SongVault Artist Profile

Peace Through Music: Baoku Moses' Image Afro-Beat Band

The Baoku Moses Image Afro-Beat Band is a unique, dynamic and energetic band. Founded in 2005 by front-man Baoku Moses. This Cincinnati based band is comprised of talented musicians who come from a world-wide influence of music and cultural backgrounds. Consisting of up to 10 members at a time, the band is able to calibrate their own unique sound by allowing all their influences to play out in their own distinctive style of music known as Afro-Beat.

Baoku, a Yoruba native of Nigeria and a professional African drummer and performing
artist, started his Afro-Beat career in 1997, shortly after the passing of Afro-Beat legend Fela Kuti. Inspired by his work and believing firmly in the power of music, Baoku and The Image Afro-Beat Band hopes to build an appreciation for cultural diversity and respect for life as they continue to contribute to making the world a
more peaceful and respectful place in which to live.

Afro-Beat is a combination of Western music blended with African instruments and languages to create a musical expression of peace, love, unity, truth and justice. Through the use of African drums, such as the Nigerian Bata, The Talking Drum, the Djembe, and the Senegalese Bottom Drum the unique style of music is poured out on stage to provide an evening of exciting entertainment.

By incorporating all these unique instruments, Baoku has managed to distinguish his band’s style of Afro-Beat expression by being a student and a performer of African culture, especially "African Traditional Drumming" for the past sixteen years and counting. As a result, "With my African culture and tradition, I promise myself to
incorporate as much African drumming into my performance as possible, which is typically done by larger bands in this genre of music these days. I never settle. In order to bring that to my audience ...I decided to add the horns, instrumentations, and melodies and they are not 'just in' background. We are creating a perfect
marriage kind of thing, after all the music is called Afro-beat..." - Baoku Moses