JONI HAASTRUP'S Quality of Life
Hi Friends!!! A wonderful friend and groundbreaking musician, JONI HASSTRUP, is in need of help. He is one of the originators & founders of Afrobeat music! He can tell amazing stories about the entire last 50 years of African Music History, most of which he was the direct center of! Joni is part of musical history!
He is an extremely good natured, polite, fastidious, devout Buddhist and life-long vegetarian.
Joni's need for help stems from suffering 4 mini strokes over the last few years. He has difficulty speaking clearly, walking and many movements are restricted due to damage to his legs.
Joni is still able to live semi-independently and would love to be able to afford to live with dignity in a studio or shared household. Social services have failed him! They will not subsidize his housing due to an eviction on his credit report from years ago. I find this unconscionable and cruel. I appeal to all of you to help make his remaining time with us comfortable and dignified. With just a little help from everyone, we can ensure he has a home and enough healthy food to eat. We are counting on our community of family and friends. Please consider a one time or monthly donation.
Prince Joni, the son of a Yoruban king, was the lead vocalist on Orlando Julius Ekemode's seminal Super Afro Soul LP, considered by many to be the birth place of the Afrobeat sound, ( the band also featured a certain Fela Ransome Kuti on trumpet.) www.waxpoetics.com/music/tracks/joni-haastrup
Joni later played with Ginger Baker. Ginger Baker was the drummer for the group Cream, and played with Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Steve Winwood. The movie made about him in 2012 was called Beware of Mr. Baker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9LrLUyIW3c
Here Ginger Baker jams with Joni Haastrup and other Afro-Rock musicians in Lagos, Nigeria (1971): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4jqUvBpgm0
Joni's seminal band MonoMono had many albums for DECCA Records.
Joni Haastrup - Free My People (Afrodesia Records, 1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1vI9dbAXyY
You can contact Joni directly at [phone redacted]615 or [email redacted]
People can also contact his good friend, Paul Sonnabend via Facebook , or [email redacted].
