In July 2024, “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche”, a song which was released in 1983 as part of his album Akuko N’Egwu Vol. 1, gained widespread recognition due to a viral dance challenge inspired by comedian Brain Jotter.
Today, we would look into the life and career of the man behind the song released 41 years ago.
People call him ‘Gentleman’ but his name is Mike Ejeagha. He is a folklore musician known for his storytelling prowess, using music.
To show how popular this Gentleman is; in Igbo land, the name Mike Ejeagha is synonymous with storytelling such that whenever someone is engaging in a long speech, the audience would say, ‘Akuko Mike Ejeagha,’ meaning ‘Storytelling like Mike Ejeagha’.
Mike Ejeagha Biography
Born in August, 1932, Mike Ejeagha is a Nigerian folklorist, songwriter, and musician from Imezi Owa, Eziagu Local Government of Enugu State, Nigeria. He completed his elementary school in 1948.
He started his musical career very early with his friends who were part of the Ogene group they formed. During Christmas, they usually went round to play for people.
According to Mike Ejeagha in his interview with Last FM, he was also interested in anything relating to music. Besides, he was told that his mother was very much inclined to singing when she was young.
Musical career
According to a 2009 interview by Gentleman Mike Ejeagha published on “Last FM,” the “Gentleman” appellation to his name was derived from his gentlemanly behaviour and treatment of others.
His journey into music started at a young age where he was part of an Ogene group during his elementary school days. He was drawn to the guitar when he saw Moses Aduba AKA Moscow and Cyprian Uzochiawa play the instrument at the Coal Camp in Enugu and he would learn from both of them.
After perfecting his guitar playing skills, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha formed his band Mike Ejeagha and Merry-makers in 1950.
According to Gentleman Mike, his fame started growing after he was invited for an audition by the late Atu Ona, then Controller of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) who would later give him the programme titled Guitar Playtime. This led him to play on the radio while also producing musical programmes before forming a bigger group titled Premier Dance Band.
Civil war
During the civil war, Mike disbanded his group and continued his programme with Radio Nigeria. The new programme was entitled Igbo Play. He had to disband the band because of the war because people only thought of survival rather than listening to music.
Mike left Enugu and moved over to Umuahia with his young family. He was there till the end of the war. According to him, he was going round playing for soldiers during the war. After the war in 1970, he formed a new band in 1974.
Fame after the war
His fame soared after the Nigerian Civil War when he recorded the album ‘Omekagu’ with Polygram Records then Phillips Records. According to Gentleman Mike, he was invited by the then Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), now Enugu State Broadcasting Service ( ESBS) to be doing a programme titled Akuko n’egwu (storytelling in music) on which he shared a new folktale on a weekly basis.
Gentleman Mike Ejeagha is famous for his Igbo folk music with which he tells stories packed with social, cultural, historical, and moral relevance. His didactic music filled with idioms, proverbs, and folktakes would make him into one of the most popular Igbo folk & Highlife artists in Nigerian history.
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He is reported to have recorded 33 albums with several classic records including the recently viral ‘Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche’ which is a folklore about the cunningness of the Tortoise and the strength of the Elephant.
Being a guitarist
In Mike Ejeagha’s words, “Guitar is a very difficult musical instrument to handle. But if you have the love and the interest for playing it, you can do it. All it requires is creating time for the training. My own style is different from the way young boys nowadays play. I started before the age of 20.”
He learned it from Moscow and Cyprian. Mike continued playing and developed his own style. He added his personal feelings whenever he played.
Some continue with the style of the guitarist who taught them. It is because of the peculiarity of his style that most copycats find it very difficult to copy him. The fact is that somebody taught him but when he played, he created his own style.
According to him, “I have been able to sustain this for a long time because I do a lot of research in all I do.”
Some of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha Songs
- Enyi Ga Achi
- Uwa Ngbede Ka Mma
- Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche
- Anyi Fulu Ozu Ene
- Onye Ori Utaba
- Atualu Omalu
- Elulube Lube
- Onye Ndidi N’Eli Azu Ukpo
- Udo Ka Nma
- Agbata Obi Onye Bu Nwanne Ya
- Ome Ka Agu Omenani N0 1
- Odogwu Nari Enu
- Onye New Ona Ebe
- Akwu Achaa
- Mgba Enwude Akpulu
- Welu Nwaya Sobe Ihe Uwa.A
- Ife Uwa Bu Ana Eme Odi Ka Ada Eme
- Ife Nji M’ Ogi
- Agolum Age
- Ikpechakwa-A-Kam-Kpe
- Suzzana Merringue
- Chukwugekwu
- Akuko N’egwu
- Nzoji Nku
- Nwa Bu Onyinye Chukwu
- Ebini We Ude
- Onye Lua Nya Lia
- Ngba Ewude Akpulu
- Onye Ndidi Neri Azu Ukpo
- Nke Onye Adi Ayanjo
- Obiako Nnwan Omenani N02
Mike Ejeagha Family
Mike Ejeagha lost his first wife in 1963 and in 1964 he waxed an album in her memory. He re-married in 1966. From our research, Mike has 10 children although one of them is dead. Mike, the Gentleman recorded his albums under Premier Music Ltd, Polygram Label. When they left the country, another group took over the company.
Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s Highlife Classic Becomes Popular Again
The video is initially unassuming. Brainjotter (real name Chukwuebuka Emmanuel), a well-known Nigerian comedian famous for his Instagram skits, is seen walking down a street across from a friend.
Mike Ejeagha’s 1983 classic “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” is playing in the background and just as the chorus comes on — a catchy “gwo gwo gwo ngwo!”.
Brainjotter and his friend raise the side of their legs to the beat. This is how the “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo challenge” began. All over TikTok, thousands of videos have been made to the sound, with playful and well-timed movements often involving leg raises and a small chase at the end.
Forty years after releasing his highlife classic, Ejeagha is finding a new audience previously unaware of his work. The 94-year-old Igbo highlife musician and well-celebrated folklorist is renowned for songs filled with fantastical elements and an overarching moral skeleton.
In one of his songs, a man’s mistreatment of his older son brings about dangerous consequences. While in others, like “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche” a young princess repeatedly turns down suitors. Seeking instead a suitor who would display incredible strength and would come for her hand in marriage bearing an elephant.
The story he weaves in this sprawling song, aided by sharp guitar riffs and highlife instrumentation, is filled with plot twists and surprising sub-plots before culminating in a didactic swing calling out manipulation, greed and the cyclically destructive effect of selfishness.
Back in time
One of TikTok’s biggest strengths is in the power it has given creators and everyday music listeners in dictating the trajectory of music in today’s world.
While labels still have some level of oversight, listeners are now better positioned to implicitly determine which music is worth making videos to and by extension, breathing new life into. And for as long as the app has existed, it has been a driver for the resurgence of old music.
Brain Jotter’s Visit to Mike Ejeagha
Skit maker, Chukwuebuka Emmanuel Amuzie, popularly known as Brain Jotter visited the home of highlife legend Mike ‘Gentleman’ Ejeagha. Following the massive popularity of a viral video with Ejeagha’s 1983 hit song, “Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche.”
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In a video with the comedian, the highlife legend Ejeagha was filled with tears and couldn’t hide his excitement at the renewed fame the skit has brought his way.
Speaking on behalf of his father, Ejeagha’s son expressed gratitude to Brain Jotter for reviving his father’s song, making it trend more than it had in the last 30 years.
”Over thirty-something years that music was recorded but as God might have it, that you, Brain Jotter will be the one to make this song go viral and it will continue to go viral, God bless you.
The song, from Ejeagha’s “Akuko Na Egwu” album Vol. 1, tells the tale of a crafty tortoise deceiving an elephant to win a princess’s hand in marriage.
Despite being released 41 years ago, the track has found new life thanks to Brain Jotter’s skit, in which he humorously mimics the elephant’s pursuit of the tortoise, reflecting the song’s storyline.
In the skit, Brain Jotter and a friend face each other, engaging in a playful leg dance before one chases the other, mirroring the elephant’s chase described in the song.
The rhythmic “Gwo gwo gwo ngwo” sound, representing the elephant’s thumping steps, adds a comedic touch to the performance.
No money was made off this song
Addressing concerns about profiting from the song, Brain Jotter clarified,
“For those who think we exploited him for money, I understand your concerns, and they are valid.”
”I appreciate that you want him to receive value for his hard work, which is very important. However, no money was made off this song for myself.”
”The truth is that all revenue generated from his music goes back to him, his record label, and his production company.”
Additionally, Brain Jotter and his team donated 2 million naira to Ejeagha and his family to help care for the musician and support his family.
“My team and I would like to give you 2 million naira to take care of him and cater for the family,” he stated.
Mike Ejeagha Impact
His impact in Igbo folklore music has been praised and his enduring legacy continues to shine. In a March 2023 article on Afrocritik, Chimezie Chika described Gentleman Mike Ejeagha as the “grandfather of modern Igbo folk music”.
In 2022, there were reports of plans to make a biographical documentary on the life of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha Directed by Michael Chineme Ike and produced by Micstreams Productions. Following the recent virality of his song, fans have revived interest over the proposed documentary. However, the director Michael Chineme Ike revealed that the production suffered setbacks due to lack of funding.
This recent fame of his song ‘Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche’ is an opportunity to celebrate Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s legacy and his impact on Igbo folk music across generations.
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