Oliver De Coque

Oliver Sunday Akanite (; 14 April 1947 – 20 June 2008), better known as Oliver De Coque, was a Nigerian Igbo highlife musician, composer, and guitarist. He was one of Africa's most prolific recording artists, with a career spanning over four decades. His extensive use of Igbo traditional rhythms and the fusion of Congolese guitar melodies made him a leader in the Nigerian highlife music genre.

Oliver's stage name, Oliver De Coque, originated from his early days playing Ekpili music in 1976. His band was initially called Oliver de coque and co-singers, and people affectionally referred to him as Oliver De Ka Okwe due to his love for playing okwe (draft).

Early life and career De Coque was born in 1947, in Ezinifite, Anambra State, Nigeria, to an Igbo family. He started making Ekpili music when he was 17 years old, and was taught to play the guitar by a Congolese guitarist named Piccolo who was living in Nigeria. De Coque was an apprentice of juju musicians Sunny Agaga and Jacob Oluwale, and became locally well known by the time he was a teenager.

De Coque received international attention after performing in London in 1973, and his guitar work was featured in Prince Nico Mbarga's 1977 album Sweet Mother.

In a landmark ceremony, the then Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi III, crowned him 'The King of Highlife' of Africa in 1994, for his consistency in his craft.

De Coque died on 20 June 2008 following a sudden cardiac arrest. His son subsequently noted that De Coque had prioritised performing in 2008 but had planned to seek medical advice the month after his death.

Legacy On 14 April 2021, a Google Doodle showcased De Coque to mark what would have been his 74th birthday.