26 Facts About Lemi Ghariokwu

Lemi Abiodun Ghariokwu was born Emmanuel Sunday on 26 December 1955, in Agege, Lagos, Nigeria.

Lemi Ghariokwu is from Agbor, Delta State but has spent all his life in Lagos.

Lemi Ghariokwu grew up in Igbobi, Fadeyi in Lagos State with his parents and siblings.

Lemi Ghariokwu's father wanted him to be a mechanical engineer, so he attended a technical school, Yaba College of Technology Secondary School, where he studied technical and science subjects, but this was where his school journey ended.

Lemi Ghariokwu decided to train himself to master his own style of art.

Lemi Ghariokwu read and equipped himself constantly with knowledge and developed his art skill alongside.

Lemi Ghariokwu grew up listening to Reggae songs and studying metaphysics.

Lemi Ghariokwu met Fela Kuti in 1974 through Babatunde Harrison.

Lemi Ghariokwu gave Lemi total freedom with his work and thoughts to the level that he just did as he pleased, albeit responsibly, with how and what he wanted to express.

Lemi Ghariokwu had the rare privilege of putting his photograph and comments on some of the covers and was treated like a son, friend, adviser and comrade by the Afrobeat legend.

Lemi Ghariokwu's work involves a variety of styles, often using vibrant colours and individuated typefaces of his own design.

Lemi Ghariokwu's art is said to be rebellious, comical, political, even erotic but most of all he is a genius in pictorial narration, realism and iconicity.

Many of Lemi Ghariokwu's cover images echo and sometimes comment on the work and politics of the recordings that they accompany, serving a consciously integrated meta-textual function.

Lemi Ghariokwu is famous for his captivating and intricate record sleeves designs and he never fails to give life to lyrics through his pictorial images.

Lemi Ghariokwu created and mastered 26 of Fela's album covers.

Lemi Ghariokwu printed and designed album covers for many Kennis Music artists, including 2 Face, Lagbaja, Kenny St Brown, Sound Sultan and many others, for 11 years.

Lemi Ghariokwu has designed more than 2000 album covers and facilitated art workshops abroad.

Lemi Ghariokwu designed logos for Fame Weekly, Ivory Music and National Encomium.

Lemi Ghariokwu's work has attracted much attention in the West and is the subject of various retrospective exhibitions.

Lemi Ghariokwu's painting Anoda Sistem, created in 2002, is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Some of Lemi Ghariokwu's archive is in the possession of Punch Records, whose CEO Ammo Talwar has invited the academic community to utilise this material in productive ways.

In 2008, twenty of Lemi Ghariokwu's artworks were published in Area 2, a book showcasing 100 emerging and influential graphic artists in the world, published by Phaidon Press in New York.

Lemi Ghariokwu designed the cover art for Brymo's sixth studio album Oso and Falz's fourth studio album Moral Instruction.

Lemi Ghariokwu's work has been exhibited internationally for more than a decade.

In 1992, Lemi Ghariokwu composed a single, featuring Daniel Wilson, titled "Omolakeji".

Lemi Ghariokwu is passionate about songwriting and music with depth.