Mike Ejeagha is a legendary Igbo folk music crooner.
Igbo folk music is a traditional music genre that uses singing and musical instruments to tell popular folktales (akuko ifo). The genre was quite common from the 60s to the early 90s. It was eventually overshadowed by “high life” which was then seen as a classier form of music, played on bigger occasions.
Mike Ejeagha is one of the very few Igbo folk musicians who continued in the craft for a long time.
His 1983 record ‘Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche’ which samples the popular Igbo folktale of the “Elephant and the Tortoise” has now found widespread fame across social media. The classic record caught the trend after it was used in a skit by popular social media creator Brain Jotter.
The skit has since inspired a viral challenge with users from all over the globe participating.
Mike Ejeagha was born in August 1932 and is currently 92 years old. Known professionally as “Gentleman Mike Ejeagha“, the musician hails from Imezi Owa in Eziagu Local Government of Enugu State.
He is best known for his “Akuko N’Egwu” albums which spanned several “volumes”. The hit song “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” which loosely translates to “How A Chairman Was Sold” was first recorded in 1983 by his then three-man band as part of the very first volume of the “Akuko N’Egwu” series.
Due to his distinct style of telling folktales accompanied by the guitar instrument and lyrics laced with Igbo proverbs, the title “Akuko Mike Ejeagha or Akuko na egwu” is often used to refer to a person if they are perceived to be telling long stories that are hard to believe.
The song was rerecorded and released in 2010 with more modern instrumentals and equipment.
As a legendary music icon, Mike Ejeagha deserves every recognition he is getting right now.
