Now I want you try to tell me how I look

Thursday music corner: William Onyeabor (1946-2017) was a Nigerian funk musician popular in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and a crowned high chief in Nigeria’s Enugu state, where he lived and worked as a businessman when not making music. Fantastic Man was one of the five tracks on his 1979 funk album, Tomorrow. In 1985 he became a born-again Christian, refusing to speak of his music career ever again, which contributed greatly to the air of mystery (outside Nigeria, at least) surrounding his music. The 2013 compilation album Who is William Onyeabor?, released on the Luaka Bop label, spurred greater interest, followed by a 2014 documentary and a supergroup tribute tour including such artists as David Byrne, Damon Albarn, and Malian music legends Amadou and Mariam, which brought his old music to greater prominence in the West. Even broader appeal also resulted from Fantastic Man being used in an Apple iPhone 7+ commercial in 2017. I first heard this track playing in Everyday Music in Portland, Oregon, in June 2018 - so, thanks for the find, Oregonian tune-merchants!

William Onyeabor – Fantastic Man (1979)