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domingo justus - juju music in nigeria 1928, vol. 1 - asherah - vinyl

New Copy

Genre: African - Nigeria

1. Bandele
2. Bi Mo Bi Omo Ti Oku Maron Lo Lewe
3. Koju Gbagpe
4. Eni Ba Dami
5. Oluronbi
6. Egbe Wa Ki
7. Ore Bi Ole Jo Ma Mi
8. Adabi Baba Epe
9. Bi Ina La Ku Fi Eru Boju
10. Oniya Awa Lolare
11. Igba Lahu
12. Ele Shihe Wa

The music of Domingo Justus is some of the earliest known recorded in the African folk tradition.

Quite interestingly, however, the music was recorded in the city of London, and Justus himself was not believed to be a resident of the African continent at the time. On the contrary, Justus was a West African transplant to Brazil, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, relocated to London. Such transplant culture was a significant component of the immigrant experience, particularly during the United Kingdom's colonial era. The music resulting from these experiences is likewise imbued with a sense of this duality and transitory way of life.

In his time, specifically circa 1925-1927, Justus recorded several original and traditional songs inspired by his experiences as part of the African Diaspora, mixing his Lagosian and Yoruba folk song roots within the context of his day-to-day existence in his adopted home. He also provided backing vocals to many Ghanaian performers recording around the same time, and much of this output was recorded for the Zonophone Record label of the RCA-Victor Group.