By BIODUN KUPOLUYI
The life of Ayinde Wasiu Omogbolahan Marshall, the Mayegun of Yorubaland, won’t stop to intrigue many people, especially his penchant for churning out music that captures moods and draws to the dance floor.
His latest experiment, Fuji The Sound (2020) is a rave, fusing Fuji and pop music has been hugely successful as the bug eats everyone.
With the short but phenomenal, ‘Ade Ori Okin’ track, he has shown he is the eponym of Fuji.
For that singular track, even the harshest of his critics sway to the prayer-laden and poignant lyrics with beats that reflect the rhythm of the hearts.
His style has become a template and like what the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kui did to Afrobeat on the world stage, K1 De Ultimate’s Fuji is another great export waiting to penetrate the global stage like it did at international music festivals such as WOMAD JazzVille Concerts and several others in Europe and America.
Fact is: You can’t hate K1 De Ultimate and hate Ade Ori Okin’ or his Fuji music. It truly affirms that music is life and our hearts as humans, have beats.
His ability to recognise and work with Grammy certified songwriter and producer, Abisagboola Bankuli Oluseun on the album, Fuji The Sound is commendable. Bankuli who had worked with Beyonce on the album, The Lion King: The Gift, brought fresh skills and innovation to the new effort.
Over the span of roughly two decades, K1 De Ultimate has stayed relevant, consistent on the radar, famous, rich and influential, specifically in strategic sectors like music and politics.
K1 De Ultimate has taught us how to fight battles, not necessarily winning but learning and smiling through the experiences.
He has wooed and wowed many with his maturity on the vexatious issue of Fuji creation and his ability to worm his way back to his ‘first family’, fans and children of his late mentor, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, the creator of Fuji music.
He affirmed that Ayinde Barrister created Fuji music and he has been a direct beneficiary.
“I affirm that the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister is the founder of Fuji music. I am a direct beneficiary of Ayinde Barrister because I started out under his tutelage. I see it as God sent me somewhere to be prepared for the future. He graciously accepted me and he gave me the tutelage and all the trainings that I needed for the future and today, the rest is history. I served him very well and learned the rudiments of the genre of music from him. To most of us that are still alive, I am speaking on behalf of you all, the forefathers that have done graciously well to the formation of “Ajiwere”, “Ajisaari” before late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister now turned the whole thing into a mega success that we are seeing today. He lifted “Ajiwere”, “Ajisaari” up, God used Sikiru Ayinde Barrister to be the source of turnaround by creating Fuji to the standard we are seeing today. We are building the history of Fuji and we will continue to build for the coming decades to add many more names,” he enthused at The Fuji: A Opera, an event hosted to posthumously honour the iconic Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister ten years after his transition.
On record, the role, played by K1 De Ultimate at the 10th anniversary of Barrister’s passage and the posthumous concert, Fuji Opera, was laudable and it spoke volume.
He proved that he is a class act in reuniting the family. To me, I strongly believe He was able to achieve this, not because he has enormous financial resources at his disposal or because he is successful. It was an action that came from his innermost part, ability to discern the truth and declare it, not based on external influence or persuasion.
In the same vein, the responsibility of his traditional title, Mayegun of Yorubaland confers peaceful reconciliation of all matters on his shoulder. Hopefully, he will also achieve such fears among warring factions in his Fuji clan soon.
Frankly speaking, K1 De Ultimate has been a great beneficiary of his class act, especially now that the pandemic is ravaging the world and lockdown is shutting businesses down and many musicians’ revenues have plumetted.
In a twist of fate, K1 De Ultimate’s revenue stream is shoring up, climbing the ladder: packing venues to capacity, digital downloads, streaming and live touring, private bookings, smiling to the bank and exploring fresh opportunities in bakery, dredging, cattle ranching, real estate investments and more.
