between playing delicate, high-pitched driving beats with their omele bata, and thunderous loud talk with their mum drum – iya ilu.

Until now, Lagbaja’s groovy fusion was described as afro-jazz, afrobeat, highlife, and afropop. Now, he has dubbed the music AFRICANO, mostly to emphasise the importance of African drums and grooves in his music.

He opened his club, Motherland, in Ikeja, the centre of Lagos, in March 1997. Motherland’s design is inspired by the market square in traditional African towns, where people congregate at night for ceremonial and creative performances like dancing, singing, storytelling, wrestling, etc.

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Songs

Some of Lagbaja’s most popular songs are:

• Ikira (1993)
• Lagbaja (1993)
• C’est Un African Thing (1996)
• ME (2000)
• WE (2000)
• We and Me Part II (2000)
• Abami (2000)
• Africano (2005)
• Never Far Away (2006)
• Paradise (2009)
• Sharp Sharp (2009)
• 200 Million Mumu (2012)

Net worth 

Lagbaja is a well-known Nigerian afrobeat musician who frequently wears a mask. He has a $2 million net worth.

Family 

Lagbaja is married, yet he has kept his family’s identity a secret. The musician chooses to lead a secluded life. 

He is well known for concealing his identity by wearing a mask. However, despite many continued claims to the contrary, Lagbaja’s identity was made public.

Lagbaja’s face

Lagbaja has always concealed his facial identity. 

The famed singer and songwriter from Nigeria, is well known for wearing a mask over his face. Since the beginning of his musical career in the 1990s, he has kept his identity a secret. 

However, a Nollywood actor, Aremu Afolayan, purportedly released a photo of Lagbaja’s real face on Instagram. 

Aremu Afolayan celebrated Lagbaja on Instagram on January 17, 2019, the iconic singer’s birthday. Afolayan posted a later-deleted photo with a statement that made some wonder if it was Lagbaja.

Conclusion 

In 2006, Lagbaja won the Channel O Music Video Awards for Best Male Video for his song Never Far Away and the BBC: Channel O Spirit Of Africa Music Video Awards.

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