King Sunny Ade
photo: master_xpo · cc by 2.0 ↗Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye, known as King Sunny Adé, took juju — a Yoruba guitar-and-percussion style — and modernized it with pedal steel guitar, synthesizers and a large touring band, becoming one of the first African pop musicians to build a substantial international following. His 1982 album Juju Music and its 1983 follow-up Synchro System, the first Nigerian release nominated for a Grammy, carried juju far beyond Nigeria.
I.K. Dairo, leader of the Blue Spots, modernized juju in the late 1950s and '60s by adding the accordion and leaning into call-and-response vocals and talking-drum interplay; Ade came up alongside Dairo and built his own bigger, electrified band on that same foundation.
listen forHear the call-and-response vocal weave on Dairo's 'Salome,' then the same conversational vocal-and-drum interplay, now amplified and layered with pedal steel, on Ade's '365 Is My Number.'
Tunde Nightingale pioneered a praise-singing, party-oriented style of juju he called 'So Wàmbè'; Wikipedia's account of Ade's career notes he drew stylistic elements directly from that approach, particularly its loose, occasion-driven vocal delivery.
listen forListen to the freeform, praise-singing cadence of Nightingale's 'Omo Abilowo,' then Ade's party staple 'Ma Jaiye Oni' — the same occasion-music looseness, dressed up with a full band.
Alongside his Nigerian juju forebears, sources on Ade's career list American soul and funk performers, James Brown among them, as influences; that shows up faintly in the tighter, punchier rhythm-guitar-and-horn hits on his more uptempo material.
listen forPlay James Brown's sharp, stop-start 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,' then Ade's 'Synchro System' — listen for the same tightly hit rhythmic accents, even inside juju's looser, guitar-woven groove.