*During the 1990s, while serving as a resident artist at West Africa Magazine in London, I was approached by an individual from Italy seeking to contact renowned Nigerian Afro Pop artist, Ghariokwu Lemi.
This inquiry stemmed from Lemi’s acclaimed and thoroughly documented album cover designs for Fela Kuti, the pioneer of the Afrobeat genre. Through this interaction, I gained a deeper appreciation of the enduring impact and global recognition of his work among Fela Kuti’s fans and admirers. Lemi once shared valuable insight into his creative process with me, explaining that he would present draft designs to Fela Kuti for review and approval prior to finalizing the album covers.
Lemi once told me how he went through a low point in his career, but it eventually picked up thanks to Fela’s legacy, Fela, the musical, Lemi’s artworks, and the renewal of interest in Fela’s music, and frankly speaking, it is still difficult to talk about Fela’s albums without noting Lemi’s album designs for Fela.
Lemi Ghariokwu, an icon who turns 70 on 26th December, is a distinguished Nigerian artist, cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic designer, internationally celebrated for his intricate and evocative record sleeve art.
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His visual compositions consistently capture the essence of the music, bringing lyrics to life with striking imagery. Notably, he produced 26 original cover images for Nigerian musician Fela Kuti between 1974 and 1993, employing a variety of styles characterized by vibrant colours and custom typefaces. These design elements serve a deliberate meta-textual purpose, enhancing the overall narrative.
His art has been described as rebellious, humorous, political, and at times provocative, yet above all, Lemi excels in pictorial storytelling. In recognition of his achievements, it was the Observer Music Magazine that crowned him “the king of covers” during a solo exhibition in the UK in 2004. Lemi’s oeuvre is celebrated not only for its artistic quality but also for its cultural and historical importance; his album covers have been exhibited internationally, and his influence on album cover art is widely acknowledged.
Despite his father’s aspirations for him to pursue mechanical engineering, Lemi demonstrated a natural aptitude for art early on. He studied technical subjects and, after completing his second year, devoted significant time to reading, travelling, visiting universities, and honing his artistic skills. Although his focus on art occasionally caused difficulties during mathematics classes, he remained committed to his craft. Lemi’s dedication led to opportunities such as live drawing segments on television and commissioned portrait work within his community, establishing his reputation by age 17.
A pivotal moment occurred when a journalist, impressed by Lemi’s poster for Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, viewed a sketch of one of Fela Kuti’s albums and introduced Lemi to Fela himself. Their initial meeting resulted in Fela commissioning Lemi for the album Roforofo Fight, which subsequently became a success. From that point forward, Lemi transitioned fully into the world of art, ultimately setting aside ambitions in engineering to history.
As Lemi clocks 70, he is not slowing down at any time. Lemi is a member of the Cartoonists Association of Nigeria, CARTAN. Titles of Fela’s album covers he has done include “Yellow Fever”, “Zombie”, “Beast of No Nation”, Sorrow, Tears and Blood,” and “ITT.” Lemi also designed covers for other African musicians such as Miriam Makeba and Lucky Dube. Gilles Patterson and Bob Marley Ghariokwu also designed covers for other African musicians, such as Sunny Adé, Miriam Makeba, and Lucky Dube. And he also illustrated covers for Gilles Peterson and Bob Marley.
TAYO Fatunla is a British Nigerian comic artist, editorial cartoonist, writer, and illustrator whose work has featured on MSN.com via EURweb.com. He created the “OUR ROOTS” series highlighting Black history figures, earning the 2018 ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award. A former cartoonist for Nigerian newspapers, he was named Professional Creative Cartoonist of the Year at the 2024 Annual Achievement Recognition Awards (The Building Blocks Initiative, UK). He also illustrated Camberwell’s public Black history walk map. https://www.instagram.com/tfatunla123
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