Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - Vol. 1-5 (1978-1984) 5xLP

Label: Luaka Bop

On the heels of his already critically acclaimed (yes, already!) forthcoming retrospective, World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife Of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah, Alhaji Waziri Oshomah — the Oyoyo King, the Godfather of Afemai Music, the Etsako Super Star, Mr. Please Please Please, Mr. Dynamite — returns with his complete Volume Series, compiled for the first time in a 5 LP box set.

Waziri hails from a small part of Edo State in southern Nigeria called Afemailand, known for being a harmonious region where Muslims and Christians live—and dance—together. And there, as a devout Muslim and an exemplar of religious piety in his community, Waziri's music fuses Etsako/Afemai folk styles with pan-Nigerian highlife and pop to create a sublime vehicle for his Islamic philosophy that gets everyone—Muslims, Christians, whoever—on the dancefloor.

This 5 LP set, Vol. 1-5 (1978-1984), focuses on Waziri's illustrious mid-career output—the music he created during the years leading up to and after he made his first hajj. Every song here (some of which you might recognize from The Muslim Highlife) strikes his signature balance of traditional music, highlife, and funk, as he entreats you to stay on the straight and narrow, though there's nothing straight about his beat.

Included in the box set is a copy of The Journey So Far, a limited-edition book written and designed by his children, to celebrate Waziri's remarkable life and career.