Salawa Abeni Alidu (born 5 May 1961) is a Nigerian singer. An
Ijebu Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
from Ijebu Waterside, in
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to th ...
, she began her professional career in
waka music
Waka music is a popular Islamic-oriented Yoruba musical genre. It was made popular by Alhaja Batile Alake from Ijebu, who took the genre into the mainstream Nigerian music by playing it at concerts and parties; also, she was the first waka si ...
when she released her debut album titled, ''Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed'', in 1976, on Leader Records. It became the first recording by a female artist in Yoruba Songs to sell over a million copies in Nigeria.
Abeni continued recording for Leader until 1986, when she ended a relationship with the
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
's owner, Lateef Adepoju. She married
Kollington Ayinla and joined his record label instead, staying with him until 1994.
She was crowned "Queen of Waka Music" by the
Alaafin of Oyo
Oyo, Oyo State, is the seat of the line of the rulers of Oyo. Their territory, a constituent rump state, is located in contemporary Nigeria. Since the 1900 political absorption into Southern Nigeria of the kingdom that it once served as a metro ...
,
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi in 1992. Waka is an
Islamic-influenced, traditional
Yoruba music
Yoruba music is the pattern/style of music practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. It is perhaps best known for its extremely advanced drumming tradition and techniques, especially using the gongon hourglass shape tension drums ...
style, popularized by
Batile Alake Batile or Batili Alake (died 2013) was a prominent Yoruba waka singer.
Personal life
Batile Alake was born in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State. Alhaja Batile Alake died in 2013, aged about 78 years. ; it is a much older genre than
jùjú and
fuji Fuji may refer to:
Places China
* Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan
Japan
* Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan
* Fuji River
* Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture
* Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefec ...
.
Controversy
When speaking to the
News Agency of Nigeria
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is a news reporting agency owned and run by the Federal Government of Nigeria just like Nigerian Television Authority. NAN was formed in part to disseminate news easily across the country and to the internationa ...
, Abeni created controversy when she advised fellow musicians to "stay away from homosexuality", likening it to drug addiction. Activists called her comments "a display of ignorance", however her remarks were recently echoed by Nigerian model
Olajumoke Orisaguna in her YouTube video ''Olajumoke Sauce 7: Trends and Acceptance'' uploaded in February 2018. Under
Nigerian law based on
British colonial jurisprudence, same-sex relationships between
LGBT people remain a criminal offence, with maximum punishments ranging from 14 years imprisonment to the death penalty.
Discography
*''Late Murtala Muhammed'' (Leader, 1976)
*''Iba Omode Iba Agba'' (Leader, 1976)
*''Shooting Stars'' (Leader, 1977)
*''Ijamba Motor'' (Leader, 1978)
*''Okiki Kan To Sele/Yinka Esho Esor'' (Leader, 1979)
*''Orin Tuntun'' (Leader, 1979)
*''Irohin Mecca'' (Leader, 1980)
*''Ile Aiye'' (Leader, 1980)
*''Omi Yale'' (Leader, 1980)
*''Ija O Dara'' (Leader, 1981)
*''Ikilo'' (Leader, 1981)
*''Enie Tori Ele Ku'' (Leader, 1982)
*''Challenge Cup ’84'' (Leader, 1983)
*''Adieu Alhaji Haruna Ishola'' (Leader, 1985)
*''Indian Waka'' (Kollington, 1986)
*''Ìfẹ́ Dára Púpọ̀'' (Kollington, 1986)
*''Mo Tun De Bi Mo Se Nde'' (Kollington, 1986)
*''Awa Lagba'' (Kollington, 1987)
*''Abode America'' (Kollington, 1988)
*''Ileya Special'' (Kollington, 1988)
*''I Love You'' (Kollington, 1988)
*''We Are The Children'' (Kollington, 1989)
*''Maradonna'' (Kollington, 1989)
*''Candle'' (Kollington, 1990)
*''Experience'' (Alagbada, 1991)
*''Congratulations'' (Alagbada, 1991)
*''Cheer Up'' (Alagbada, 1992)
*''Waka Carnival'' (Alagbada, 1994)
*''Beware cassette'' (Sony, 1995)
*''Live In London ’96'' cassette (Emperor Promotions, 1996)
*''Appreciation'' cassette (Sony, 1997)
*''With Barrister Evening Of Sound'' cassette (Zmirage Productions, 1997)
*''Good Morning In America'' (Alagbada, 1999)
["Abeni, Queen Salawa." Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed.. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed February 17, 2016,]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeni, Salawa
1961 births
Musicians from Ogun State
Yoruba women musicians
Living people
Yoruba-language singers
20th-century Nigerian women singers
Actresses in Yoruba cinema