On Saturday, November 19, Duke Amayo, former lead singer of Antibalas, returned to New York City after taking time at home in Nigeria. It was there that he performed at Felebration Festival over October 10-16, launching his career as “Amayo,” a name which means “If you don’t go, you never know.”
The free show at BAMcafé in Brooklyn featured Amayo’s new band, featuring some of the original Antibalas members, of which he was frontman for 23 years. In the course of bringing Afrobeat to a global audience, channeling Fela Kuti as he celebrates the genre of Afrobeat.
It was true when I first came to America at age 17, when I first joined Antibalas, when I departed the band, and now for my pilgrimage back home with some of the original Antibalas members and friends performing in Nigeria for the first time.
Amayo
Amayo is dedicated to his rich Nigerian heritage and martial arts teachings, merging Chinese and African rhythms. Amayo sings traditional Yoruba and Edo lyrics and is joined by a band featuring chekere, flute, violin, percussion, horn, and more, while also playing piano, electric keyboard, organ, and the gbedu spirit drum.
photos by Ken Spielman – follow on Instagram
