William Onyeabor
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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William Onyeabor is a funk musician from Nigeria. His songs are often heavily rhythmic and synthesized, occasionally epic in scope, with lyrics decrying war sung by both Onyeabor himself and female backing vocalists. While relatively little is known about his private life, it is thought he studied cinematography in Russia for a number of years before starting his Wilfilms record label in Nigeria during the mid-1970s, from which all of his records have been released. In recent years a number of his songs have appeared on various compilations, most often his biggest hit "Better Change Your Mind", through labels such as Luaka Bop. His albums have long since gone out of print, prompting high prices from collectors on eBay. That latest track is on Nigeria 70.
