This brief presentation introduces some basic information about the geographic aspects of African music. It also contains information on the famous Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, (1927–2003) including a link to the musical work entitled “Oya” from the Olatunji's landmark 1960 album entitled “Drums of Passion.”
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5. Generally speaking,
the music of Africa can be divided
into two broad geographic categories:
• North African
• Sub-Saharan
6. Pioneering ethnomusicologist
Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980)
observed that the
shared rhythmic principles
of Sub-Saharan
African music traditions
constitute one main system
throughout that entire region
of the continent.
7. Similarly, master drummer
and scholar C.K. Ladzekpo
affirms the profound homogeneity
of the rhythmic principles of
Sub-Saharan African music.
8. Within Sub-Saharan Africa,
the musical styles and influences
can be divided into four regions:
• West Africa
• Eastern Africa
• Southern Africa
• Central Africa
9. The Eastern Region
(green regions on map)
includes the music of
Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda,
Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe
as well as the islands of
Madagascar, the Seychelles,
Mauritius and Comor. Many
of these have been
influenced by Arabic music
and also by the music of
India, Indonesia and
Polynesia.
10. The Southern Region
(brown region on map)
includes the music of
South Africa, Lesotho,
Swaziland, Botswana,
Namibia and Angola.
11. The Central Region (dark
blue region on map)
includes the music of
Chad, the Central African
Republic, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and
Zambia, including
Pygmy music.
12. West African music (yellow
region on map) includes the
music of Senegal and the
Gambia, of Guinea and
Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone
and Liberia, of the inland
plains of Mali, Niger and
Burkina Faso, the coastal
nations of Cote d'Ivoire,
Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria,
Cameroon, Gabon and the
Republic of the Congo as
well as islands such as Sao
Tome and Principe.
13. Southern, Central and
West Africa are similarly
in the broad Sub-Saharan
musical tradition, but draw
their ancillary influences,
primarily from
Western Europe and
North America.
14. The music you are
listening to is entitled
“Oya” from the
landmark 1960 album
entitled
“Drums of Passion” by
the Nigerian percussionist
Babatunde Olatunji
(1927–2003)
15. Babatunde Olatunji was
born in 1927 the village of
Ajido, a small town near
Badagry in southwestern
Nigeria. A member of the
Yoruba people,
Olatunji was introduced to
traditional African music at
an early age.
16. Olatunji read in Reader's
Digest magazine about the
Rotary International
Foundation's scholarship
program. He applied and
was granted the
scholarship. He came to
the United States in 1950,
where he attended
Morehouse University
in Atlanta, GA.
17. After graduating from
Morehouse in 1954
with a degree in Diplomacy,
he went on to
New York University
to study public
administration. While a
student at NYU,
he started a small
percussion group to earn
money on the side while he
continued his studies.
18. Almost immediately,
Olatunji’s performances
began to attract fans and
followers. Some of the
greatest jazz musicians of
the time, such as
John Coltrane, Clark
Terry, Count Basie and
Duke Ellington became
Olatunji fans.
19. Olatunji soon became the
most prominent African
musician in America –
and in the world.
In 1964,
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
also a fan of Olatunji, invited
him to go on tour with him
through the American south.
Olatunji also joined
Dr. King in the
March on Washington
in 1963.
20. Olatunji ‘s following among
jazz musicians, most
notably the legendary
jazz saxophonist
John Coltrane,
enabled him to found the
Olatunji Center for African
Culture in Harlem, NYC.
This was the site of
John Coltrane's final
performance in 1967.
21. The album,
Drums of Passion,
has sold more than
5 million copies,
making it one of the
highest-selling albums
of its kind in the history of
the recording industry.
22. Olatunji was known for
making impassioned
speeches for social justice
before performing in front of
live audiences.
His progressive political
beliefs are outlined in his
book, The Beat Of My
Drum: An Autobiography,
published in 2005, two years
after his death at age 75.
