On August 21st, Houston, Texas fans celebrated music icon King Sunny Ade’s (KSA) 70th birthday with a fun party! KSA will be 70years old on September 22nd, 2016. However, he was in Houston for a live performance with his 20 member band when organizers of the event surprised him with an advance celebration.
Fans showered him with love and praises, and delighted him with a delicious looking custom musical turntable cake designed by Ehi’s Cakes.
In attendance at the fun birthday event were Nigerian entertainment industry heads/influencers such as filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, label executive and owner Dayo Adeneye, and comedian Seyi Law.
“King” Sunny Adé (born Sunday Adeniyi, 22 September 1946) is a Nigerian musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been (classified) as one of the most influential musicians of all time.” – Wikipedia
Congratulations to all who worked collaboratively to pay respect to the legend including Evi Greene Photography, Ehi’s Cakes, Segungele Productions, and Toy Gun Entertainment.
Watch a video summary of his Houston birthday celebration and then do share your favorite KSA song!
Mine, by the way, is his 1982 hit single ‘Ja Funmi’ off his album ‘Juju.’
“Juju Music is the 1982 major label debut of Nigerian jùjú band King Sunny Adé and His African Beats. It represented the first worldwide release for Adé, who was already established in his native Nigeria as its “biggest musical draw and juju music’s reigning monarch”. The album was a critical and commercial success, peaking at #111 on Billboard’s “Pop Albums” chart.
The New York Times, which described the album in 1982 as “the year’s freshest dance-music album”,credited it in 1990 with having launched the “World Beat movement in the United States”. In its review, Allmusic indicates that the album gave Adé “unprecedented exposure on the Western market and introduced a slew of music lovers to the sounds of Afro-pop”, concluding that it “should not only be the first-disc choice for Ade newcomers, but for the Afro-pop curious as well. – Wikipedia
Watch a 1984 live performance by the music icon
~Ms. Uduak
