The Cavemen: Keeping Highlife Alive

How two brothers are modernising highlife for a new generation by fusing it with Afrobeats…

“Epp me! Epp me! Cavemen dey carry me go where I no know!”

Originally a plea for help by an overzealous police officer entering a private car in a suburb of Lagos, this ad-lib has since become something of a meme, now paraphrased and screamed out during the goosebump-filled live performance of brothers, Kingsley Okorie and Benjamin James at Victoria Island’s Bayroot Lounge a few weeks ago.

The lounge, aptly located in the scenic Landmark Towers right at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean was home to the Cavemen’s performance and it was an intentional choice as the owners were also people who understood how music helps to keep culture alive much like highlife keeps the Igbo language and culture breathing. Standing shoulder to shoulder on the terrace overlooking the Atlantic, the crowd was ecstatic and the venue was filled to the brim. I mean, this is a genre quite unique to one tribe as lyrics are mainly in the Igbo language yet people from diverse cultures and continents were singing along and begging for more.

“They will change Nigeria.

They will change Africa.

They will change the world.

Enjoy the sounds from the cave.”

These words were chanted over soothing acoustics accompanied by low-tempo percussion as the brothers began their performance and the crowd sang along. It was the opener from their 2020 debut album, Roots and you could tell the audience was in for a treat.

It’s highlife but with a more modern take: in fact, they are making it so cool to say you listen to highlife. I often employ it myself as an icebreaker whenever I start conversations with new acquaintances. So what is so special about what they do?

For the uninitiated, to understand The Cavemen, you have to go back; way back to how highlife originated and was championed by great acts like Victor Uwaifo, Chief Osita Osadebe, Orlando Owoh and Oliver de Coque in the 20th century.

Highlife is a music genre that merges local West African dialects and fusions with uptempo synths and elements of jazz, funk, and rock. Though it originates in 19th century Ghana, the nomadic style arrived on Nigeria’s music scene in the 1950s, swiftly joining Juju music as a prominent genre thanks to stars like Bobby Benson, Cardinal Jim Rex Lawson, and Roy Chicago. On the one hand, the sound formed a significant part of social life at the time due to its impact on nightlife culture. On the other, its increasing popularity paralleled one of the country’s most pivotal periods in history. Essentially, it was the soundtrack against which Nigeria’s revolution and evolution took place.

“...the soundtrack against which Nigeria’s revolution and evolution took place.”

The genre rose to prominence during the clamour for independence in midcentury Nigeria, resonating especially well in the hearts of the Igbo people of the South-East, and continued to thrive in this region and eventually served as a source of rehabilitation after the civil war. However, there was a decline late into the 20th century as Afrobeats took centerstage.

For the brothers, they discovered music at church and learned how to compose music and play instruments with the help of an elderly figure fondly called Bro Chima by the brothers. Benjamin stuck to drums and Kingsley learned the keyboard and bass before they ultimately formed the band in 2018.

Today, the brothers are on a mission to reintroduce highlife to a new generation with love as their key message but for a lot of us who listen to their music, it has never been about the lyrics — most songs are sung in either Igbo, Pidgin English or both — but the feeling you get while you listen to them. I’ll be honest, I do not understand a word of Igbo, yet I can sing both their albums without skipping a bit (I might butcher the vocals a little bit). If we are keeping it buck, the same can be said of a lot of music coming out of such a melting pot of closely knit but widely diverse cultures as this phenomenon isn't a characteristic unique to high life but cuts across a lot of genres coming out of West Africa.

As the night progressed and the performance built up to a crescendo, the duo introduced Nsikak, a guitarist who almost stole the show with a rendition of Bolo Bolo off the Roots album before Benjamin went into a spiritual trance, taking our breath away with his vocals and boy, did the crowd go so gaga when he took off his shirt and continued to play with a flute. A previously unknown vocalist would also take to the stage and he kept the tempo up till some members of the crowd tried to invade the stage. They would later introduce the vocalist as their youngest brother, Emmanuel and then continue with the performance before ultimately letting fans on to the stage to dance with them.

As the show came to an end, the crowd kept asking more – a specific track off the Roots album in particular: Anita. A song about a woman, how much love the protagonist has for her and how far he’s willing to go to make sure they end up together. The perfect metaphor to round out performance as, with this being my first time seeing them live, I hope to attend more.

And this is the exact sentiment The Cavemen hope to bring to the rest of the world as their primary goal is “for highlife to become a global sound. Everything we are doing right now is for the posterity of Nigerian music. It goes without saying. You can’t play the infinite game without having a legacy plan.”

credits

words — toheeb oladeinde

design — sâde popoola