WYLD PYTCH RECORDS/51 LEX RECORDS: EBENEZER OBEY A.K.A CHIEF COMMANDER

CHIEF COMMANDER EBENEZER OBEY
Obey, whose full name is Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Obey-Fabiyi, was born in Idogo, Ogun State, Nigeria of Egba-Yoruba ethnic background. He is of the Owu subgroup of the Egba. He began his professional career in the mid-1950s after moving to Lagos. After tutelage under Fatai Rolling-Dollar's band, he formed a band called The International Brothers in 1964, playing highlife-juju fusion. The band later metamorphosed into Inter-Reformers in the early-1970s, with a long list of Juju album hits on the West African Decca musical label.
Obey began experimenting with Yoruba percussion style and expanding on the band by adding more drum kits, guitars and talking drums. Obey's musical strengths lie in weaving intricate Yoruba axioms into dance-floor compositions. As is characteristic of Nigerian Yoruba social-circle music, the Inter-Reformers band excel in praise-singing for rich Nigerian socialites and business tycoons. Obey, however, is also renowned for Christian spiritual themes in his music and has since the early-1990s retired into Nigerian gospel music ministry.
Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey was born in Idogo, the Western region of Nigeria in 1942. His musical talent was recognized early on when he was asked to lead the band at his Methodist Primary School. Afer moving to Lagos in the mid-1950s he played in various other bands before starting his own, the International Brothers, in 1964. Soon they had a hit juju single "Ewa Wowun Ojumi Ri." Though juju had been around for a while it was still highly influenced by Ghanaian highlife. Obey modernized the sound by adding the funkiness of Yoruban drumming, more Western-style guitars and drum-kits, and added multiple talking drums, where only one had been used before. That was the beginning of modern juju. As he says:
"It's like cooking a soup. If you put in many different ingredients, it tastes richer and better"
In 1966, Obey's chief juju rival, King Sunny Ade came on the scene, and they still maintain a friendly rivalry today.
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