Nigeria’s late Highlife king, Oliver De Coque,  posthumous 74th birthday was today celebrated by Google with a Doddle.

The Doodle was made  by a Lagos-based guest artist Ohab TBJ.

According to Google Ohab TBJ said that Oliver de Coque whose real name is Oliver Sunday Akanite  ‘paved the way for so many African artists of this generation and that history hasn’t done enough to honor his memory.’

Speaking on what inspired the Doodle Ohab TBJ  said that  he has  always been familiar with Oliver De Coque’s music, hence a research to try to understand the late artist he noticed in particular that Oliver De Coque love for the guitar, his energy while performing, his unique style of music, as well as his love for his tradition and culture.

He went on to say that as a kid back in the 90’s, his late dad likes playing his songs, and his uncles and aunties too danced to Oliver De Coque music, and their happiness was contagious.

Oliver de Coque was born  in April 1947 in the small town of Ezinifite in southeastern Nigeria, Oliver Sunday Akanite first took up the guitar at a young age, and as a teenager, studied the traditional Igbo music of the region and Congolese soukous.

In 1970, at a performance by the popular Sunny Agaga and his Lucky Star Band, Akanite convinced Sunny to let him stand in as their guitarist; he was hired on the spot, providing a massive boost to his young career.

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Also a skilled player of the Nigerian board game okwe, Akanite became known as “Oliver de ka Okwe,” which he later adapted into his stage name, Oliver de Coque.

De Coque famously infused the modern West African highlife genre with a Congolese-influenced guitar style and the energetic dance elements of Igbo music he grew up with, crafting a unique musical style, which he called Ogene.

Beginning with his first solo release in 1976, de Coque’s music only grew in popularity at home and abroad, as he put out album after album featuring his masterful guitar work and fresh take on African pop–over 70 throughout his lifetime.

In 1994, in recognition of his prodigious music achievement, de Coque was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the University of New Orleans.

Thank you, Oliver de Coque, for strumming your way into the hearts of listeners around the world!

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