KUKU
KUKU hails from a lineage of the "Balogun (General/
Great Soldier) Dodondawa". His family still holds the royal Balogun title in Ijebu Ode, the capital of the Ijebu kingdom in Ogun State, Nigeria.
He was born in 1975 in Miami Florida as Abdulzatar Adebola Abisoye Olatokunbo Adedolapo Adebowale. Take note that in America, there was only room for two middle names on his birth certificate.
KUKU was raised from the age of two, in Lagos Nigeria where he was nourished on high doses of traditional Yoruba classics such as Apala, Fuji, Juju and Waka music, along with his parent's extensive imported
vinyl collections of American soul music, Reggae, Country Western and other world sounds.
One day in May of 2002 he recalls paying an impromptu visit to a guitar store in Virginia. He bought a ninety-nine dollar acoustic guitar that day, and Soldier of Peace began his musical journey. "It's Alright to Sing so Blue" a song that appears on his debut 2006 release, "Unexpected Pleasures," was one of the first songs he wrote on that guitar. With each chord he taught himself, he wrote a new song.
In 2004, two years following his introduction to the guitar, he was playing at The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage. He also began to travel and perform across the United States as a soloist while copies of his EP "Love Session" quickly circulated across the US and abroad.
His heartfelt lyrics and honest voice brought him to the attention of documentary movie producer, Casey Callister who commissioned him to write a song for his movie, Ballou, KUKU's "Ballou Ballou Ballou" led the
sound track of the movie which featured Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gen. (ret) Colin Powell, Congressman John Lewis, Marion Barry, Denyce Graves, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chuck Brown. KUKU's voice was heard at several of the movies notable film festival screenings and even at the United States White House.
In a two hour session in July 2007, KUKU recorded "The Absence of Cool", a solo guitar and vocal album.
The album's concept asked listeners to stop enslaving themselves to the concept of “cool,” – with cool being the absence of emotion – and instead join him on a musical journey to the raw emotions deep in their souls. He launched the release of "The Absence of Cool" at his third Kennedy Center performance that same year.
Soldier of Peace is the next chapter in KUKU's music evolution.
KUKU's sonorous five octave voice and unique acoustic guitar driven sound is what modern Yoruba-roots, Soul-traditional, or Neo-African acoustic music sounds like for the sake of verbal description. On "Soldier of Peace", KUKU uncompromisingly bridges the gap between his African roots and the western world with an effortless blend of Yoruba, English and Pigeon English lyricism, percussive guitar progression, infectious Udu drum rhythms, topped with the South African Township guitar inflections of co-producer Mongezi Ntaka (Lucky Dube, Vusi Mahlasela, Lorraine Klaasen).
Those who think Afro beat is greatest music export of Nigeria, think again. Have you heard "Soldier of Peace?"
For booking please contact:
Maurizio Della Fortuna - Live Music Band Agency
TECHNICAL RIDER