Keni Okulolo ( baba Ken okulolo) is a Nigerian bassist , vocalist , educator and band leader, born in 1950 into the Urhobo tribe in the fishing village of Aladja, delta state Nigeria. He ‘s one of the few living Nigerian musicians with roots in both traditional village music and 20 th century west African popular genres. His four decade career spans the palm wine, high life, afro-beat and afro rock eras.
He played and recorded with Nigerian musical legends including Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Tony Allen, Steve Rhodes, Dr Victor Olaya, King Sunny Ade, .
Now based in the USA, he teaches, records, and leads several ensembles including Baba Ken and Kotoja,The West African high life band, Afro-groove CinneXion and the Nigerian brothers.
In 1969 , as a teenager in Warri, playing bass guitar in local high life bands, he was scouted and induced to migrate to the capital city of Lagos to play in Victor Olaya’s highlife all stars. In 1972 with singer Joni Haastrup, he co founded the seminal Nigerian Afro –rock group MONOMONO, which reached the top of the west African charts with two albums, “Give beggar a chance”and “ Dawn of awareness”( EMI records). As a mainstay of the Nigerian music scene, Okulolo produced and performed over 50 recordings including his solo endeavor “ Talkin bass experience “( EMI records). Okulolo was 5 times voted Nigerian ‘s best bassist by the Nigerian association of music journalists. In the 80’s , he played on two world tours with King sunny Ade’s African beats and appears on four Ade’s album.
In 1985 , Okulolo settled in the San Francisco bay area and started the afro fusion–funk group Baba ken and kotoja, a band of African and American playing Hi life, Juju, and afro-beat based originals.
In 1991, the group signed with Mesa Blue Moon records, which released the albums “ freedom” and “ Sawalé collection”. When Putumayo records was founded in 1994, the Kotoja compilation “ Super sawale collection” was the new label’s first release.
A recent reprint collection of Okulolo compositions is the cd “ best of Baba Ken & kotoja: Afro-funk ( Inner spirit records). Okulolo has guested on several albums with American artists. He teaches African musical performance techniques at various schools, including U.C Berkeley and UCLA.
In order to prject his multi-faceted musical background, Okulolo leads 3 other ensembles.
Okulolo birth name was AAnimikpiteye Okulolo. The name Kenneth was coined when he enrolled in Anglican missionary school at the age of 8, and later shortened to Keni. The spelling of Okulolo was also changed to reflect his pronunciation. For most of his early career, he was known simply as KENI OKULOLO. The title “Baba “refers to OKULOLO mature age and status as a father and grandfather.