Fuji music

Fújì is a genre of Yoruba popular music that emerged in Nigeria in the 1960s. It evolved from the improvisational wéré music also known as ajísari (meaning "waking up for sari", performed to awaken Muslims before dawn during the fasting season of Ramadan. Fuji music was named after the Japanese stratovolcano-mountain, Mount Fuji by Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (pioneer of Fuji). It features energetic beats, diverse Yoruba rhythms, and call-and-response vocals. Fuji's influence extends into contemporary music, with its hooks and rhythms frequently appearing in Nigerian hip hop.

In February 2024, professor and filmmaker Saheed Aderinto released the first episode of The Fuji Documentary titled "Mr. Fuji: Barry Wonder" which chronicles the story of Fuji music creator Sikiru Ayinde Barrister.

Sikiru Ololade Ayinde Balogun Barrister significantly popularized wéré music during the 1950s and 1960s and later coined the term "fuji" for his new innovation (fuji music) in an intriguingly unconventional manner. According to Barrister, "I came up with it when I saw a poster at an airport, advertising the Mount Fuji, which is the highest peak in Japan." Fújì should not be mistaken for the Yorùbá words "fúja" (to flee) or "fáájì" (enjoyment or leisure).

Wéré music is an Islamic-influenced Yorùbá genre of music invented by Muslim singers and musicians in Yorùbá towns and cities in southwestern Nigeria to awaken Muslims fasting during Ramadan.

Toward the end of the colonial period during the 1950s, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, General Ayinla Kollington, Tunde King, Ayinla Omowura, Alhaji Kola Adegoke, Alhaji Kamoru Ayinde, Alhaji Salami Ayinde, Alhaji Dauda Epo-Akara and Ganiyu Kuti (Gani Irefin) founded and popularized wéré. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, numerous wéré performance groups emerged within Muslim communities in and around the cities of Ibadan, Lagos, and Ìlọrin. These early performers drew great inspiration from Yoruba sákárà music, featuring the sákárà drum (without the violin-like goje often played with an accompanying fiddle). Notable Lagos-based wéré performers during the early independence years include Sikiru Omo Abiba, Ajadi Ganiyu, Ayinde Muniru Mayegun (General Captain), Ajadi Bashiru, Sikiru Onishemo, Kawu Aminu, Jibowu Barrister, Ayinde Fatayi, Kasali Alani, Saka Olayigbade, Ayinla Yekinni, and Bashiru Abinuwaye.

As various styles evolved, some performers played mouth organs (harmonicas) between wéré interludes within their compositions. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister was the lead singer and composer of the popular wéré group, Jibowu Barrister, under the leadership of Alhaji Jibowu Barrister. During the 1960s, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Kollington Ayinla and other young wéré groups rocked Lagos and its environs.

The advancement from wéré music to fuji music marked a profound transformation within Yoruba musical traditions. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (fuji music pioneer) began to innovate on the foundational elements of wéré music by integrating influences from diverse genres such as apala, juju and afrobeat, resulting in the introduction of a modernized approach to both instrumentation and performance. The amalgamation of traditional and contemporary elements gave rise to fuji music. Popularizers of wéré music, who played a pivotal role in its early development, adapted their musical practices to foster and popularize fuji music, effectively bridging traditional Yoruba sounds with a contemporary audience.

In one of Barrister's early albums, chiding and educating critics who dubbed fújì a "local music," Sikiru Ayinde Barrister described fújì music as a combination of music consisting of sákárà, Apala, jùjú, Aró, Afrobeat, gudugudu, and some elements of highlife. Sikiru Ayinde Barrister played a significant role in popularizing fújì music by introducing it to international audiences. In the 1970s, he began touring across Europe, with a notable presence in England, and continued to the United States throughout the 1980s.