Skip to content

The West African Highlife Band performs at the downtown Oakland City Center to celebrate Kwanzaa.

The West African Highlife Band performs in downtown Oakland for Kwanzaa

on December 13, 2012

The sounds of rhythmic drumbeats mixed with guitar, keyboard and bass notes, accompanied by the rustle and rattle of a beaded gourd filled downtown Oakland with the melody of African-inspired songs in recognition of Kwanzaa, a weeklong celebration of African-American heritage.

The West African Highlife Band performed Wednesday afternoon in front of a tall Christmas tree in Oakland’s City Center, celebrating the holidays and the city’s diverse cultural heritage.

Kwanzaa is usually observed at the end of the month, from December 26 to January 1. The holiday, meant to incorporate all African cultures, is a tradition that began in 1966 to unite Africans worldwide. During the week of holiday festivities, families decorate with colorful objects, feast and dance, and give gifts.

Wednesday’s public musical performance exemplified the idea behind Kwanzaa: a celebration to unite people with African roots across the United States, and the world. The band brought together four African performers from different countries. Producer and bassist Ken Okulolo is from Nigeria, as is guitarist Soji Odukogbe. Pope Flyne on the keyboard and Nii Armah Hammond, who beat a set of traditional drums, are both from Ghana. For an hour the band drummed, strummed and sang, while wearing brightly colored shirts.

“Oakland, how are you feeling today?” Okulolo asked the crowd over the microphone. “Get up and dance with us!” The downtown lunch crowd responded with a cheer—some ate, some danced along and others simply sat in the sun, enjoying the music.

2 Comments

  1. JACKIE GAY WILSON on December 14, 2012 at 9:12 am

    Thanks for your beautiful pictures and write-up. It was a lovely event in Oakland, and the sun came out just in time. Thanks to the members of the West African Highlife Band: Baba Ken Okulolo, Lemi Barrow, Soji Odukogbe, Rasaki Aladokun, and Pope Flyne, for keeping the music alive!



  2. […] The West Africa Highlife Band performs in downtown Oakland to celebrate Kwanzaa […]



Oakland North welcomes comments from our readers, but we ask users to keep all discussion civil and on-topic. Comments post automatically without review from our staff, but we reserve the right to delete material that is libelous, a personal attack, or spam. We request that commenters consistently use the same login name. Comments from the same user posted under multiple aliases may be deleted. Oakland North assumes no liability for comments posted to the site and no endorsement is implied; commenters are solely responsible for their own content.

Photo by Basil D Soufi
logo
Oakland North

Oakland North is an online news service produced by students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and covering Oakland, California. Our goals are to improve local coverage, innovate with digital media, and listen to you–about the issues that concern you and the reporting you’d like to see in your community. Please send news tips to: oaklandnorthstaff@gmail.com.

Latest Posts

Scroll To Top