COLORSxSTUDIOS

In 2017, Kingsley composed The Cavemen’s first highlife song “Osondu” while he was a student at the Nigerian Law School. “[Shortly after], we played it during soundcheck for a show. Immediately, we felt a change in the atmosphere.” The audience’s reaction was the spark of encouragement the band needed to develop their sound further, a somewhat bold choice at the time as afrobeats’ dominance as Nigeria’s mainstream genre was unrelenting. On the radio, at parties, and even on street corners, the percussion-laden sound was the beat to which Nigerians moved.

In the summer of 2020, “Osondu” led The Cavemen’s debut collection of highlife songs appropriately titled ROOTS. A little over a year later, its follow up, Love and Highlife, dropped. Both albums are marked by interpolations of light-hearted and soulful rhythms backed by raspy vocals delivered in Igbo, the language of South-Eastern Nigeria. On their records, the duo offer didactic verses exploring the nature of life, the power of friendship, and the ideals of love, and much like music from highlife’s pioneers, their music has a joyous and optimistic quality. It is this essence that has placed The Cavemen (and highlife) in the hearts of a younger generation of Nigerians who are looking to ease their spirits in the face of the sometimes harsh realities of everyday life in the country. “As artists, it’s our place to not only reflect but to influence our society positively,” says Kingsley. By tapping into highlife, the duo seeks to create the rhythm of a new revolution. Love is their message of choice because “love is so important. Love is what the world needs at the end of the day. It’s by learning to love others nearly as much as we love ourselves that change begins.”

This attitude strongly informs the duo’s direction and process, and is evident as I observe a recording session in “The Cave”: each chord is intricately thought out, and every vocal layer is purposefully placed in a bid to create a sanguine effect on its listeners. “I actually like it when people are happy,” Kingsley notes. Sometimes the songs come to Benjamin in his dreams, perhaps on account of a spiritual connection to highlife’s past life. One such song is ‘Selense’, the lead single of Love and Highlife. “The music has to feel good to us first. We then think about how to translate that feel-good effect to other people,” Kingsley adds.

Ultimately, The Cavemen hope to bring this effect to the rest of the world as their primary goal is “for highlife to become a global sound. Everything we are doing right now is for the posterity of Nigerian music. It goes without saying. You can’t play the infinite game without having a legacy plan.”