Ologunde adopted the name Lágbájá (meaning ‘anonymous’ or ‘faceless one’ in Yoruba) as he embarked on his career in the early 90s. His name was reflected in his choice of stage attire - a slitted textile and rubber mask adopted so that the artist represented the ‘common man’ in keeping with the carnival tradition of his Yoruba tribe. He formed his first small band in 1991 in Lagos after he had taught himself to play the saxophone. With a high quotient of percussion instruments including congas and talking drums </ref> Lagbaja's album We Before Me (IndigeDisc/PDSE) released in 2000 demanded honesty from politicians and urged brotherhood and unity. He shared lyrics of his songs with a backup singer, Ego Ihenacho,and equally plays tenor saxophone. With a firm, brawny tone akin to that of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, he emblazoned the melodies of the songs, sometimes with Ego scat-singing along.
BIOGRAPHY
Lagbaja (born Bisade Ologunde in Lagos) is a Nigerian Afrobeat musician, singer and song-writer. He was born in 1960 in Lagos state. He is from Odogun’s Compound, Ijagbo Community in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State. Bisade is a Baptist by birth.
NAME AND MASK
According to Lágbájá (pronounced la gba jah), his mask is used as an icon of man's facelessness. Lágbájá is a Yoruba word that means "nobody in particular". It depicts the anonymity of the so-called "common man". The mask and the name symbolize the faceless, the voiceless in the society, particularly in Africa. He is also known as "Omo baba mu'ko mu'ko".
WHY DOES LAGBAJA WEAR A MASK?
He has his reasons for wearing the mask. He used to be in the choir in one Baptist Church in Ilorin and his parents are prominent Baptist members. His family opposed his decision to sing that kind of music. They believed that he wanted to disgrace them because of their position in the church. That was why he put the mask. The Ologundes are from Ijagbo near Offa in Kwara State.That mask is what makes him unique… Isn’t it? His family’s opposition to his career choice might be a blessing in disguise.
He mentioned in an interview that his mask is used as an icon of man’s facelessness. Lagbaja is a Yoruba word that means “nobody in particular”. He mentioned in an interview that the mask and the name symbolize the faceless, the voiceless in the society, particularly in Africa. He released his national acclaim debut album titled “Lagbaja” in 1993, the album was well received and received a lot of airplay all over the country. His groovy fusion has been referred to as afrojazz, afrobeat, higherlife and afropop until now that he himself has christened the music AFRICANO, alluding mostly to the central role of African drums and grooves in his music. In March 1997, he established his club called “Motherlan” in the heart of Ikeja in Lagos. It was influenced by the traditional African town or market square, where people gather under the moonlight for ceremonies and artistic events like dance, music and storytelling. He won the Best Male Video for his video “Never Far Away” at the 2006 Channel O Music Video Awards. He is currently signed to Motherlan’ Music. He is also the ambassador of Globacom.
NETWORTH
Looking at his portfolio of achievement and successes in the music Industry, Lagbaja Net Worth is $2 Million
SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES
His Instagram page @officiallagbaja has attracted more than 20k fans from Nigeria, Africa and Diaspora.
