It’s Not Easy: Psychedelic Afro-Rock and the Music of the Biafran War

Every month we take a deep dive into a specific genre, sound, or style. Through the lens of a playlist, we compile some of the iconic and best artists to help understand and feel the roots and value of this music. This month we go deep into “It’s Not Easy – Psychedelic Afro-Rock.”

“It’s Not Easy” captures a sound rooted in Nigeria. From the flashpoint of war, a unique and powerful musical form spread across the African continent and into the wider world. Before the outbreak of the Biafran War (1967 to 1970), the prevailing musical language of West Africa’s cultural struggle was highlife, a genre built on big band jazz, indigenous musical forms, and local languages. As political instability shook the country, younger musicians began turning to Western rock ‘n’ roll, blending guitars, bass, and drums with their traditional foundations. The stage was set for a radical transformation in sound.

In 1967, Nigeria descended into a brutal civil war following several military coups. Many highlife musicians were conscripted, while the Igbo people, an ethnic minority, were driven east as refugees. By the war’s end in 1970, the country had suffered immense human loss, including an estimated 1 million Igbo lives. With so many elders gone, a cultural vacuum emerged and was ready to be filled by a new generation of artists.

Igbo musicians returned from the east carrying new ideas formed in exile. Many survived the war by performing music to lift the morale of troops and citizens. Now reunited with fellow artists, they fused war-forged styles with the rhythms of peace.

Lagos became a hub of musical expression, shaped by the trauma of war and the ongoing fight for freedom. One vital epicentre was Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti’s Afro-Spot in Yaba, a Lagos suburb. This venue, which would become the African Shrine, gave rise to an explosion of Afro-rock experimentation.

Artists like Ofo and the Black Company, The Funkees, Blo, Monomono, and Fela Kuti’s Africa ‘70 created a melting pot of psychedelic rock, funk, Afrobeat, and raw rhythmic storytelling. Guitars distorted like sirens, polyrhythms danced beneath native tongues, and the music moved with the urgency of survival.

What is remarkable is that in the shadow of violence, afro-psych rock did not just emerge, it thrived. This music does not exist in a vacuum. It echoes the resilience of a people, the depth of a national tragedy, and the creative defiance that followed.

This playlist tells part of that story. It is a musical history lesson, yes, but also a dedication. A dedication to those who lived through it, to the artists who carried on, and to the power of music to hold both pain and beauty at once.