Labule: Passion Drove Me to Music

Segun Adekunle, professionally known as Labule is a musician whose genre he describes as Highfro – a fusion of highlife and afrobeat. With his signature talking drum an instrument of his cultural sound which is reflective of his root, Labule has sort of created a path for his musical journey since venturing into music in 2015. He shares more about his career and record in this chat with Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Share a bit of your background with us?

Segun Adekunle, aka Labule, I hail from Kogi State, Mopa precisel. I was born into a family of 10. Had my secondary school education in Lagos; that’s Victory Grammar School Ikeja, and Baptist Model High School Ijegun. Then proceeded to University of Lagos where I studied Civil and Environmental Engineering then proceeded to University of Brighton where I did my Masters in Construction Management.

What drove you to music?

Passion drove me to music. As a kid, I love to be around where music is played or where music is done and the easiest place for me to catch that was the church. As a kid I was supposed to be in the children’s church but will sneak to the adult church just because I needed to see musicians perform. So the passion started growing that I had to join a band in my area then in Surulere. I joined a fuji band, I played the drums then for the band. In my primary and secondary school, I was the head drummer but in the university, music took a back seat because I needed to concentrate but still I was learning from a great mentor Lagbaja though not as a band member but as a fan but Lagbaja never knew. I made friends with every member of his band but those guys too never knew my mission.

Was Labule crafted to reflect Yoruba traditional culture?

Labule was crafted to reflect the African tradition. First I am an African and am proud to be an African but my root is Yoruba. The Yoruba culture is rich in tradition and very original. You cannot talk about African culture without talking about the Yoruba culture.

What kind of music do you play?

My kind of music is a bit different from what we have around but people keep saying the sound is Lagbaja but it is not though. We have the Lagbaja influence in our music. We play a sound called Highfro, it is a fusion of highlife and afrobeat and two songs that gives brief description about this Highfro sound will coming out next year, there you will know the direction Labule is going.

Where do you draw inspiration?

I draw inspiration from my environment. I’m very conscious and very sensitive of happenings in my environment. We have a lot going around us that one could draw inspiration from. We have a lot going around us socially; we are only concerned about addressing those issues. I use my songs to address social issues because am very much into things around me, am influenced by happenings in my environment and surroundings. I love to write songs that are relatable

Do you think people still listen to highlife music compared to afrobeats?

People still appreciate highlife and the real afrobeat by legendary Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti. For me am even confused about afrobeat because the only one I know is the one created by Fela. Highlife and Afrobeat sound portray our culture and our identity. This genre can easily be exported outside Nigeria. The Europeans, Americans love this genre of music. I played in Houston, Texas in 2018 and still surprised them how the talking drum could talk. For me the Nigerian music is respected worldwide and kudos to everyone that had made it happened.

You grew up listening to the likes of King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti and Lagbaja how much of impact did these great artistes have on your life?

Great impact… I’m an addict follower of these legends. One thing I learnt from them is simplicity and that has really helped and shaped my life.

Lagbaja was a big influence to you in that Lagbaja’s style of music played a huge role in shaping your music and message delivery. How did you get connected with him?

I got connected with Lagbaja’ in 1993 on my way to school (boarding house). I was in the car when I heard the chant by Yinka Davis and I was like ‘who be this again’, the voice sounded Fela and I was confused but immediately I got connected to him. I love the concept, vibe and originality.

As someone who has experienced both the western and indigenous cultures, how would you rate the exporting of Nigerian music culture, and its global acceptance?

Honestly am happy about the acceptance of our music culture globally, every top artiste abroad wants to do a collabo with us, Big up to 2face, Wizkid, Burna Boy and the likes and big shout to Kenny Ogungbe and D1 who believed in the Nigerian music vision.

Are you working on any new project at the moment?

We just recorded a track titled Zero and should be out soon. The story behind Zero is to never to underrate anyone in life, just because someone is not smart or brilliant does not mean he can’t make it in life.