Friday 25 June 2010

GENTLEMAN MIKE EJEAGHA 'AKUKO N'EGWU original VOL.1

His numerous fans call him gentleman. But his name is Mike Ejeagha. He is a folklore musician known for his story telling prowess, using music. Infact, it is a slang among the Igbos to say Akuko n’egwu Mike Ejeagha to a story teller.

His musical career started 56 years ago as he watched two guitar players around his compound at the coal camp Enugu in addition to paying attention to anything musical.

As he learnt the guitar, he was also playing other music. But having observed that singing in the native dialect could give him a better identity, he vowed to write and sing using Igbo lyrics. Afterall, his counterparts such as Ebenezer Obey,Victor Uwaifo among others did a similar thing.

With this resolve and the style he adopted, he succeeded in carving a niche for himself as a story teller-musician. His hit came in 1960- the year Nigeria got its independence. This septuagenarian folklorist who says story telling has established his life and developed Akuko n’egwu.

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