Justus Domingo

This is a review of what has been described as the earliest recorded Juju Music track. I came across this album 6 years ago, whilst browsing through the stands at Sterns African Records in Marylebone London, which has one of the most comprehensive stocks of African music in the United Kingdom.There is not much material available on this artiste- whose name and indeed the content at first glance suggests a Yoruba indigene of Brazilian extraction, however an independent text refers to him as an Igbo man who settled in Lagos and imbibed the language and idioms to the extent of being competent to perform in the language in Native format. My only conclusion being that the gentleman is certainly not of Yoruba birth and early upbringing, based on the heavily accented nature of his lyrical execution, a trait common to a vast majority of Brazilian returnees of the early 20th century and late 19th century. I would hazard a guess that Justus Domingo is a Brazilian returnee probably of the first generation, since he was in his 50’s when this album was recorded coinciding with wave of returns by Brazilian descendants to Lagos from Bahia.

This album appears to have been released under the Zonophone label.By way of an introduction- the Zonophone label was founded in 1899, in Camden, New Jersey USA and was to all intents and purposes what may be described as a major Record label for the time, as founded by Frank Seaman, a New Jersey native who had worked previously for the Emile Berliner’s- Berliner Gramophone company- basically the founder of the Gramophone.As a result of a legal dispute between Seaman and Berliner over Copyright to the Gramophone technology, which was resolved in Berliner’s favour and consequent upon which the Zonophone label was absorbed by Victor Records (forebear to RCA-Victor) in the USA and in the UK. The strategy being to release less mainstream material (or as they termed it- inferior material) under the Zonophone label.

This label was later to be absorbed under the Columbus RCA-Victor records merger in 1931, to form Electrical Musical Industries (more commonly known as EMI Records).A number of other African artistes were recorded under this label- namely Frank Essien/Edmund Tagoe. George Williams Aingo; Nicholas van-Heer, all great Ghanaian musicians of the 1920’s. The schema of the label being top record the artistes in London and market the records to the ever growing African community in London and also for export to Africa.To all intents and purposes, this album was recorded in London and to me appears to be one of the first to have been so recorded by a Nigerian musician in London.

The Album

The album consists of 20 tracks (which actually should be 19, since the last two tracks were repetitive) largely ancient Yoruba folk songs, some being indigenous to Eko Akete and other having more generic origin, it does not appear that more than two or three of the songs were original compositions i.e Ori Aba bo (which appears to be in honour of the late Dr Doherty). The rest Wele sise eiye, Agba Mu Rere, Olurombi being examples of more Folkloric material.We shall examine the main tracks singly:1. Bandele – A mid tempo track, with a backing Native Conga drum and Guitar; 2. Agbamurere- An ancient Yoruba folk song, delivered Accapella, with the track title being the recurring Chorus in call and response format, particular compelling being the verse- “Kiriji Kikiriji Kenke luke”; 3. Eni Ba Dami- another Mid-tempo track featuring Native Conga and Guitar; 4. Oluronbi- A cover of a highly popular Yoruba folk song, also delivered Accapella; 5. Omo Lanke- Another Folk track, arguably of Lagosian origin as gathered from the line “Ti Akara ba jabo sile, Ewure Eko ma jehun” ; 6. Egbe Wa Ki Npe Lajo – Another mid tempo Folk track of Lagosian origin, featuring once more Native Drum and Guitar; 7. Adeoti Ori Wara Ori Wara- One of my favourite tracks- a Yoruba Folk song, executed with the standard Native Drum and Guitar accompaniment; 8. Eyi Mowi Re; 9. Bi Ina la Ku Fi Eru Boju; 10. Koju Gbagbe- Another sterling track- the song featuring once again the Drum/Guitar accompaniment, a fairly repetitive Lyrical structure, but charming nonetheless- “Koju gbagbe o, Koju gbagbe o, eni aba sere ko ma mo bi agbe ti wa koju gbagbe o..”;11. Ori la Ba Bo- This song being a tribute to the late Dr Doherty, a prominent Lagos indigene of the time- Ori ababo ka fi Orisa Si ile, Doherty se be a eriwo; 12. Iya Matu- An accapella rendition of this Folk song with the melodiously catchy chorus- “Ajanti Ele” in call and response format; 13. Awalo de, Ore Bi Ole Jo Ma Mi; 14. Tourn; 15. Bi Mo Bi Omo Ti Oku Maron Lo Lewe; 16. Oniya Awa Lolare; 17. Igba Lahu- Another ancient Folk rendition in call and response vocal format, basically a riddle centred around the form of the native aubergine-; 18. Adabi Baba Epe An extremely moving track, basically a call for peace- “Ija Megbon O, Ija Megbon O, Bi aba ja ka pa rire..”;19. Ele Shishe Wa-A rendition of the popular ancient Yoruba song-made popular in recent times specifically in the 60’s by Dr Victor Olaiya;.

The significance of this album is two-fold:a. This was the first recorded album by a Juju artiste, whilst there had been earlier recordings by Ghanaian musicians like the ferociously talented Guitarist Frank Essien and Singer- Edmund Tagoe and George Williams Aingo. However its significance in the history of Nigerian music is undeniable.

Significantly it was recorded in London and even more significantly it was recorded under one of the world’s premier Record labels- albeit the subsidiary label, but one of the biggest in the World nonetheless.b.Justus Domingo to all intents and purpose could be regarded as one of the, if not the first International Nigerian Music Superstar (if such description exists) Justus Domingo was probably the first Nigerian musician to record with a Guitar accompaniment and whilst, there were certainly local contemporary musicians performing with Guitar accompaniment and probably even more proficiently than Justus Domingo- Irewolede Denge being a case in point, having been plying his trade as a local minstrel from the early 20’s onwards for the entertainment of 1920’s Lagos gentry such as Da Rocha, Doherty, Kitoye-Ajasa etc. Justus was the one with the major record deal and could invariably be regarded as one of the father’s of Nigerian Guitar music. I expect a challenge to this being that I have in my collection a 1930 recording by Irewolede Denge- “Orin Asape Eko” featuring the excellent and popular Chorus in Ijebu dialect – “Mbati laya keregbe ni oje..” (I would have taken a wife but Palmwine refused). This is probably not the first recording by Denge however there is no evidence that there was any recording before 1928. I would however accept any challenge in good faith since this is only to the benefit of this genre. I am certainly able to confirm that the Ghanaian musicians mentioned above- Tagoe, Essien, Van Heer and Aingo certainly recorded in 1927 and before, since I equally have the music in my collection.

It is instructive that this album whilst first released by Zonophone in 1928 lapsed into obscurity for several decades until re-release in 1969 by the label Heritage Music, which I am aware to be a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music, which acquired the rights to RCA-Victor material and is part of the labels strategic reissue initiative.

It is a great source of concern that this material has not attracted the interest of Nigerian businessmen or indeed Nigerian labels, who ordinarily ought to have an in-depth interest in the source material as a matter of pride and indeed business initiative, one thus hopes this review serves as a gentle reminder of the depth of National musical treasures which we lose on a regular basis and in some cases, maybe forever.