Saturday, April 9, 1983

King Sunny Ade charted with Juju Music

First posted 4/1/2008; updated 9/8/2020.

Juju Music

King Sunny Adé


Charted: April 9, 1983


Peak: 111 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK)


Genre: world music


Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Ja Funmi
  2. Eje Nlo Gba Ara Mi
  3. Mo Beru Agba
  4. Sunny Ti de Ariya
  5. Ma Jaiye Oni
  6. 365 Is My Number/ The Message
  7. Samba/ E Falaba Lewe

Rating:

4.630 out of 5.00 (average of 9 ratings)


Quotable: “First-disc choice for…the Afro-pop curious” – Stephen Cook, All Music Guide


Awards:

About the Album:

“After nearly 15 years as Nigeria’s biggest musical draw and juju music’s reigning monarch, King Sunny Adé went global in 1982 with a brief but fertile stint on the Mango label. The three albums that resulted – Juju Music, Synchro System, and Aura – gave Ade unprecedented exposure on the Western market and introduced a slew of music lovers to the sounds of Afro-pop” (Cook).

Juju Music was the first of Adé’s Mango titles and remains the best of the lot. Over the course of seven extended cuts, King Sunny Adé & His African Beats lay down their trademark mix of talking drum-driven grooves, multi-guitar weaves, lilting vocal harmonies, and pedal steel accents; for this major-label debut, the band also chucks in some tasteful synthesizer bits and a few reggae-dub flourishes. Besides classic juju pop like Ja Funmi and Ma Jaiye Oni, Ade and his 20-piece entourage serve up percussion breakdowns like Sunny Ti de Ariya and a heady blend of soul, dub, and synth noodlings on 365 Is My Number/ The Message. Throughout, Ade deftly inserts Hawaiian slide guitar licks and Spanish-tinged lines reminiscent of Hendrix’ ‘All Along the Watchtower.’ Juju Music should not only be the first-disc choice for Adé newcomers, but for the Afro-pop curious as well” (Cook).

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