Editing Apala (section)

{{Short description|Music genre}}
{{other uses|APALA (disambiguation){{!}}APALA}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Apala
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Yoruba music]]|[[Cuban music]]}}
| cultural_origins  = 1930s, [[Yoruba people]] in [[Colonial Nigeria]], [[British West Africa]]
| regional_scenes   = [[Nigeria]]
}}
'''Apala''' (or '''akpala''') is a [[music genre]] originally developed by the [[Yoruba people]] of [[Nigeria]],<ref>{{cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo/page/43 43] |title=Africa, Europe and the Middle East |publisher=Rough Guides |year=1999 |isbn=1-85828-635-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo/page/43 }}</ref> during the country's [[Colonial Nigeria|history as a colony]] of the British Empire. It is a [[percussion instrument|percussion]]-based style that originated in the late 1930s. The rhythms of apala grew more complex over time, and have influenced the likes of [[music of Cuba|Cuban music]], whilst gaining popularity in Nigeria. It has grown less religious centered over time.

Apala music is an offshoot of [[Were music|Wéré]] music.

Instruments include a rattle ([[sekere]]), thumb piano ([[agidigbo]]) and a [[bell (instrument)|bell]] ([[agogô]]), as well as two or three [[talking drum]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Babátúndé Yussuf |first1=N. |last2=Oladipo Olúbòmęhìn |first2=O. |date=2018-07-03 |title=Traditional Music and the Expression of Yoruba Socio-cultural Values: A Historical Analysis |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/18125980.2018.1554980 |journal=Muziki |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=61–74 |doi=10.1080/18125980.2018.1554980 |s2cid=218637202 |issn=1812-5980|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Ayinla Omowura]] [[Yekinni (Y.K.) Ajadi]] and [[Haruna Ishola]] - amongst others - were notable performers of apala music, these two icons played a major role in popularising the genre. It is distinct from, older than, and more difficult to master than [[fuji music]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-20 |title=INTERVIEW: Why young Nigerian musicians are avoiding Fuji music - KWAM 1 {{!}} Premium Times Nigeria |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/music/music-interviews/518411-interview-why-young-nigerian-musicians-are-avoiding-fuji-music-kwam-1.html |access-date=2022-06-09 |language=en-GB |archive-date=2022-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609182504/https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/music/music-interviews/518411-interview-why-young-nigerian-musicians-are-avoiding-fuji-music-kwam-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Although fuji music remains one of the popular form of traditional music amongst Yorubas in Nigeria, apala is still very popular amongst [[Muslims]] of the Yoruba tribe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Music |first=FujiNaija |date=2021-01-12 |title=Origin of Apala Music (Part 2: Conclusion) |url=https://fujinaija.com/origin-of-apala-music-part-2-conclusion/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=FujiNaija |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518194753/https://fujinaija.com/origin-of-apala-music-part-2-conclusion/ |url-status=live }}</ref>