By Benjamin Njoku

King Dr Alfred Izonebi, popularly called Jking by music enthusiasts, has once again, through his didactically structured  musical compositions and dazzling stage performances, reasserted his position as the authentic king of Ijaw music, after the death of King Dr Robert Ebizimor in 2014.

Presently, Izonebi rules the airwaves in the Niger Delta and beyond with his song, ‘Dibi’.

Dr Izonebi got music enthusiasts captivated again with his ever unbeatable stage performances in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State recently during  the 10th anniversary celebration of late King Dr Robert Ebizimor at Sagbama and Angalabiri towns in Bayelsa State.

The ‘Dibi’ song which has gone viral seems to be the preferred song today in every household and outdoor parties in the Niger Delta among Ijaw-speaking music listeners. The song thematically appeals to the living to bury the dead and leave them alone because the dead don’t care or know whether they are abused or ostentatiously celebrated.

A cautionary piece against wastage and ostentatious displays when a loved one dies, ‘Dibi’ is a seminal song that blends instrumentation and theme to the applause of music enthusiasts.

This viral song, among many other songs by the musician, shows his unrivalled rulership of Ijaw music after the death of the Ijaw music legend, King Dr Robert Ebizimor, because Izonebi’s song instrumentally and thematically strikes a chord no other Ijaw musician can approximate, now that King Dr Robert Ebizimor is no more.

Notably, among other songs like ‘Ozigizaga’, ‘Delta IJaw’, ‘Pa Kano Godfrey’ and Doufiye-egiren’, every song  released by King Dr Izonebi’ since the death of the legendary King Dr Robert Ebizimor has often assumed the characteristics and proportions of a classic that holds the music world spellbound  and rules the airwaves as if there were no other Ijaw musicians with new songs.

Over the years, it has become incontrovertible that Dr Izonebi is the king of Ijaw music whose crown is derived from being a king of musical compositions and stage performances as regards the Ijaw music industry – a position derived from critical engagement of Izonebi’s released songs.