Lagbaja, the masked Nigerian pop star, returns to Atlanta for the first time in 12 years this Sunday, May 10, at The Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points. He is known for his integration of Western melodies and African beats in songs that run the gamut between playful pop and powerful politics. His most recent song, “200 Million Munu,” is a call to his fellow Nigerians to respect each other and stand up against corruption.
Lagbaja talked with us about his music, his mask and his native Nigeria. He says his music, which he calls AFRICANO, relies heavily on four families of drums. When asked how Westerners can tune into his music he says he begins his concerts with an introduction to polyrhythms, how the drums play off each other. His music is made to dance to and he adds, “if you can’t hear it you can’t move to it.” He says the drums are the foundation for many forms of music in the African diaspora including calypso, reggae and salsa.
Although Lagbaja is a political activist and a voice for the common person, his concerts are more playful than political. He often pokes at the comedy of romance with men playing the fool and women finding them out. He says his concerts are designed to bring laughter and joy to his audience. While he includes political numbers that poke at violence and corruption he avoids being preachy. Speaking of his contemporaries, particularly rappers, he notes, “everybody who carries a microphone intends to be a prophet.” Not so with Lagbaja who intends to be everyman.
Lagbaja, born Bisade Ologunde, took his name which in Yoruba, means “nobody in particular” and represents the faceless, voiceless parts of African society. Our closest equivalent would be Everyman, the title of the 15th century English morality play.
He always performs wearing a mask to maintain his anonymity and ubiquity. He toured in the US between 1999 and 2006 and then took a break. He says the mask has allowed him “to live without celebrity, to be real, ordinary. I can ride my bicycle, go to church or the stadium without being recognized.”
He took time off from performing to be with his family and raise his children. Even though Lagbaja professes to prefer everyday life to celebrity life he is back with renewed energy recording, making videos and touring in the US again. His concert Sunday night will bring this enigmatic figure back to Atlanta with his company of drummers and musicians and his trademark provocative wit.
For more information and tickets variety-playhouse.com.
Franklin Abbott is an Atlanta psychotherapist and poet. Find out more about him at franklinabbott.com.
