First Name:
Other Names:
Last Name:
Stage Name:
Country:
Born:
D.O.D:
Primary Language:
Other Languages:
Prince Nico Mbarga was a Nigerian-Cameroonian highlife musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader whose music connected Nigerian highlife with influences from Cameroon and Central Africa. Born in Abakaliki, Nigeria, in 1950 to a Nigerian mother and Cameroonian father, he spent part of his youth in Cross River State and Cameroon. He learned several instruments before beginning his professional career with the Melody Orchestra in Cameroon in 1970.
After returning to Nigeria, Mbarga formed Rocafil Jazz and developed a distinctive style shaped by highlife, Congolese guitar and Cameroonian musical traditions. His breakthrough came with “Sweet Mother,” released in 1976. Sung in Nigerian Pidgin and centred on a mother’s love and sacrifices, the song became one of Africa’s most recognised recordings and earned him international attention. He later toured abroad, established the New Rocafil Jazz Band and pursued business interests in hospitality. Mbarga died in Calabar in 1997.
Discography not yet available. Check later.
Record Label associated with Prince Nico Mbarga - past and current.