Flashback Fridays: Awesome Fathers of Renown Sons

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, February 07, 2014

Today's Friday flashback takes brief look at 3 awesome and famous fathers whose offspring have gone on to keep the family name very relevant on the entertainment scene. This wasn't meant to be a list but as I rummaged my mind on how to go about it, it ended up being a list...of just 3. Don't call me lazy over creating a detailed list...it was never meant to be a list...it was meant to be just a flashback peep at historicals...

1. Art Alade

Art Alade with friend. Inset: Darey 

I'm not sure many young Nigerians of today may have heard of the Darey Art Alade's Late father. Darey actually leveraged on his Dad's first name 'Art' in his early days in showbiz. His Dad, Art Alade was a legendary Nigerian Jazz pioneer. As a child, Dare used to rummage his father's rich jazz collection and tag along with him to concerts; these early experiences exposed him and helped him cut his teeth in the ways of showbiz.

Unfortunately, its hard to come across any archive on Art Alade online. The above photo was a rare find. At least he left behind a son that has now become famous.

2. Arinze Ejiofor

Arinze pictured on his highlife album. Inset: Chiwetel

Arinze Ejiofor was a doctor as well as a highlife singer/atilogwu dancer. The father of famous Nigerian Hollywood actor Chiwetel Ejiofor had a promising career but it was cut short when he perished in an car accident in 1988. 

Chiwetel was just 11 at the time of the accident. It happened during a family trip to Nigeria for a wedding; he and his father were driving to Lagos after the celebrations when their car was involved in a head-on crash with a lorry. His father was killed, but Chiwetel survived. He was badly injured, and received scars that are still visible today on his forehead.

I was able to come across this footage of the 20th anniversary memorial celebration of Dr. Arinze Ejiofor in 2009. The footage below shows Chiwetel grooving to traditional Igbo praise music. BY this time he had featured in almost 20 movies.

3. IK Dairo

I.K Dairo Inset: Paul

One of Nigeria's early front runners of the Juju music genre, I.K Dairo stood out for his style of music and his creative fuse of traditional musical instruments with western musical instruments. He was to Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade, what The Remedies were to today's artistes.

His son, Paul (also known as Paul Play), also carved a niche for himself in Naija's music industry some time back with hit tracks that became the toasts of parties but he has been away from the scene for a long while now. In the begining (just like Darey), Paul also leveraged on his father's name (He was known as Paul I.K Dairo) and it got him the needed attention. Later he would graduate to just 'Paul Play'.

Below is a rarely seen video documentary on his legendary father, I.K Dairo; it wasn't easy finding it but I eventually did after some serious digging. 

Like I said, I'm only focusing on just these three...maybe I'll do another set some other time but the focus is on the flashback videos and photos.

Have a lovely weekend!