14th June, 2012
Deacon D.A.Olugunde, the father of the masked singer, Bisade Ologunde a.k.a. Lagbaja Omobabamukomuko, is dead.
Aged 83, the late Ologunde, a retired civil servant who served in the cabinet of the first military administrator of Kwara State, Col. David Bamigboye, died on Saturday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Northcentral Nigeria.
A close aide of the masked one confirmed the death of Ologunde to P.M.NEWS.
Until his death, the late Ologunde was the Head of Deacons for many years at the Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sabo-Oke, Ilorin.
P.M.NEWS learnt that the burial arrangement for the deceased is yet to be announced by Lagbaja.
Lagbaja, who is devastated by the tragedy, only confided in some of his close pals the death of his dear father.
All attempts to get Lagbaja’s reaction on the incident proved futile.
Though his music career seems to be nosediving at the moment, Lagbaja is one of the unique musicians in Nigeria. Apart from his good blend of African and Western rhythms, the musician has carved a niche for himself with the use of traditional mask.
At a point, he was criticised for using the traditional mask, considering that he is the son of a devoted Deacon. According to Lagbaja, his mask is used as an icon of man’s facelessness.
Lagbaja is a Yoruba word that means “nobody in particular”. It depicts the anonymity of the so-called “common man”.
The mask and the name symbolise the faceless, the voiceless in the society, particularly in Africa.
Though the concept was developed long before that, his first album entitled Lagbaja was released in 1993.
Lagbaja’s groovy fusion has been referred to as afrojazz, afrobeat, highlife and afropop until now that he himself has christened the music AFRICANO, alluding mostly to the central role of African drums and grooves in his music.
—Ayodele Lawal & Bayo Adetu