Ezebuiro Obinna aka Dr. Sir Warrior, was the leader of the famous Oriental Brothers International Band which ruled the Nigerian highlife music scene for several decades.
Born in Umuhu, Inyi-Ogwugwu in Agbaaja, Mbaise. Sir Warrior started his music career as a part of the most successful bands in Nigeria in the 1970s, the Oriental Brothers International Band. At a time of immense loss and great struggle after the Biafran War, the Oriental Brothers offered a rare light of hope. According to the Igbo magazine Kwenu, “the Oriental Brothers played a very important spiritual role in keeping many Igbo sane. They were the pride of a people traumatized by a war so vicious.”
The band later split, leading to Prince Ichita & the Great Oriental Brothers International Band, Oriental Brothers International, and then the original Dr. Sir Warrior & His Oriental Brothers International, simply called The Oriental Original.
Warrior’s discography is luminous with over 100 tracks that continue to be great hits. He had about 12 platinum and 10 gold hits in his career. His 1978 album Nwanne Awu Enyi went gold, selling more than 7.8 million copies.
He died in 1999 and is immortalized with the Imo State Heartland FM [100.5 MHz] dedicated to playing his tracks. His sons Uche Obinna and Ajuzieogu Obinna and his brother Emperor Teddy Obinna have taken after this magnificent maestro.
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