Hadiza Blell, now Hadiza Blell-Olo, better known by her stage name Di'Ja, is a Nigerian singer. She is currently signed to

Mavin Records Mavin Records (also known as the Supreme Mavin Dynasty) is a Nigerian Music industry, music corporation record label founded by record producer and recording artist Don Jazzy on 8 May 2012. The label's inception came to fruition following the clo ...

. In 2009, she released her first single "Rock Steady", which was nominated for Best Urban/R&B Single at the 2009 Canadian Radio Music Awards. Moreover, she won the Best New Artist award at the 2008 Beat

Music Awards Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

Early life and education

Hadiza Blell Olo "Di'ja" was born on the 14th of August 1985 (37 years old) in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. Di'Ja has lived in Nigeria,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, the United States and Canada. Her mother, Asma'u Blell is from

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

and her father, Amb Joe Blell is from Sierra Leone. Di'Ja's received a

joint degree A double degree program, sometimes called a dual degree, combined degree, conjoint degree, joint degree or double graduation program, involves a student's working for two university degrees in parallel—either at the same institution or at diffe ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Career

Her music career started in 2008. In 2012, Di'Ja released several singles, including "Dan'Iska (Rudebwoy)", "Hold On (Ba Damuwa)" and "How Can We Be Friends". On 14 February 2014, Di'Ja signed a record deal with Don Jazzy's Mavin Records. "Yaro", her first official single under the label was also released that same day. It infuses

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

and Krio dialects in honour of her Nigerian and Sierra Leonean roots. In May 2014, Di'Ja was featured on "

Dorobucci "Dorobucci" is a song by Mavin Records, The Mavins, a collective composed of Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Dr SID, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, Di'Ja and D'Prince. Released on May 1, 2014, it received generally positive reviews from music critics. Posi ...

" alongside label mates Don Jazzy,

Dr SID Sidney Onoriode Esiri (born 1 May 1980), commonly known as Dr SID, is a Nigerian singer. Early life Dr SID is from Delta State, he was born and raised in Lagos. His mother is a fashion designer and his father, Justus Esiri, is an actor.

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

, D'Prince,

Korede Bello Oluwakorede Bello (born 29 February 1996) is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He signed a record deal with Mavin Records in 2014. Bello is best known for his hit single " Godwin", a semi-gospel and pop song which became a national anthem and t ...

and

Reekado Banks Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon (born 6 December 1993), better known by his stage name Reekado Banks, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He signed with Mavin Records in 2014 and left the label in 2018. He went by the stage name Spicy before his recor ...

. She was also featured on "Arise", alongside Don Jazzy and Reekado Banks. On 15 December 2017, Di'Ja released her extended play ''Aphrodija'', which also features guest vocals from Tiwa Savage and Reekado Banks. She dropped a hit track tittled "one talk" at the Calabar edition of the Mega Music Nationwide Tour organized by

Globacom Globacom Limited, commonly known as Glo (Global communication), is a Nigerian multinational telecommunications company founded on 29 August 2003 by Mike Adenuga. As of June 2018, the company employs more than 3,500 people worldwide. Overview ...

Telecommunication Company. in May 2017.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Singles

Videography

References

External links

*
Official website
{{authority control Living people 21st-century Nigerian women singers Nigerian women singer-songwriters Nigerian people of Sierra Leonean descent Year of birth missing (living people)