Jide Obi

Biography

Jide Obi was born in England to a Nigerian barrister of England's Lincoln Inn, and a teacher.

In the late 1970s he studied law at Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria, where he became friends with fellow student Chris Okotie.

Following Okotie's success, in the early 1980s he released his debut album Tonight under the Tabansi Records label. Other hits included Kill Me With Love, and Front Page News. He made numerous performances on Nigerian radio and television, some in front of state governors and senators, and even once in front of Nigeria's first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe.

In November 1981, his record label, Tabansi Records, gave him his first gold disc award at the National Theatre, Surulere. Two years later, he toured Eastern Nigeria with Sierra Leone's Bunny Mack, backed mostly by the Comrades of Enugu, Nigeria.

He has had several bands backing him, including Guyanese musician Eddy Grant's Coach House Band, the Dukes of Freetown Sierra Leone, and the Apostles of Aba. His albums Front Page News and Kill Me With Love were both produced by Barbados native Bill Campbell. Ex-Osibisa and Funkees guitarist Jake Solo performed on both recordings.

With Dizzy K Falola, Chris Okotie, and Felix Liberty he stimulated the emerging music industry of Nigeria. He sang modern pop gospel, also described as pop/blues. He was seen as part of a movement devoted to change and opposing inequality in Nigeria.

Jide Obi is known to give press interviews critical of aspects of religion. The most notable instance occurred in 1989 and 1990, when he declared religion as frequently a victimising factor. The story made the cover of Nigerian billionaire M. K. O. Abiola's National Concord magazine.

In recent years, Jide Obi has been seen living in both Britain and the United States, though he is a recluse seldom seen in public.