Amayo, the former frontman of Antibalas for over two decades, is credited with bringing Afrobeat to a global audience and leading it to become a genre of itself. Today Amayo has announced his solo album debut: Lion Awakes will be released January 17. Inspired by his Kung Fu practice as a Lion Dancer - and honoring his indigenous Nigerian Edo customs and heritage - the 5-track album of fierce afrobeat energy unfurls over a series of movements that tell a story where myth meets reality. Amayo has also announced an album release concert at Brooklyn Bowl on January 29.
Listen to “Black Magic Sister” here: https://ffm.to/ylrywjx
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAozYfP3Qi4
Says Amayo: “This album honors my grandmother, Iyalawo (my Black Magic Shaman/real life medicine woman). The world is right side down. Only through honest collaborations can we find equilibrium. Lion Awakes offers medicinal words and songs, layered in a new sound with fresh angles to deepen the experience of this timeless music. It’s a reimagined story/symphony where Myth meets Reality.”
The album story centers around the Chinese Fu Lion, who meets an African good doer, Iyalawowo, placed in an ancient land called Alkebu-Lan (Africa.) The Chinese Lion learns humility and about nature’s connection to three African deities - Shango, Oya and Ogun. Lion Awakes begins with “Black Magic Sister” - an opening salvo delivered with a blast of horns, a chorus of voices, rich textures of Rhodes electric piano and Farfisa organ licks, and a classic mid-tempo afrobeat rhythm to set the mood. Amayo describes the song as being “about offering Blessings for an abundant mindset. It’s also a prayer for twins and a wish for those who lost close ones.”
Lion Awakes was composed by Amayo, who is the featured lead vocalist and also performs on piano, Farfisa and Gbedu Spirit Drum. Amayo sings throughout the album in Yoruba, Edo, pidgin English and Cantonese. The recording features a host of musicians that Amayo has collaborated with over the past two decades, including members of the Dap-Kings, Antibalas, and recorded/produced by Thomas Brenneck (Dap-Kings, Menahan Street Band, Amy Winehouse, Beyonce and Jay-Z) at his Diamond West studios. Amayo also illustrated the album artwork.
Amayo’s music has been featured in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, the LA Times, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR and he has appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show to name a few. As a member of Antibalas and as a solo performer, Amayo has performed across the globe, on the world’s finest stages and at the finest festivals. His final project with Antibalas - Fu Chronicles - earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Global Music Album in 2020.
Raised in Nigeria, Amayo came to America to attend Howard University on a football scholarship at age 17 and majored in medical illustration. He eventually moved to Brooklyn, where he joined Antibalas, part of a fertile and influential creative community of musicians and friends in Williamsburg that would also form The Dap-Kings and TV On The Radio. Amayo recorded 9 full length albums with Antibalas & performed 2000+ shows across five continents including four times at Carnegie Hall. He also directed the Antibalas music video for “Fight Am Finish” on location in Nigeria & NYC, about an African American returning home via the slave route. 2020’s Fu Chronicles was conceptualized and composed by Amayo; he also hand-illustrated the cover artwork. With a move across the country and the birth of his second child during the pandemic, Amayo decided to branch out on his solo career, one dedicated to his rich Nigerian heritage and Chinese martial arts teachings.
Amayo’s unique blend of styles creates a magical landscape of Chinese & African rhythms. Amayo’s songs guide people through Kung Fu movements and stories of the Nigerian Edo & Ife Kingdoms.
As an anointed Orisha “Awo,” Amayo sings traditional Nigerian spirituals and stories that have been passed down in a sacred lineage. Amayo has been a senior master (Sifu) of the Jow Ga Kung Fu School of martial arts since 1982 and performs traditional Chinese Lion Dance as a salutation ritual to begin his stage performances to bring good fortune to the audience.
