William Onyeabor, Nigerian singer-songwriter, Died at 70

  Business, Music

William Onyeabor was born on March 29, 1946and died on January 16, 2017.

He was a funk musician from Nigeria.

His songs are often heavily rhythmic and synthesized, occasionally epic in scope, with lyrics decrying war and sung by both Onyeabor himself and female backing vocalists.

His most well-known hit, “Better Change Your Mind”, which has appeared on Africa 100, World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love’s a Real Thing – The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa, and Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970’s Funky Lagos, through labels such as Luaka Bop.

Onyeabor “self-released eight albums between 1977 and 1985, according to the Luaka Bop record label and then became a born-again Christian, refusing to ever speak about himself or his music again.

However, ” The label reports that through attempting to speak with Onyeabor himself, and by talking to people who seem to have firsthand knowledge, it has been trying to construct an accurate biography of him for the past 18 months, without success.

He had four children and four grandchildren.

William Onyeabor passed away at 70 years old.