Ojinga's Own

The Yoruba Singers formed in Georgetown, Guyana in 1971. Despite their name they were not from Nigeria, but identified strongly with the area from which so many of the African diaspora in Guyana and neighbouring regions were originally descended.

The group started adapting Guyanese traditional folk music as well as writing their own - blending a mixture of protest, social commentary, blues, and genres inspired by the times. Beginning with 12 people sharing vocal duties, most of the early repertoire was inspired by folk songs that started life on plantations or in religious settings accompanied by a few sparse musical instruments.