Modupe Onilu

Modupe Folasade Onilu is a Trinidadian percussionist and multi-instrumentalist whose playing moves between Afro-Caribbean folk rhythms, soca, and jazz, drawing on homemade and organic instruments as much as on conventional drums. Son of the percussion master Jajah Oga Onilu, he grew up in Laventille, Port of Spain, and plays alongside his father and his brother Baba Ayinde Onilu in the family trio Jewels of Nature. He came up through the steel band world with Laventille Serenaders and Desperadoes and studied steel pan at COSTAATT. He leads the Dayo Bejide Jazz Project and is half of the percussion duo Boom Boom Room, and he has worked with David Rudder, Etienne Charles, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, and Machel Montano.