For Dr. Adewale Ayuba, preserving Fuji does not mean preserving every tradition surrounding the genre.
The veteran musician, whose career has produced popular songs such as Bubble, Mr Johnson and Koroba Koroba, believes Fuji must adapt to the realities of contemporary music consumption if it is to compete beyond Nigeria.
That conviction is at the heart of his latest project, Arise, a five-track EP that deliberately departs from the extended format traditionally associated with Fuji music.
Ayuba says the project is part of a long-running attempt to modernise the genre, make it more accessible to international audiences and create opportunities for Fuji on platforms where lengthy recordings may struggle to gain traction.
“Arise is another level of my life; it is a project,” he said.
“I realised that I have been trying to digitise Fuji music several times. I want to take Fuji to the discotheque. I want it to be playing at hip-hop places. I don’t want it to be restricted to certain people.”
For Ayuba, the transformation did not happen overnight. He points to several collaborations over the years as experiments that helped him understand how Fuji could travel across musical and geographical boundaries.
He cites his collaboration with Jazzman Olofin, his work with Germany-based musician Ade Bantu, and more recent collaborations with Adekunle Gold as part of that journey.
His collaboration with Ade Bantu, he recalled, contributed to his winning the KORA Award, while his work with Adekunle Gold preceded Koroba Koroba.
“All these I mentioned were experimental. And I realised that God showed me the way that I can do it; that is why I call it Arise,” he said.
“Arise feels like coming from another place and going to another. So that’s what the album Arise is all about.”
Breaking with the long-play tradition
One of the most significant decisions behind Arise is its brevity.
Rather than releasing the extended performances for which Fuji musicians have traditionally been known, Ayuba has chosen a five-track project built around shorter songs.
He sees the decision not as a rejection of Fuji but as an attempt to make the genre compatible with contemporary radio, streaming and international listening habits.
“Music doesn’t die, you know. Let me tell you something: people are scared,” he said.
According to him, the traditional Fuji album format can present a challenge when artists are trying to enter international markets.
“For example, you know, we Fuji musicians, the way we do our album, it’s like 25, 30 minutes straight. But that is not what is happening now,” he said.
“If you are doing such an album, you can never get a Grammy. A lot of radio stations will not play you abroad, and I want to take Fuji to the world.”
He argues that musicians must understand the rules of the platforms they want to enter.
“You have to follow the rules, because there’s nothing that doesn’t have a rule,” Ayuba said. “Some radio stations will not take Ijo Fuji from you unless you cut that Fuji out and put it in three minutes.”
Asked whether the decision was deliberate, he was unequivocal.
“That’s what I’m saying; it is a deliberate decision. The long-play is part of the Arise project, to promote Fuji and make it a crossover.”
‘Why would you say I can’t get a Grammy?’
Ayuba is also unapologetic about his international ambitions.
For an artiste who has spent decades building a career within Fuji, the Grammy represents more than a personal award. He sees it as an opportunity to demonstrate that the genre can compete on the global stage.
“By the grace of God, am I not a musician?” he asked.
“When you see the likes of Angélique Kidjo from the Republic of Benin getting a Grammy, what stops me from getting one? Why would you say that because I’m from Nigeria and I’m doing Fuji music?”
He also invoked the legacy of Fuji pioneer Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and other older musicians whose work helped establish the genre.
“See the likes of the late Baba Agba, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, and the effort they have put into Fuji music. Now, we, their children, want to put our own too,” he said.
“Every parent usually prays that their children will be better than them. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do with Fuji music now.”
Shorter songs, same Fuji
The five-track structure of Arise could appear, on the surface, to represent a break from Fuji tradition. Ayuba, however, rejects the idea that Fuji has one fixed format.
He reaches back to the history of Nigerian popular music to make his point, citing Apala maestro Haruna Ishola and the shorter recordings of an earlier era.
“There’s nothing like the Fuji concept,” he said.
“Our late Apala maestro, Haruna Ishola, didn’t start playing long versions of music before the independence of Nigeria. They were playing two minutes, three minutes only, even without the use of technology, before we now put our own.”
Ayuba uses food to explain why he believes audiences must be prepared to accept a different presentation of a familiar musical tradition.
“Permit me to use this analogy: if it’s our food, say Eba that I want to eat today, there must be a portion that shows that I’m ready to eat Eba,” he said.
He argues that nostalgia should not prevent Nigerian musicians from adapting their work to international audiences.
“The music that got I K Dairo, Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), making him the first Nigerian musician to receive the award, wasn’t long-version music, because that is what they can play abroad,” he said.
“If you continue to go the way of long play, how do you then want to globalise your product? Do you want to be local, stay local and then die local; as for me, I have gone global.”
‘They didn’t follow me because of the long version’
The change inevitably raises a question about Ayuba’s established Nigerian audience.
But the singer says his fans are capable of moving with the times.
“They didn’t follow me because of the long version,” he said.
Pointing to the popularity of contemporary Afrobeats stars, he asked: “Are they not dancing to Olamide, Davido? Do I have the crowd those people have? Is Davido doing the long version? Is Burna Boy doing a long version?”
For Ayuba, musicians have a responsibility to evolve alongside their audiences.
“You have to improve your children, improve your family, improve your business, even improve your listeners and make them know that this is the way or the trend now,” he said.
“I know where it has placed me today, and it’s my fans that did it for me. Without good fans, you can’t go anywhere.”
‘I’m not infusing Fuji with Afropop’
Ayuba also takes issue with the description of his contemporary collaborations as an attempt to merge Fuji with Afropop or Afrobeats.
He insists that what audiences are hearing remains Fuji.
“You see, what I’m doing is Fuji music; I’m not inventing or infusing Fuji with Afropop. No, don’t be wrong,” he said.
“Check Adekunle Gold; he does not do Afropop; it is Fuji music. Olamide is doing the same thing.”
For him, the objective is to make Fuji accessible without stripping it of its identity.
“So, it’s Fuji that we are trying to sanitise; make it reasonable to foreigners. It doesn’t change the name at all.”
That approach, he said, also serves a broader cultural purpose by keeping Yoruba language and culture at the centre of his music.
Asked whether he was therefore promoting Fuji and Yoruba culture simultaneously, Ayuba replied: “Of course; did you see me singing in English in it?”
He explained that his use of both Yoruba and English is not new.
“I have always been singing from day one of my life in Yoruba and English,” he said. “If you listen to Bubble that brought me to the limelight, it was a mixture of Yoruba and English.”
'Fuji is not dying’
Despite repeated predictions about the decline of older Nigerian genres, Ayuba rejects the suggestion that Fuji is on its way out.
“Who is telling you this?” he asked when confronted with the claim that Fuji is dying, drawing a comparison with arguments that reggae has lost its place in Nigeria.
“Well, you can’t say Fuji music is dying, and it will not die,” he said.
His evidence is the continued interest of younger musicians in the genre.
“If it is dying, would Adekunle Gold come and call me to collaborate with him? If Fuji music is dying, would he have changed his style to Fuji 100 percent?”
Ayuba sees the interest from younger audiences as particularly significant.
“When you consider my age now and the length of years that I have put into it you will know it’s not dying,” he said.
“Even the children that I was the one that sang at their parents’ wedding want me to perform at their wedding. So what this simply tells you is that Fuji is not dying; instead, it’s getting better.”
Beyond entertainment: music as a message
The five songs on Arise — including Ileke, All Over The World, Yetunde and Kutukutu — each carry their own message, according to the musician.
Ayuba believes that message-driven music is becoming less prominent in an era in which commercial success is often associated with catchy sounds and themes around parties, money and relationships.
He also expressed concern about the growing use of artificial intelligence in music production.
“I will say that I have been so lucky, because I started music when it was meant for message,” he said.
He recalled an era when recorded music was subjected to formal scrutiny before release.
“When I started, all my albums were censored,” Ayuba said.
“Today, I don’t know if there is a music regulator in Nigeria. If there is, do they live up to expectations?”
He remembers submitting albums and singles to a board that would assess their content before release.
“Our brand of music is current affairs; tell people to go to school, tell the wives to listen to their husbands, and the husbands to take care of the children and wife,” he said.
“This is what music is for; it’s not just for fun.”
Ayuba went further, arguing that music has a spiritual and social responsibility.
“Music is spiritual; it’s not something you think,” he said.
He believes government has a role to play in ensuring that music released into the public carries constructive messages.
“If they (government) enact a law, for instance, that mandates us as musicians to ensure our music, lyrics-wise, must have something important; it must carry a message,” he said.
“So, it’s either that or you forget about music. Of course, the government can do it because it’s for the betterment of all of us.”
On government responsibility
The veteran musician does not see government regulation solely as interference. He argues that government agencies should actively perform their responsibilities in protecting standards within the entertainment industry.
Asked whether this explains why authorities sometimes come hard on artistes whose songs are considered damaging to the country's image, Ayuba said he supports government intervention.
“Yes, and I will like them to continue to carry out that responsibility,” he said.
“So, once you decide to be a musician, it puts you on a check that you can’t say anything negative or rubbish about your nation; you can’t speak badly about anybody.”
‘Do we get royalties from Nigeria?’
For all his optimism about Fuji's international future, Ayuba remains sharply critical of the economics of Nigeria's music industry.
His biggest complaint is royalties.
“Do we get royalties from Nigeria?” he asked.
“99.9 musicians in Nigeria do not get royalties from Nigeria. The royalties we get are from foreign countries where our works or music is sampled. It sounds funny, right?”
The statement reflects one of the longstanding concerns within Nigeria's creative economy: whether musicians and other rights holders receive consistent financial returns when their works are used, broadcast or commercially exploited.
Ayuba believes the country must do more to ensure that its artistes benefit economically from the industry they have helped build.
Looking beyond Arise
The Arise EP, however, is not the end of Ayuba's plans.
He said he is considering further projects, including activities that could involve younger artistes, although he did not announce a specific programme.
“Yes, I’m looking and thinking about that,” he said.
For the veteran singer, the future of Nigerian music cannot depend on individual stars alone.
“I know a tree can never make a forest. We need people; we need the government to think.”
He ended by returning to the economic challenges confronting the sector.
“We are not really making money from the entertainment industry in Nigeria at all.”
For Ayuba, therefore, Arise is more than another release. It represents an attempt to prove that Fuji can retain its cultural identity while adapting to a global music economy — and that a genre deeply rooted in Nigeria can still find new listeners without abandoning its roots.