Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, a Fuji performer, is a native of Ibadan, a city in sourthern Nigeria,born in 1948. Appropriately and fondly referred to as "Mr. Fuji" by his worldwide fans, he started his music career as the lead singer of a popular were music or ajisari group, Jibowu Barrister, in Lagos, under the leadership of one Alhaji Jibowu. This group sang during the holy month of Ramadan to arouse the Islamic faithful in and around Lagos for prayers and early morning meals (saur or sari). Fuji is a style of popular Nigerian music, It evolved from the muslim were ramadan night dance in Isale-Eko part of Lagos. ... Ibadan (Èbá-Ọdàn), reputed to be the largest indigenous city in Africa south of the Sahara, is the capital of Ọyọ State. ... Harry Fujiwara aka Mr. ... Were music is an indigenous Yoruba music, which, like ajisari, is a way of using music to arouse the Islamic faithful to pray and feast during Ramadan festival in Yorubaland. ... An ajisari is one who arouses others to pray and feast during Ramadan. ... This article is about Islamic religious observances in the month of Ramadan. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... It has been suggested that Festac Town be merged into this article or section. ...

The were music or ajisari genre was popularized by other Ibadan singers/songwriters such as, the Dauda Epo-Akara and Ganiyu Kuti or Gani Irefin, but most especially by Epo-Akara. The music quickly found its way into the mainstream Yoruba culture (since a significant number of Yoruba are Muslims anyway). The were music or ajisari singers started playing at parties and concerts in Ibadan. Ultimately both the late Epo-Akara and Ganiyu Kuti dropped a number of hit tracks on Short-Play records. A bitter rivalry quickly ensued between the two crooners, but it was not long before Ganiyu Kuti was musically subdued and creatively rendered irrelevant. Epo-Akara then moved on to producing LP records. At the same time, another talented were music or ajisari musician, Barrister, started producing LP records in Lagos, but most Yoruba music lovers had never heard of his name. In fact, it was Epo-Akara who first introduced him, musically, to the people of Ibadan. Were music is an indigenous Yoruba music, which, like ajisari, is a way of using music to arouse the Islamic faithful to pray and feast during Ramadan festival in Yorubaland. ... An ajisari is one who arouses others to pray and feast during Ramadan. ... Ibadan (Èbá-Ọdàn), reputed to be the largest indigenous city in Africa south of the Sahara, is the capital of Ọyọ State. ... The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Were music is an indigenous Yoruba music, which, like ajisari, is a way of using music to arouse the Islamic faithful to pray and feast during Ramadan festival in Yorubaland. ... An ajisari is one who arouses others to pray and feast during Ramadan. ... Were music is an indigenous Yoruba music, which, like ajisari, is a way of using music to arouse the Islamic faithful to pray and feast during Ramadan festival in Yorubaland. ... It has been suggested that Festac Town be merged into this article or section. ... The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). ...

Struggling to modernize the were music or ajisari genre, which was derisively considered a "local music" by the students and educated elites of Nigeria, Barrister created a new style of music called Fuji. In one of his popular LPs, "Fuji Reggae Series II," which he used to chide critics for tagging his music local and un-civilized, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister asked, rhetorically, "Who can tell me the full meaning of Fuji [music]?" He then explained that it '...is a combination of... apala, sakara, agogo, gudugudu, agidigbo, aro, highlife and etc.' Barrister once said that he chose the name for the musical genre when he saw a poster advertising Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, at an international airport. In 1980, Barrister released an LP, "Oke Agba," which became an instant hit. Edging out popular genres like Juju music, and smashing the Nigerian music charts within months, "Oke Agba" went platinum. This made both the genre and its creator, Barrister, to become very popular nationwide even among their most virulent of critics, the students and the educated elites. Today, this LP record, "Oke Agba," has become a classic. Apala is a musical genre, originally derived from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. ... 1) The Sakara is a traditional percussion instrument from Nigeria. ... Agogo is a rarities album by KMFDM. Agogo is comprised of numerous tracks either previously unreleased, released on other compilations, or otherwise not widely available. ... Gudugudu is a very important traditional drum used by the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria. ... Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the 1920s and spread to other West African countries. ... Mount Fuji Mount Fuji , IPA: )  , or Fuji-yama, is the highest mountain in Japan. ... This article is about the style of music, for other meanings of the word juju, see juju. ...

Still, the criticisms continued. Barrister responded by naming three of his albums "Fertiliser", "Fuji Garbage" and "Refined Fuji Garbage". These albums saw European release via the Globestyle label.

Discography

• Definitive Compilation of Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's Discography by Toshiya Endo.
• Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's Incomplete Discography at AfroMix -- (with some album covers).