Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe was born on the 17th of March 1936 in the Igbo town of Atani in Southeastern Nigeria and he died on the 11th of May 2007 in St. Mary’s Hospital. Osadebe was a Nigerian highlife musician from Atani. During his career spanning over four decades, he became one of the best known musicians of Igbo highlife. His best-known hit was the 1984 single “Osondi Owendi”, which established him as a leader in the highlife genre and was one of Nigeria’s most popular records ever.
He came from a line of singers and dancers in Igboland. His genre, Highlife, encompassed Igbo and traditional musical elements. Along with this, calypso, Samba, bolero, rumba, Jazz and waltz were also present in Osadebe’s musical style. It was in his high school years in Onitsha, a major commercial city near Atani, that Osadebe grew interested in music.
Osadebe started his career singing at nightclubs in Lagos in the southwestern region of Nigeria. He had been a part of The Empire Rhythm Orchestra, led by E. C. Arinze in which he had learned much of his music skills. A prolific composer, Osadebe released his first album in 1958, and went on to write over 500 songs; half of which were released commercially.
As he became better established, Osadebe’s style matured to include social commentary, similar to, but not as confrontational as Fela Kuti. Personal trials and tribulations were usually the main topics of his commentaries. He sang in English, pidgin English and Igbo. Osadebe often extended his tracks for his audience’s enjoyment, allowing room for ‘people on the dance floor’ to indulge in the songs. He earned the nickname “the Doctor of Hypertension” in reference to “the healing powers of his music”.
Osadebe succeeded in breaking away from the conventional big band format established by the pioneers of the music, a format that favored melodic progressions that were in the common meter, church hymnal tradition. He succeeded in completely transforming highlife into the call-and-response pattern of African music.
After turning 50 in 1986, Osadebe started to give priority to fatherhood and gave more of his time to his son Obiora and his other children from his wives. One of Osita Osadebe’s last albums is Kedu America.
This shows how immortalized the iconic Osadebe name has become and the level of influence it had on audiences back in the ’80s and to date. In fact, Osita Osadebe has been acclaimed the King of African Highlife Music.
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