Sikiru Adepoju

It is not an understatement to say that Sikiru Adepoju was born to be a drummer; part of his father’s name, Chief Ayanleke Adepoju, literally means descended from drummers. And from an early age, Sikiru learned the drums from his dad and brothers in their hometown, Eruwa, in western Nigeria. 

After traveling with his family’s drum ensemble as a kid, Sikiru Adepoju spent his teenage years touring and recording with the Inter-Reformers Band, a juju and early Afro Beat band that brought African percussion together with other western and world music instruments and styles. Then, he worked with the legendary Afro Beat impresario, O.J. Ekemode, and his group, the Nigerian All-Stars.

In time, Adepoju became a master of the talking drum, or, as Mickey Hart likes to call Adepoju, “the Mozart of the talking drum.” But Adepoju also plays a host of other Nigerian drums and is at home on any percussion instrument.

By the mid-1980s, Adepoju had moved to San Francisco and started playing with Babtunde Olatunji and his Drums of Passion group. It didn’t take long for Adepoju to meet Mickey through Olatunji. And before long, Adepoju was taking in part in Mickey’s many drumming projects and sitting in with the Dead.

Over the years, Adepoju played a leading role in almost all of Mickey’s groups and albums, including drumming on Mystery Box, At the Edge, and Supralingua. Alongside Mickey, Adepoju also won a Grammy in 2009 for Global Drum Project. Adepoju – alongside Mickey, Billy, Mike Gordon, Steve Kimock, and others – was also there for the 2006 Rhythm Devils shows that were released on video as The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience.

We often find it a little difficult to pick out the contributions of guest drummers. But in the case of Adepoju, two of his five appearances with the Dead between 1988 and 1995 are captured on video. 

The first of Adepoju’s appearances with the Dead during the 1988 New Year’s Eve Show is one of these that are caught on video. On that video, you can watch Adepoju join Baba Olatunji, Kitaro, Mickey, and Billy for a five man strong rhythm devils segment (Clarence Clemons is also at the show). 

The drumming on the other Adepoju show that we have on video, from February 20, 1991, at Oakland Coliseum Arena, is even more intriguing. Once again appearing alongside Olatunji during the Drums segment, the Nigerian drummers infuse the music with the rhythms and sounds of their native land, including a heady dose of talking drum. And Adepoju and Olatunji stay out there for much of Space, fueling a funky cosmopolitan jam.