Chief Obakunle Akinlana
Master percussionist and cultural educator dedicated to the living Yoruba oral tradition.
Sharing the rhythms and oral histories of the Yoruba tradition across the globe since 1971.
Preserving West African folklore through annual immersive study with master griots.
Chief Obakunle Akinlana was born in Atlanta, Georgia, into a family where storytelling was simply part of the air. His grandparents passed down folktales the old way, through voice and presence.
He began his career in 1971, learning early that rhythm and narrative are the same language spoken in different registers. What started as performance became a lifelong pursuit: the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria, their folklore, and their cosmology.
For over four decades he has traveled annually to West Africa, sitting with griots and musicians, learning stories in the tradition they were meant to be learned — by listening. He carries those stories back and places them in the hands of new audiences.