How singer’s trending song was inspired by Sir Victor Uwaifo’s 1969 record ‘Joromi’

The name ‘Joromi’ is a unique moniker which reminds the music industry of one of its most legendary songs. It first appeared as the title of Sir Victor Uwaifo.

Sir Victor Uwaifo (born 1 March 1941) is a Nigerian musician, writer, sculptor, and musical instrument inventor. Uwaifo is famous for his ‘Joromi’ single.

Uwaifo made history in Nigeria when he won the first Golden record in Nigeria, West Africa and Africa (presented by Philips, West Africa) for his song ‘Joromi’ in 1996. The song has legendary status among his fans and his performances are characterized by his ability to play the guitar with both his feet and also his tongue.

‘Joromi’, a highlife song, was initially released on the album titled “Big Sound” by Premier Records on June 27, 1969. Its release caused a stir in Nigerian music circle as it was received with anticipation. It was composed in the Uwaifo’s local dialect. A five-minute track, Joromi had for its solo, a mastery of skills on a variety of musical instruments including the electric guitar with an accompaniment of percussion and the electric piano. Uwaifo also made use of vocals in making beats.

The song is based on a folktale of the ancient Bini people (now the people of the Benin City in Edo State). It tells the story of an undefeated warrior, named Joromi. He had wrestled and defeated rivals until he was the ultimate warrior on earth. Without any more rivals, he decided to take the battle to the afterlife. Against the counsel of the elders, the fearsome Joromi engaged in battle with a warrior from the afterlife. This personal quest led to his end as he neither returned nor did the people of Bini till this day hear any news about him. It is not even known if he emerged victorious or not.

And now Simi is giving that song new life by using it as inspiration for her new single. Simi is currently flying high with her single ‘Joromi’. The record which was released last week. The song, which is a new expression of love, borrows a title and style of Sir Victor Uwaifo’s ‘Joromi’.

“Actually, I had already finished most of the songs on my album, we thought it was already complete,” Simi told Pulse via the phone. “Oscar my producer said he was going to send me a beat, but I was actually tired of writing already. When he sent it, I fell in love with the beat, and then I started to write it.

“It was a bit hard for me, because creatively I wasn’t in that space. I was mixing all the songs on my album, and it was a bit hard for me to create that song. But because I really liked the beat, I just kept going. I wrote 4 songs before I finally got ‘Joromi’.”

The Federal Government of Nigeria, in appreciation of Uwaifo’s talents and contributions to Nigeria, honoured him with a National Honors Merit in 1983, which reads in part: " ... whereas you have been nominated and appointed as Member of the Order of the Niger to have and hold and enjoy the privileges of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of the said Order, MON."

Uwaifo was the first professional musician in Nigeria to receive such an award. Uwaifo, who has a total of 12 golden records to date, has travelled to many countries, including the United States, Russia, Japan, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, France, Hungary, Rome, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin Republic and others.

All of this was in part influenced by the success and legendary status of ‘Joromi’, which influenced Simi.

“I was trying to think an angle, I just sang the chorus and really liked the way it sounded, so I just built around that,” She says.

“One thing I did in my entire album is that I try to get inspirations from the work of legends. Not too long before I created the song, I was listening to ‘Joromi’ by Sir Victor Uwaifo, and I really liked the call-and –response thing he did, and it was inspiring. It makes the song more interactive. That’s one of the main reasons why I did the call-and-response in the song inspired.

“I also wanted to use the name. I have not heard that name in any other song before, so I thought it was going to be nostalgic and all.”

The remixed version of ‘Joromi was released in 2009 as part of the album ‘Legend Reborn Vol.2’ by the label, 960 Music. Alongside the instruments played on the original track, there is the addition of the bass guitar, keyboard, the drum set and most significantly, the percussion instruments – the cymbal and the gong. The lyrics, however, remain the same, in the language of the Benin people.

Simi’s visual shot by AJE Filmworks brings the single to life, and features Simi discretely expressing her affection and desire to be with a love interest. The video quickly shot to number 1 on the Youtube trending charts, with fans sending in recordings of the single as part of the promotional strategy.

‘Joromi’ is the lead single off her forthcoming album, “Simisola”, which drops in September.