During the golden age of Nigerian music in the 1970s, the multifaceted artist Tunji Oyelana elevated the realm of popular music by infusing it with the poetic storytelling of Yoruba folklore, in doing so confounding perceptions that Nigerian music could not truly be truly considered Art. Backed by his crack backing group, The Benders (named for their ability to traverse and blend a variety of styles) Oyelana combined the fashionable sounds of highlife, afrobeat, afrorock, funk, calypso, juju and reggae and transformed them into something timeless and utterly unique.