The origin and development of Juju Music: 1900-1990

Abstract

The Europeans introduced various forms of Western music which intermingled with indigenous music resulting in neo-traditional and syncretic forms of music including popular music genres. Until the early 1980s, Nigerian popular music was largely neglected and many key areas such as its history remained unaddressed. Although the history of juju has received some attention, there is a growing need for various perspectives and the  advantages that go with such to be investigated. This paper is a contribution in that direction. It examines the development of juju from its early beginnings in the early 1900s to when it ceased being a major popular music genre in 1990. Findings revealed that juju is indebted to several musical traditions: western folk songs,  European sea shanties, church hymnody, soldiers' songs, minstrelsy and Yoruba traditional music. Through social intercourse, these traditions fused and produced juju. Until the early sixties its patronage was within Yoruba land but by the early 1960s it had made inroads into other parts of the country and so by 1970 it was a dominant popular music genre in Nigeria. It produced several hits and mega stars arising from the oil boom economy of the early 1970s before it was eclipsed by the rising wave of gospel music.