The world of Bantu

For those of you who haven’t been to see our show,...

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:48:38 +0200

For those of you who haven’t been to see our show, here’s some great footage (courtesy of WAP TV) from the 2nd Edition featuring My band and our guests - Ekow Alabi, Yinka Davies, Siji, Don Abi & Beautiful Nubia. If I had to summarize the show in a sentence, I would say that it is a show for everyone - young and old- who loves live music, loves to dance and have fun in an atmosphere devoid of posers. I am also very pleased to announce that the pregnant lady in the video just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

Its the 3rd edition of Afropolitan Vibes @ Freedom Park, Lagos...

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:30:00 +0200

Its the 3rd edition of Afropolitan Vibes @ Freedom Park, Lagos and you sure cant afford to miss out on this one:
Our monthly open air event will feature the queen of Yoruba talking drum ARA and Reggae-Dancehall Champion GENERAL PYPE sharing the stage with the 11 piece Bantu collective.

Video

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:00 +0200

The second edition of ‘Afropolitan Vibes’ featuring my 11 piece...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:29:00 +0200

The second edition of ‘Afropolitan Vibes’ featuring my 11 piece band performing alongside Yinka Davies, Ekow Alabi, Siji, and Abiodun attracted an even bigger crowd than the last edition, showing that positive vibes about the show has quickly began to spread.

The easygoing crowd of music lovers – both young and old - were treated to evening of great live music featuring afrobeat and highlife tunes. The crowd was ready to dance, and they did just that, as the artists sang their hearts out on stage. Clearly, they and the band were having a ball. Soon, the amphitheatre at Freedom Park resembled a massive party amongst friends, with strangers holding hands and eventually forming a conga line whilst dancing to the thumping final song for the night - ‘Oya, Oya’

To illustrate the relaxed vibe of the show, we invited on stage, some of the fellow musicians who had come to watch the show. In particular, the Yoruba folk soul singer-songwriter Beautiful Nubia received a raucous applause when he was invited to join Ekow Alabi and Yinka Davies on an improvised Ghanaian highlife song.

Afropolitan Vibes is now firmly established as a monthly live show that creates a platform, which goes beyond conventional pop music. The vision is to feature contemporary singer-songwriters and musicians who perform mostly original works, which are firmly rooted in African origins such as Afrobeat, highlife and Afro funk music or modernised versions of popular old tunes. A rosta of featured artists from Nigeria and beyond will perform on stage each month with the Bantu collective.

“The energy was awesome, electrifying. It actually felt more like a party, not just a typical Lagos concert where people sit and watch the musicians perform” –Chioma Ogwuegbu-

Ade Bantu is an amazing performer and he knows how to get the party started, I loved the energy that night at Freedom Park”
- Sabriah

Afropolitan Vibes in full effect. What a party!!

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:27:00 +0200

Afropolitan Vibes in full effect. What a party!!

Images of the second edition of Afropolitan Vibes held at...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:16:00 +0200

Images of the second edition of Afropolitan Vibes held at Freedom Park, Lagos.

Courtesy of Akin Kongi (additional images by Remi Adegbite)

I’d like to invites you all to the 2nd edition of...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:22:47 +0200

I’d like to invites you all to the 2nd edition of Afropolitan Vibes @ Freedom Park, Lagos. Its going to be a memorable evening of live music, cool breeze and Palm wine so make sure you don’t miss this one.

The open air event will feature our very own Soul-Jazz diva YINKA DAVIS, New York based Yoruba-Soul Brother SIJI, Bantu founding member ABIODUN and Ghanaian polyrhythmic drum master EKOW ALABI all sharing the stage with the 11 piece Bantu collective.

Come join us!

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:57:38 +0100

Come join us!

In December 2012 New York based musician & filmmaker Siji...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:25:45 +0100

In December 2012 New York based musician & filmmaker Siji and i decided to shut down the bustling Bariga market in Lagos for the video shoot of our song “Oya Oya”. It was a guerilla style operation aimed at capturing the raw and spontaneous energy of the 20million strong megapolis where anything can happen and one must always be open to the unexpected. In keeping with this spirit, we got real people to come up and dance, laugh, drum and shake with us.

The outcome is one of the most memorable clips I’ve ever done.

Enjoy, shake wetin your mama dash you and please do leave your comments on the vimeo page.

The job of a good interviewer is to get the respondent to think...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 20:32:46 +0100

The job of a good interviewer is to get the respondent to think more clearly about himself. Thats exactly what Sam Umukoro did.

One of my most personal interviews.

Enjoy: http://samumukoro.com/interviews-bantu.php

The video caption says “Guess Who’s Back?”...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:23:11 +0100

The video caption says “Guess Who’s Back?” this got me thinking. Do they expect us to release a new album like every 6 months? After 20 years in the game (as my hiphop heads would say) i feel no pressure to prove myself to anybody. I just want to have fun and keep pushing myself.

Free fall equals trust and i’m learning to let go.

You all enjoy!

Just did a “close up” with HipHop World Magazine....

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:33:45 +0100

Just did a “close up” with HipHop World Magazine. Whilst filling the questionnaire i couldn’t help but ask -how much of myself am i willing to share? i guess we all end up editing our truths:

http://hiphopworldmagazine.com/2013/01/15/close-up-on-stars-ade-bantu

Mein Soundtrack. Viel Spass beim hoeren/Lesen:

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:59:45 +0100

Mein Soundtrack. Viel Spass beim hoeren/Lesen::

Der erste Soundtrack des Jahres auf Funkhaus Europa in Soulfood. Sehr gute und Spannende Fragen. Es gibt viel zu entdecken.

Dear Friends my brother Abiodun has just uploaded a new song of...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:05:12 +0100

Dear Friends my brother Abiodun has just uploaded a new song of his that i’d like to share with you all. Take a listen and you’ll understand why i’m constantly pressing the rewind button on his player. Nothing beats a ballad from the depth of a mans soul.

Enjoy & Share

Dear Friends I’d like to invite you all to our concert on...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:28:36 +0100

Dear Friends I’d like to invite you all to our concert on Saturday the 8^th of December at Freedom Park, Lagos.

The Event is tagged “Ti Ro Ro- Conversation with the Elders”

The idea is to give you all a sneak preview of some of the musical collaborations that feature in the upcoming historical documentary film “Elders Corner” (www.elderscornerfilm.com)

Backed by our dynamic Rhythm section, the music legends Fatai Rolling Dollar, Orlando Julius and Paulson Kalu will share the stage with the stars of the younger generation Siji, Aduke & yours truly to revisit and re-interpret the sounds of Afrobeat, Juju, Apala, Highlife and Fuji music.

By the way, all of this takes place during Goethe’s ‘Lagos Live Festival’ - a series of events to mark Goethe Institute’s 50 years anniversary in Nigeria.

STAGE TIME: 9pm // ENTRY IS FREE.

See you on Saturday

Ade Bantu

Interview with BeFilmed at the 20th anniversary celebration of...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:56:00 +0100

Interview with BeFilmed at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Cologne Manifesto ‘Get off your Ass! Speak up! (Arsch Huh) on November 9. 2012.

Thank you Cologne. Seeing 70,000 people gather at an open air...

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 11:07:53 +0100

Thank you Cologne. Seeing 70,000 people gather at an open air concert

(in winter!! ) to renew their pledge to fight racism gave me hope.

For those of you who missed out- this one’s for you. “African Border” & “No More No Vernacular” LIVE- if you like the songs. You’ll find them on i-tunes. Enjoy

Get off your ass! Speak up!! Festival - (in the Cologne dialect-“Arsch Huh Zäng Ussenander” Konzert 2012

Artists Pay To Have Their Works Pirated

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:32:00 +0200

Artists Pay To Have Their Works Pirated:

Dear friends here’s an interview i gave to Nigerian Punch Newspaper. The headline reads “Artists pay to have their works pirated” you can imagine the uproar. But truth be told the Nigerian music scene is challenging (to phrase it mildly). Read the article for the full gist.

Interview with DSTV online magazine

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:12:00 +0200

Interview with DSTV online magazine :

Here’s an interview i did for the online magazine of DSTV. it’s a Q&A format on my favorite music accessory, producers and all the current projects i’m involved in.

BANTU teamed up with top Hamburg based breakbeat producer...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:33:34 +0200

BANTU teamed up with top Hamburg based breakbeat producer BASEMENT FREAKS for this high energy dance track “Oya Oya”. Packed with funky horn riffs, an infectious groove and witty punch lines this tune is set to make you “Shake wetin your mama dash you”.

To Celebrate the release Bantu & Basement Freaks giving out OYA OYA as a free download!