BANTU

The 13-piece band BANTU, remains more than two deca after its founding, without exception, one of the premier live outfits and conceptual recording artists in Africa, Europe and indeed globally. Driven by a strong desire for social justice BANTU’s music as well as lyrics have from the start addressed issues around corruption, injustice, migration, xenophobia and urban alienation – whether in Germany and Europe, or Nigeria and Africa. Asides from recording and composing music BANTU have been credited with the recent revival of the live music scene in Nigeria through Afropolitan Vibes a monthly concert series & music festival that they have been hosting for over most of the last decade in Lagos. The show has featured over 190 top Nigerian and international acts and was voted as “one of the world's best music events of the moment" by The Village Voice. Unlike most bands of old and today, which are clearly centred on the star vocalist, BANTU is distinguished by its unmistakably collective, collaborative nature. When you have a band this strong, this tight where everyone gets to shine, magic happens. Formed as an acronym of Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity (BANTU) by brothers Ade Bantu and Abiodun in Germany in 1996 the group has created a unique and immediately recognizable fusion of Afrobeat, Afrofunk & Yoruba music. From its first release, “No Vernacular” in 1996 to the present, BANTU has scored a series of hits across Europe and Africa garnering itself major awards. Indeed, the list of artists who've collaborated with BANTU is a testament to the power, originality and talent of the band: an international cornucopia including UB40, Tony Allen, Akua Naru, Seun Kuti, and Burna Boy just to name a few. These collaborations helped the band earn several major Continental awards, including the Kora Awards (the Pan African equivalent of the Grammys) for “Best Group West Africa” and “Best Group Africa”.