BIOGRAPHY OF PRINCE NICO MBARGA

1950-1997

Nico Mbarga popularly called Prince Nico Mbarga or ‘simple man’, was born in Abakaliki,   Ebonyi State Nigeria on the 1^st of January 1950 and grew up in the town of Ikom Cross River State. His mother was a Nigerian peasant-farmer, and his father a Cameroon timber dealer who naturalized in Nigeria.

Nico’s childhood was not easy, his father died of a sudden illness leaving behind; his wife, three sons and a daughter who became reliant on Nico’s mother, a peasant farmer.

Working later as a “band boy” for a Congolese cover group in Mamfe, carrying instruments for concerts at hotels in nearby towns, Mbarga came to learn and love Congolese rumba. With its staccato guitar, spontaneous spoken asides and high-pitched harmonies, Mbarga, from that moment dedicated and taught himself the conga, drums, bass and most importantly, the finger-picking style of Congolese electric guitar.

Mbarga became a multi-talented instrumentalist as he interchangeably played the xylophone, konga, drums, organ, bass guitar and electric guitar.

At age 17, the Biafran War in Nigeria caused him to flee across the border to Cameroon in 1967 where he mastered the guitar more, before then, his father taught him how to play the xylophone, a handheld version with metal tines plucked by the thumbs, but Nico wanted to make a sound more like the western instruments of highlife, so he built his own xylophone from dried-out plantain skins and scooped bark. “It was completely something that he innovated,”

When the three hard years of the Biafran war came to an end, he looked to launch his career back in Nigeria. After one failed border-crossing attempt by road, in which he was arrested by officials and kept in custody for three days for not having passports, he successfully made it across a second time, going “the bush way” in 1970.

He came to Onitsha, a trading town on the bank of the Niger River, which was one of the largest markets on the country and founded his own style of music (Panco System) and group (Rocafil Jazz) which became instruments he used in navigating his musical career to stardom.

Although he spoke Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Efik, Ejagham and French fluently, Mbarga did most of his songs in Pidgin English as he sought out to connect with the multi-ethnic nationalities of Nigeria as at then when people identified more with language.

Pidgin English as his choice of communication language was one the comparative advantages he had over his contemporaries who tilted more to their ethnic nationalities in terms of language and style.

After releasing a disappointing single in 1973, Mbarga and Rocafil Jazz had their first success with their second single, I no go marry my papa, which became a regional hit. The band's inability to break past their local following, resulted in their recording contract being dropped by EMI, a decision that proved ill-fortuned when the band signed with Rogers All Stars, a Nigerian recording company based in Onitsha.

However, Mbarga was projected to limelight big time after the release of his greatest hit (sweet mother) which sold about thirteen million copies and is recognised as one of Africa's greatest songs

For six months Mbarga, Rocafil jazz band and Rogers All Stars worked on “Sweet Mother,” rehearsing daily from seven in the morning until one in the afternoon as they made change after change, turning it from a gentle “cha cha cha” to a more upbeat highlife sound, adding little dance breaks, and crafting a song marked more and more by the drive of Mbarga’s Congolese-style finger-picking lead guitar.

Finally satisfied, the band travelled across the country to record, and after a heavy night in a Lagos hotel, with all but Mbarga drinking and smoking, they recorded it live at Decca Studios

Mbarga played an important role in the evolution of African popular music, with his soulful vocals set to the light melodies of his electric guitar, Mbarga created a distinctive fusion of Igbo and Congolese guitar playing and uplifting highlife rhythms. His group, Rocafil Jazz, performed regularly at the Plaza Hotel in the eastern Nigerian city of Onitsha.

In 1979 Mbarga and his Rocafil jazz band went on a tour in London, playing at venues like St. Pancras Town Hall and the African Centre, the members of Rocafil Jazz complained that they were underpaid, as a result, the mood soured.

While they were planning a trip to Japan, unable to agree on their percentages, Rocafil disbanded. Though they later re-formed and changed members, the band never quite gained the same momentum, as a result, Mbarga turned his attention to managing the 4-star hotel (Sweet Mother Hotel) that he owned, located in the town of Ikom just minutes away from the Cameroon-Nigeria border.

On a repeat tour to England in 1982, Mbarga became known for his flamboyant, 1970s glam rock-inspired performances. While he continued to appear with Rocafil Jazz, Mbarga also performed with London-based highlife band ‘the Ivory Coasters’ and former Rocafil Jazz member, (Cameroonian vocalist ‘Louisiana Tilda’).

In the six years that Mbarga and Rocafil Jazz remained with Rogers All Stars, 1975 to 1981, they recorded nine albums.

It was Mbarga’s desire to carry on his music that saw his end in Calabar 20 years ago. After a ten-year break, the original band was back together for a 50-state tour of the U.S. and Mbarga was on his way to pick up visas. His car ran out of fuel, a scandalously common occurrence in one of the world’s largest oil exporters, so he hopped on an okada (motorbike taxi) to complete the journey and he was thrown off by a car.

In the hospital for two weeks, Mbarga gave up after series of medical surgeries.

He impacted his generation with his life's philosophy which centered on family life, as reflected in his ever green hits like sweet mother, good father, my pikin, happy birthday, family movement, lucky marriage, na my choice, simplicity, akie special etc.