Princess Jully (real name Lilian Auma Aoka) is a benga musician from

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Early life

Lilian Auma Aoka was born in the village of Makalda in South Nyanza, in southwestern part of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. Her father died when she was one week old, leaving her mother, a small-scale farmer, as the family's provider. Lilian was the youngest of nine children (six survived infancy). Her grandmother, Benta Nyar Kanyamkago Nyagolima, was the first woman chief in Nyanza Province and a respected singer and musician. Lilian attended school through Form One, the first year of secondary school in Kenya. On being a female in her village society, Jully has said:

"Then something unfortunate happened my mother could not afford to pay my school fees. To make matters worse, most people within my community had the notion that educating a girl was like watering someone else's field, so boys were given the first priority. I was lucky to go up to Form One at Bikira Girls' High School as many girls in my village did not get the same opportunity, but deep down I remained frustrated."

Lilian became pregnant out of wedlock at a young age, and was rejected by the father. She soon thereafter met her husband, singer Julius Okumu (stage name Prince Jully), who accepted her pregnancy. After giving birth to her son Felix, she began to accompany Jully's band as a backup singer.

Career

She started as a back-up vocalist for Jolly Boys Band led by her husband Prince Jully (Julius Okumu). She originally used the name "Mbilia Bel" "because I thought my looks were similar to the Zairean singer." Prince Jully died in 1997 and subsequently Princess Jully took over the leadership of the band. Jolly Boys Band was already a popular in Kenya when Prince Jully was leading it, but under Princess Jully the group has been even more successful, particularly after the release of the "Dunia Mbaya" hit.Daily Nation, Saturday Review, August 18, 2007: Princess Jully to launch her 20th album in Switzerland She releases new music frequently. Her 19th album "Aneno Lek" was released in March 2007. The album was produced at the Ketebul Productions by Tabu Osusa. Her next album ''Wangni Wabiro'' was released in August 2007. The title song of the album was dedicated to the

Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augu ...

ahead of the 2007 General Election. The album was produced by

Tedd Josiah Tedd Josiah (born 1970) is a music producer from Kenya. He started as a musician, first briefly with the group Ebony Affair before forming a new group, Hart, in 1993. Early life The group was disbanded in 1995 and Josiah joined ''Sync Sound Stud ...

of Blu Zebra Studios. She has also set up her own production house, ''Jully Productions'', to promote emerging artists. She has toured various countries including Switzerland. In 2010 she released another album ''Joluo Migingo to Dhi'', its title refers to the disputed Migingo Island.The Standard, 24 April 2010
Queen of Benga bounces back with new album
/ref> Princess Jully was part of the ''Divas of The Nile'' supergroup, that featured four Kenyan female musicians. The others were Suzzana Owiyo, Achieng Abura and Mercy Myra. The group performed at the

Festival Mundial A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in 2007.

Awards

Won: * 2003 Kisima Music Awards - Benga Artiste of the Year

Binyavanga Wainaina Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina (18 January 1971 – 21 May 2019) was a Kenyan author, journalist and 2002 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In April 2014, ''Time'' magazine included Wainaina in its annual ''Time'' 100 as one of the "Mo ...

''Kwani?'' 1
Kwani Archive Online, 2003..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Jully 20th-century Kenyan women singers Living people 21st-century Kenyan women singers Bandleaders Year of birth missing (living people)