Oluko Imo

Oluko Imo was born and raised in Laventille, Trinidad, a patchwork of communities stretching across the hills surrounding East Port of Spain that had been a hotbed of radical cultural action after the Abolition of chattel slavery in 1838. It was in these Hills that Yoruba people settled as indentured workers after being rescued from intercepted slave ships, and where the steelpan and the masquerade traditions of Carnival came into being, in direct resistance to the banning of African skin drums in the 1880s. After playing with local cover band The Blue Veils in the late 60s, Imo began to explore the African connections in music, and in early 1972 Black Truth Rhythm Band was born, recording one album (the seminal afro calypso fusion LP Ifetayo) before disbanding later in the decade.

Initially moving to Caracas, Venezuela, Imo moved on to New York, and it was there that he first met Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Their connection was as natural as a reunion of two long lost brothers. Imo moved to Lagos and entered into multiple roles, serving as both road manager and sometime bassist for Fela’s Egypt 80 band. He recorded several albums in Lagos and New York and left an indelible mark on the musical exchanges between the Caribbean and West Africa.