- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 1978
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 1979
- Atomic Bomb · 1978
- Atomic Bomb · 1978
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 2013
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 1983
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 2011
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 2011
- Box Set · 2011
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 1981
- World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor? · 2013
- Great Lover · 1981
- Atomic Bomb · 1978
Essential Albums
- William Onyeabor is something of a mystery. Here’s what we do know: between the mid-‘70s and mid-‘80s, he released a string of albums that married the best of American funk with Nigerian pop, using a small army of now-vintage synthesizers to do it. Rediscovered by crate-diggers, his ticky-tacky songs sound prescient—and quite relevant—today, frequently straying into the 10-minute range and showing their African roots in their tendency to build intensity through repetition. Start with “Atomic Bomb” and “Fantastic Man” for a wildly funky ride.
Albums
- 1982
- 1981
- 1978
Artist Playlists
- This Nigerian maverick’s pioneering funk is built for speed.
Singles & EPs
About William Onyeabor
William Onyeabor was an iconic figure in the history of Nigerian pop music. He was considered the father of Nigerian electro Afro-funk. His biography has been shrouded in mystery due to his own refusal to discuss it or his music after becoming a born-again Christian in the mid-'80s and retiring to pursue a career as a businessman running his own flour mill. His musical education began early on the piano and organ. Although he was recording during the era when Fela Kuti's Afro-beat ruled the music scene, and was no doubt influenced by it, Onyeabor's music followed its own idiosyncratic path. ~ Thom Jurek
- HOMETOWN
- Lagos, Nigeria
- BORN
- March 26, 1945
- GENRE
- Funk