The city of Kano is known as a hub of music for northern Nigeria.
Traditionally, its better-known musicians have been older, but today, young people are making their mark.
One is Abdullahi Adamu Abubakar also known as Abdullahi Mighty, one of Kano’s upcoming musicians.
Twenty-four-year old Abdullahi is fair in complexion and stands five feet tall. He is a secondary school drop out, the eighth child in the family of five brothers, and three sisters.
Today, Abdullahi Mighty and his music are popular among young people and even older adults. He says he sings about love, the dangers of HIV/AIDS, and how people can live better. Abdullahi says he wants to help address social ills through a cultural form that everyone can appreciate--like music.
Abdullahi Mighty says he initially faced strong opposition from his parents on his chosen career but with time he convinced them. He also encountered problems with a group of Islamic fundamentalist vigilantes, called HISBA, during a public appearance in Kano, but with dialogue the issue was cleared up and he was able to perform.Abdullahi says he wants his parents to see that he is on the right path, and show them that he is a disciplined person and that he is not into music [as a form of youthful rebellion against adults]. He says he opposes illicit drugs and other forms of wrong-doing by young people. He says he is happy that his parents now believe in him and trust him, and that they also are happy with what he is doing.
Abdullahi's friends support him completely, some of them are even now into music just like he is, now many young people are into accepting music now that HISBA now agrees that Islam is not against music.
He says he started singing as a teacher from the Islamiyya school where he teaches young pupils how to sing Islamic songs.
He says he is a fan of Jamaican reggae and American hip-pop musicians, whose influence can be felt in his music.
He says one of his songs from his first album ‘MUNA Rawa Taku’i is about marriage. It says that marriage brings a strong bond between the families of the couple, and that issues related to marriage should be taken seriously because Islam favors marriage, and urges respect for your matrimonial home.
Abdullahi Mighty has signed a record deal with the Nigeria-based DE-HOOD records and is working on his second album to be released before the end of the first quarter of 2007. The first album "Muna Rawa Taku" has been enjoying considerable air play on local radio stations across northern Nigeria, and many copies of the album have been sold.
He is a planning to tour southern and western Nigeria and would later like to go back to school.
Presently, he is working on a collaborative effort with Mikkey C.A, a Lagos based English hip-pop act for a concert coming up this April in Lagos.
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