Biography

Sonny Okosuns: Music as a Weapon of Liberation

In 1977, in London, Sonny Okosuns recorded “Fire in Soweto”. This cry against apartheid, blending reggae, highlife and funk, became an underground anthem in South African townships. The self-taught guitarist — son of a cathedral choir member, former actor — had only one goal: to sing the dignity of black peoples.

In Brief


Full name	Francis Sonny Okosun (added the “s” in adulthood)
Birth	January 1, 1947, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria
Death	May 24, 2008 (61 years), Howard University Hospital, Washington DC
Genre	Highlife, reggae, afro-funk, gospel
Instruments	Electric guitar, flute, saxophone, electric piano, percussion, vocals
Notable works	“Fire in Soweto”, “Papa’s Land”, Liberation, Songs of Praise
Honors	Album Sun City (1985); President of PMAN (1994)

Key Dates

Year	Event
1947	Born in Benin City, from a practicing Christian Esan family
1965	Represented Nigeria at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in London
1969	Joined Victor Uwaifo’s Maestros, toured Japan and Europe
1977	“Fire in Soweto”: best-selling anti-apartheid anthem
1985	Sun City, anti-apartheid album by Artists United Against Apartheid
1994	Songs of Praise: 500,000 copies sold
2008	Died in Washington DC, buried in Lagos

Career, Commitment and Reconversion

Born Francis Sonny Okosun on January 1, 1947, in Benin City, the young man grew up in extreme poverty. “We ate rice only four times a year,” he told the Africa News Service. His parents, members of the Church of Pentecostal Cherubim and Seraphim, were both traditional musicians and choir members at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. It was there that his musical vocation took root — long before rock’n’roll turned him away.

Self-taught, Okosuns learned guitar by imitating Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Cliff Richard. In 1964, at seventeen, he founded the Postmen, a cover band of the British Invasion. The following year, he represented Nigeria at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in London, where he attended concerts by the Rolling Stones and the Who, experiences that would mark his aesthetic.

After returning home, he performed in sketches on television in Eastern Nigeria and frequented the Mbari Club, an artists’ circle run by Wole Soyinka and J.P. Clark. The Biafran War (1967–1970) forced him to flee to Lagos. There, in 1969, he joined Victor Uwaifo’s Maestros, a visionary guitarist inventing psychedelic highlife. The tour of Japan and Europe allowed him to fuse African rhythms with Western rock.

In 1972, he founded his own group, Paperback Ltd., which he renamed Ozzidi in 1973. The name comes from an Igbo word meaning “message”. Okosuns thus invented ziddism (or Ozzidism), a pan-African philosophy that became the red thread of his career. “All my friends sang love songs,” he declared in a statement reported by The Independent. “I wanted to talk about what was happening to black people.”

“Fire in Soweto” (1977), recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, denounced apartheid and became an underground best-seller. “Papa’s Land” (1977) and “Holy Wars” (1978) continued on this path. At the time, Okosuns sold each album to more than 100,000 copies and sometimes four records a year. In 1981, he signed with the London publisher Oti.

In 1985, he reached the peak of his international fame: the only African artist to participate in Sun City, the benefit album by Artists United Against Apartheid, alongside Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan and Run-D.M.C. He played the talking drum there. Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that he delivered his freedom songs “with the raw urgency of a soul singer”.

But by the late 1980s, his popularity declined. In 1993, he turned to gospel. Under the name “Evangelist Sonny Okosuns”, he released Songs of Praise (1994), which sold 500,000 copies. In 1998, he founded the House of Prayer Ministries in Ikeja, Lagos. In January 2008, he traveled to New York for the presentation of a diploma to his daughter Adesuwa, who had graduated from Pace University. Already suffering from colorectal cancer, his health deteriorated. He died on May 24, 2008, at Howard University Hospital in Washington DC, aged 61. Buried in Lagos, he leaves behind a discography of nearly forty albums recorded in Nigeria, France, England and the United States.

Major Works

Work	Year	Why It’s Essential
“Fire in Soweto”	1977	Underground best-selling anti-apartheid anthem; recorded at Abbey Road Studios
“Papa’s Land”	1977	Denounces abuses of apartheid; mixed by Eddy Grant
“Holy Wars”	1978	Struggle for independence in Southern Africa, including Mozambique
Liberation	1984	First American album (Shanachie); compilation of political hits
Sun City (Artists United Against Apartheid)	1985	Only African artist on this benefit album
Songs of Praise	1994	Gospel comeback; 500,000 copies sold

Legacy

Sonny Okosuns paved the way for a generation of Nigerian artists who understood that music could be an instrument of political dignity. Unlike Fela Kuti, whose message was more radical, Okosuns prioritized African unity and black pride. His style — a fusion of Western funk, Jamaican reggae and traditional melodies — anticipated what would later be called world music. The Africa News Service highlighted that “among his own in Edo State, he was a worthy son who did not hesitate to borrow from local culture to spread its tales and proverbs before a wider audience.”