Afrokokoroot
Sunny Dada and His Afrokokoroot Afrobeat Ensemble — known to Nashvillians by the shorter name Afrokokoroot — are celebrating the release of their full-length World Peace Friday night at Eastside Bowl, and it’s not a moment too soon. To say “the vibe is off around here lately” is an understatement when current events have been dicey, divisive and downright debilitating. But World Peace and its propulsive, collective grooves and sense of dance-floor diplomacy might just be the corrective we need.
“I’m a man of peace,” the Nigerian-born Dada tells the Scene. “I’m a man of hope. I’m a man of unity. I’m a man of people. I’m a man of people that see when there’s war, there’s a crisis. I like to bring my sunshine, my peace — the love of bringing people together.”
Dada’s music and teaching have taken him to more than 70 countries across Africa, Europe and Asia. They’ve led him into all sorts of adventures, including being imprisoned in Monrovia during the Liberian civil war of the 1990s. When he says that music saved him, he means it.
Afrokokoroot at Vinyl Tap for Record Store Day, 4/20/2024
“I was caught by the rebels,” he explains. “I was put into the cell — the rebel jail. … Anytime [the troops’ commander came] to the prison, they always kill someone — like, kill one of the prisoners. The commander was kind of staring at me. He was looking at me, he’s like, ‘I think I know you, boy.’ So I used to play jazz music with my jazz band. That’s where the commander recognized me — because then I’m always the show boy. I use my leg, I use my hand, my elbow, my head to play drums when they gave me solos. … So the commander said: ‘OK, this boy, I know him. He’s a musician.’ So that’s how I escape that: music.”
A songwriter, arranger and percussionist, Dada brings together a big band with up to a dozen players — keys, horns, backup singers, a whole crew — while creating acoustic frameworks that let the individuals shine and give him plenty of opportunity to unleash his full powers as a charismatic showman. While Dada is obviously indebted to the fundamental work of Fela Kuti and the heavy funk sounds of Lagos, Dada’s hometown, the globetrotting musician’s collaborative skills bring influences to the party from across the jazz-fusion diaspora. World Peace standout “Love” has Mizzell Brothers-esque swagger, and the keys on “China Go” channel early ’70s Deodato. Every bar is packed full of rich, vibrant textures and the sort of jaw-dropping instrumentalism that makes Afrokokoroot fit right into Nashville.
“So I end up falling in love with Nashville,” says Dada, whose local shows have included a longstanding recurring Afrobeat Night at The 5 Spot. “My spirit was kind of guiding me because that’s being a spiritual person. I always follow my spirit. So the way Nashville accepted me — I’m home. I’m home.”
That spirit of gratitude, that big thankful vibe, runs through World Peace. The record is a labor of love years in the making. Dada began recording in China and continued in Nigeria before making his way to Middle Tennessee, where he finished the tracks at Broken Door Studios in Nashville and the studios at MTSU. The finished product is cohesive and coherent in a way that belies its polyglot essence. The polyrhythms and performances on World Peace burst from the speakers with vitality and excitement, feeling both classic and contemporary. Dada is relieved and excited for the work to find its place in the community.
“Everything that was so difficult — that was so, so frustrating — became easy after seeing everything completed. I was full of joy. I was so happy that at last I have the cassette tape in my hand.”
