'''Obo Addy''' (b. 1936) is an Ghanaian Drummer and Dancer who was one of the first native African Musicians to bring the fusion of traditional Folk_music and Western Pop_music known as ''Worldbeat'' to Europe and then to the Pacific_Northwest of the United_States in the late 1970s. He currently teaches music at Lewis_&_Clark_College in Portland, Oregon. == History == Addy was born into the Ga Tribe in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. He was one of the 55 children of Jacob Kpani Addy, a ''wonche'' or Medicine_man who integrated Rhythmic music into healing and other Rituals. Obo Addy's earliest musical influence was the traditional sounds of the Ga tribe, but he was also influenced as an adolescent by Popular_music from Europe and the United States, and performed in local bands that played Westernized music and the Dance Music_of_Ghana known as Highlife. Addy was employed by the Arts Council of Ghana in 1969, and played his native Ga tribal music in the 1972_Summer_Olympics in Munich,_Germany. He moved to London, England, and began touring in Europe. In 1978, he moved to Portland,_Oregon in the United States, where he teaches at Lewis & Clark College. He has also led weekly drumming workshops at Portland's Lincoln High School. == Awards == He founded the Homowo African Arts and Cultures organization, which sponsors the annual Homowo Festival of African Arts in Oregon. He was awarded a Master's Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission and Regional Arts & Culture Council, and the Oregon Governors Award for the Arts. In 1996, he became the first native African to win a National Heritage Fellowship Award from Federal_government_of_the_United_States' National_Endowment_for_the_Arts. == Recent albums == * ''AfieyeOkropong'' (Alula_Records) * ''Wonche Bi'' (Alula Records) * ''Let Me Play My Drums'' (Burnside_Records) * ''The Rhythm Of Which A Chief Walks Gracefully'' (Earthbeat_Records) * ''Okropong'' (Santrofi_Records) == External links == * Obo Addy: Master Drummer home page * "Addy vs. Addy". Zach Dundas. ''Williamette Week Online''. February 26, 2003. *Obo Addy page from Lewis & Clark College site Addy, Obo Addy, Obo Addy, Obo Addy, Obo Addy, Obo Addy, Obo Addy, Obo