Entertainment Business - April 14, 2021

Google Honours Oliver De Coque on His 74th Birthday

April 14, 2021

3 min read

Today is the 74th birthday of the renowned Nigerian highlife singer and guitarist, Oliver De Coque. In honour of this African music icon, Google has released a brilliant doodle illustrated by Ohab TBJ, a guest artist.

Oliver Sunday Akanite, also known as King (Dr.) Chief Oliver De Coque, has been dubbed the “Highlife King of Africa” and is widely regarded as one of the continent’s most prolific recording artists.

Oliver Sunday Akanite was born on this day in 1947 in the small town of Ezinifite in southeastern Nigeria. He began playing the guitar at a young age and studied traditional Igbo music and Congolese soukous as a teenager.

In 1970, during a show by Sunny Agaga and his Lucky Star Band, Akanite persuaded Sunny to let him fill in as their guitarist; he was hired on the spot, giving his fledgling career a huge boost. Akanite became known as “Oliver de ka Okwe,” which he later transformed into his stage name, Oliver de Coque, after becoming a professional player of the Nigerian board game okwe.

De Coque is best known for infusing modern West African highlife with a Congolese-inspired guitar style and the vibrant dance elements of Igbo music, creating a distinctive musical style.

His dance which inspired”Ogene” style of Nigerian high life, which combines modern high life with traditional Igbo music, has generated hits including “People’s Club of Nigeria,” “nempi social club,” “Biri Ka Mbiri,” “Ana Enwe,” “Nnukwu Mmanwu,” and “Identity,” which stayed on the Radio Nigeria 2’s Top Ten for the majority of 1981.

De Coque’s music rose in popularity at home and abroad after his first solo release in 1976, as he released several album his masterful guitar work and fresh take on African pop–over 70 albums in total during his lifetime.

De Coque received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of New Orleans in 1994, in recognition of his extraordinary musical achievements. On June 20, 2008, Oliver de Coque died at the age of 61.

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