Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Nigeria Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
The pre-eminent voice of apala, and one of Nigeria's most consistent hitmakers across almost thirty years.
Haruna Ishola Bello was born at Ijebu-Igbo and became the dominant figure in apala — a Yoruba Muslim music built on talking drums, the agidigbo thumb piano and a lead voice trading proverbs with a chorus, which began as a way of waking worshippers for the pre-dawn meal during Ramadan and grew into a popular form.
What set him apart was the words. Apala is a praise-singer's music, and Ishola was a master of Yoruba proverb and oriki — the praise poetry attached to lineages — so his records functioned as social commentary, genealogy and moral instruction at the same time as dance music. He is reckoned to have sold more records than any other Nigerian artist of his generation.
In 1969 he and Ebenezer Obey founded Phonodisk, one of the first Nigerian-owned record pressing plants, at Ijebu-Igbo — which mattered because it meant Nigerian musicians no longer had to go through foreign companies to reach their own market.
He recorded until his death in 1983. Apala fed directly into fuji, the form that dominates Yoruba popular music today, and every fuji singer since is working in ground he cleared.
What set him apart was the words. Apala is a praise-singer's music, and Ishola was a master of Yoruba proverb and oriki — the praise poetry attached to lineages — so his records functioned as social commentary, genealogy and moral instruction at the same time as dance music. He is reckoned to have sold more records than any other Nigerian artist of his generation.
In 1969 he and Ebenezer Obey founded Phonodisk, one of the first Nigerian-owned record pressing plants, at Ijebu-Igbo — which mattered because it meant Nigerian musicians no longer had to go through foreign companies to reach their own market.
He recorded until his death in 1983. Apala fed directly into fuji, the form that dominates Yoruba popular music today, and every fuji singer since is working in ground he cleared.
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