City Peole reception for Ebenezer obey

For his immense contributions to the nation’s music landscape, all roads lead to the multi purpose hall of All Season’s Plaza, Ikeja, Lagos this sunday, as City People Entertainment hosts veteran juju singer turned evangelist, Ebenezer Obey.

According to the publisher of City People Media Group Dr, Seye Kehinde said: “ Evangelist Obey is about the greatest living Nigerian artiste.It gives us great pleasure that he has come in our own generation and if you check around you will realize that his music has continued to absorb from one generation to another.Obey has recorded several hit songs and to crown it all, 70 percent of his songs are evergreen. "We all grew up listening to his songs and when he retired from music a lot of hearts were broken. Still people have not stopped buying his music and its surprising that a lot of youths can sing his oldies, even though that they were not born then.”

Born 27 August 1942 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. His earliest musical experiences were as a member of the local church choir while a child in Abeokuta - his parents, both devout Christians, were also members. He joined the local band Ifelode Mambo in 1955, which despite its name was actually a juju outfit, playing guitar and thumb piano. He also played briefly with Fatayi Rolling Dollar and the Federal Rhythm Brothers Orchestra before moving to Lagos in 1963 and forming his own juju band, the International Brothers, in 1964. Under his leadership, the International Brothers forged a highly individual style of juju,abandoning the percussion and single-guitar style developed by I.K. Dairo ,he added two more frontline guitars and electric bass, speeded up the tempo and simplified the beat. The formula struck an immediate chord with Nigerian juju fans. Obey enjoyed his first hit, 'Omo Lami', in 1965, followed by even greater success the following year with 'Olo Mi Gbo Temi'.

By the early 70s, Obey was rivalling King Sunny Ade in album output and sales, achieving major local hits with In London, On The Town , Board Members and Aiye Wa A Toro. In 1971, he renamed his band the Inter Reformers and retitled his style miliki system (essentially a shrewd marketing move, for the music continued in the same juju style he had introduced with the International Brothers, heavier and faster than that played by most of his peers). In 1972, he opened his Lagos nightclub, the Miliki Spot, and for the next two or three years reigned as the city's pre-eminent juju bandleader. By the mid-70s, however, Obey was beginning to be threatened by the younger Ade. Juju fans split into two camps: those who followed the Master Guitarist Ade, and those who favoured the sweetness of Obey's vocals and the philosophical nature of his lyrics. It was with their lyrics, above all, that the two men identified themselves. Ade's reflected his belief in traditional Yoruba religion, while Obey, always the perfect Christian gentleman, preached the orthodox values of love, the family and peace in the household.

He is presently occupied with furthering the work of God through his Ministry, music ministration and evangelization.