Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode, known professionally as Orlando Julius, was a Nigerian saxophonist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter closely associated with Afrobeat music. Born in 1943 in Ikole, Nigeria, to a merchant family, he began his musical journey playing drums and flute, with his mother serving as his first musical teacher. After his father's death in 1957, he left school and moved to Ibadan to pursue music, initially working in a bakery while playing with juju and konkoma bands. He later apprenticed under highlife musician Jazz Romero to learn the saxophone, the instrument he would become best known for. By 1963, he had formed his own group, the Modern Aces, and began experimenting with fusing traditional Nigerian music with American genres like R&B, soul, and funk. This unique blend helped pioneer the sound that would later be termed Afrobeat.
His career took off with his first hit single, "Jagua Nana," in 1965, followed by the groundbreaking 1966 album Super Afro Soul, which earned him national celebrity in Nigeria and had an influence on American music. In the 1970s, he moved to the United States, where he formed the band Umoja and later collaborated with South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, recording albums like The Boy's Doin' It and Colonial Man. He also worked as a session musician in Los Angeles, collaborated with artists such as Lamont Dozier and James Brown, and co-composed the song "Going Back To My Roots" with Dozier. He returned to Nigeria in 1984. Orlando Julius passed away on April 14, 2022, at the age of 78, and is remembered by critics as a "legend" and "one of the heroes of Nigerian music" for his significant influence on Afrobeat.