Sound Sultan: Comedian, Actor, Basketballer – Tribute by Simbo Olorunfemi
One of a kind!
Sound Sultan. Huge talent. First encountered him in a cameo role on Toye Arulogun’s “Lagos Sense” on MITV back in the day. His forte then was Comedy – intelligent and poetic, with rhythm and rhyme embedded.
One didn’t immediately know he was Brother to Baba Dee, until the man who ignited the fire of “hip hop” which will eventually hit the roof with “Sa ko mo” by Remedies, will also make an appearance on same programme.
Sound Sultan will, some years after, launch a career in music, bringing even greater depth than we saw in his comedy into the songs. Lyrics, top notch, even if brevity might have made it easier to click with more people. Definitely a breath of fresh air from the patchy, cut and join, disjointed words, that often passed as lyrics in the industry.
To his credit, he was able to bring harmony between melody and lyrics, no mean feat, that is, given how much he often packed in each song, with insistence on rhyme, in some instances.
Indeed, Mr Jagbajantis held his own in the industry, applying BODMAS on his own terms. Soon, We would soon get to see Sound Sultan as an Actor, featuring in Tunde Kelani’s “Campus Queen”.
Same way we would come to realise he was an outstanding Basketballer, having played for one of the top teams and might have played for the national team. He would commit to one role or the other in support of the game until the sound of the whistle.
Sound Sultan would largely remain himself, in spite of the fame, irrespective of his accomplishments. No doubt about his talent and the hard work he put in, polishing his gifts, with definite marks across the different fields he liberally put them to positive use.
Obviously, one of a kind.
Ajo o da bi’le ee, no matter where you go, no forget area oh, area oh
We won’t forget.
Rest. #SoundSultan
Simbo Olorunfemi is a Lagos-based journalist and author. He’s available at www.simboolorunfemi.org.ng and on Facebook
