Presentation of Zule Zoo

 The Zule-Zoo are a group of multitalented Nigerians who has popularized a genre of Music which projects Nigerian culture through creativity in lyrical composition and innovative use of African percussion instrument. The genre of their music is known as the Takuraku beat. The word Zulezoo means, Forgotten Warriors Never Die. Zulezoo is currently the top musical artistes with a unique, energetic, African cultural dance which thrills a lot of people wherever they perform, both at home and abroad. Their first hit solo tract is titled: Kerewa, of which they are popularly known for. The music was banned by the censors board due to a misunderstanding of the song as advocating adultery. This created a rubble in the music industry in Nigeria and almost caused a set back to the Zule-Zoo. Not long after, the group came out with a full album entitle: BANNED IN NIGERIA, a 9-track album including the banned Kerewa, which made wave nationwide and is now a huge success. Kerewa was subsequently unbanned in Nigeria and the group is flying high in the sky. They are most sought in Shows, Concert and media houses.Their emotions and the drive to experience life, to its fullest potentially by pushing the limits of the mind and body. This “all or nothing” attitude is profoundly expressed in the album? title track, a flagship anthem against the social puppeteering of society and the efforts to sever the strings from the controlling hand in this “show called life”. Like Awilo, they stormed the music scene with a firebrand style that is penetrating every nook and cranny of the nation. Zule-Zoo boys are emerging Nigerian musicians whose music pattern cum costumes on stage speak volumes of African culture, reports BENJAMIN NJOKU.

 They are like birds of the same feathers that have decided to flock together. From childhood, despite their different parental backgrounds, they appear to have been joined eternally by destiny to take the world someday by storm. And really they have. Ibrahim Alhassan and Mike are the emerging Nigerian musicians from the Middle-belt who are no less the symbol of what African music should portray. Since their debut last year with their hit track album,”Kerewa”, the better known Zule-Zoo boys are waxing stronger to influence the music tradition in this part of the world. With their “Takoroko beat ” as they call it, the dancers turned musicians like the groundbreaking Awilo trend is sweeping across the nation with their heroic demonstrations and portrayal of the black culture on stage.

 Watching them on stage is like going to the theatre to behold a performance. With a blend of western hip-hop and African flavour, the rising artistes thrill their fans to a kill. The young, the aged and the lad are unconsciously rising up to their kind of music. From the north to the west and east, inside the bus, on the road and at home, Zule-Zoo boys are the latest talk of the town. Their Kerewa music evades the airwave all the time as it has equally formed the subject of discourse in the Nigerian music scene. Even with the attempt last year by the censor’s board to ban their music on the basis of its alleged generation of bad influence on the younger ones, the singers’ kind of music has continued to gain acceptance and recognition within and outside the country. While relishing in promoting African culture through their music cum dance steps, the two of a kind singers have come a long way as friends to register their impact on the music scene.

“Zule -Zoo is a combination of Ibro and Mike, we did not just jump into music. We started as professional dancers right from Benue State as far back as 1992 before we came down to Lagos in 1996 to attend the National Troupe audition. After the audition, we decided to stay back and go into music.” Ibrahim Alhassan, the leader of the group narrated during a recent encounter with Sunday Arts at their film village base near the National Theatre Complex, Iganmu. The two artistes who hail from different homes for ages have been united by fate to engage in what they are doing today. “We are not twins but we have been very close to each other from our childhood days at school.” Ibrahim says both him and his partner, Mike knew, based on their childhood mingling, that they both had a lot to share with each other. During their childhood days, he recounts,”we discovered that we have something in common and then, could work together to shake the world”. He recalled that he came to Lagos before Mike who later joined him as they both featured in the National; Troupe’s audition which rather left them disappointed.

“After the NTN’s audition, I had no fare to go back to Benue State, so I decided to stay back and sweat it out with life. There and then, I started working hard to ensure that I realize my ambition to become a star in my lifetime. About that time, Mike who left immediately for Benue after the audition later returned to join me and that was when we started researching on how to actualize our dream as we later came up with the name, Zule-Zoo, meaning forgotten warriors never die. Notwithstanding what difficulties they faced as a result of their struggle to actualize their dreams to take the world by storm, the Zule-Zoo boys are today emerging stronger, outshining their contemporaries. Their blend of African rhythm with the western hip-pop is something of innovation that has given African music a new idiom. Like the Afro-beat music, the Zule-Zoo boys are treading the path of late Fela who originated the Afro-beat as a music idiom.

With their Takoroko beat, the boys create a style that is less imitative. According to them, the thrust of their music is to promote African culture and also use the same to preach peace, equal rights and justice across the globe.”We want to use our kind of music to promote our culture. We always bear the symbol of African culture because Africa is endowed with rich culture. In future, it is our dream to showcase young but talented musicians who lack the desired assistance to hit the mark and be celebrated”. says the band leader.

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