Aituaje Iruobe, known professionally as Waje, which is the first letter from each word from the phrase "Words Aren't Just enough" is a Nigerian singer. She first gained recognition after being featured on the remake of

P-Square P-Square is a Nigerian music duo consisting of the twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye. They produced and released their albums through Square Records (now Square Root Entertainment) In December 2011, they signed a record deal with Akon's ...

’s "Omoge Mi". Waje was also featured on the duo's 2008 hit track "Do Me". Moreover, she contributed vocals to

Banky W Olubankole Wellington (born 27 March 1981), popularly known by his stage name Banky W and credited in film as Banky Wellington, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, actor, entrepreneur and politician. Early life Olubankole Wellington was born in the ...

's "Thief My Kele" and M.I's "One Naira". In 2016, Waje was one of the four judges in the inaugural season of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' Nigeria. In 2018, on its final season of

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and n ...

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

, '' Battleground'', Waje was recurred. Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera on Afrocritik describes Waje as: "one of the undisputed queens of Soul music in Nigeria, and that a good argument could be made that she has had the best vocal run in the music scene over the past fifteen years."

Early life

Waje was born September 1, in

Akure, Ondo State Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, hav ...

, Nigeria. She is the firstborn and the first daughter in her family. She grew up in

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

, following her parents' relocation. Her parents got divorced when she was young, and she had to overcome the difficulty that accompanied her parents' separation. Waje got pregnant when she was writing her final year secondary Certificate Examinations. She did not tell her mother about the pregnancy until 5 months into the pregnancy. She was temporarily banned from singing in the choir of her church for being pregnant outside marriage. She sang gospel tunes to the delight of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa. who was quite impressed with her singing and decided to help her during her entire secondary school days. Waje later relocated to

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively re ...

to attend the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has th ...

, earning a degree in social work from the school. During her time at the University, she performed at school concerts and fellowships. She listened to singers such as

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

to improve her craft.

Career

2007–14:Musical releases and collaborations

Waje's vocal range covers three octaves. She was found singing in church. She studied social work at the

(UNN) and worked part-time in tourism. In 2007, Waje launched her music career. She was still a student at the time and paid her dues by doing many free shows and gigs. In 2008, she featured in the P-Square hit track titled "Do Me". This track was widely known across Africa and some parts of Europe. She participated in Advanced Warning (a reality TV show which featured artists that are on the verge of a breakthrough). The reality show was organised by

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music ch ...

South Africa and Zain Nigeria, where she was the runner up. In 2010, 360nobs.com did a special spotlight on Waje with the emphasis "Words Aren’t Just Enough….I’m Speechless" Waje has shared the stage with artists such as Wyclef Jean in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, opening for Kerry Hilson during a show organised in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and c ...

, and has also worked with artists who had hit singles, including "One Naira" with M.I and "Do Me" with

. She collaborated with

Dencia Reprudencia Sonkey, known professionally as Dencia, is a Cameroonian singer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. She was born in Cameroon and attended her primary school education at The Government English Primary School at Lake Central in Yaoundé ...

on "True Love" and has songs that have received awards and nominations. She released her self-titled debut studio album Words Aren't Just Enough in 2013. Waje made her acting debut in the 2014 film

Tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

, alongside Femi Jacobs, Patrick Doyle,

Nse Ikpe-Etim Nse Ikpe-Etim (born 21 October 1974) is a Nigerian actress. She came into prominence in 2008 for her role in ''Reloaded''. She was nominated for '' Best Actress in a Leading Role'' at the 5th and 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards for her role in ...

and Lepacious Bose. Directed by

Stanlee Ohikhuare Stanlee Aideloje Ohikhuare known professionally as Stanlee Ohikhuare is a Nigerian filmmaker, cinematographer, and writer. He is known for producing short films. He obtained a diploma from a school of fine arts In European academic traditio ...

, the film is centred around a young pastor's life. In November 2014, she released the music video for the

Diamond Platnumz Nasibu Abdul Juma Issack (born 2 October 1989), popularly known by his stage name Diamond Platnumz, is a Tanzanian bongo flava recording artist, dancer, philanthropist and a businessman of Ha heritage. He is the founder and CEO of WCB Wasafi R ...

-assisted "Coco Baby". In August 2015, she released the single "Left for Good", featuring

Patoranking Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (born 27 May, 1990), better known by his stage name Patoranking, is a Nigerian reggae-dancehall singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Ijegun-Egba Satellite Town, Patoranking hails from Onicha, Ebonyi State. He starte ...

and Godwin Strings. Waje was featured on "Strong Girl", the theme song for One's Poverty is Sexist campaign, and also joined

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

for the Lagos campaign in 2015. Waje was announced as one of the judges on ''

The Voice Nigeria ''The Voice Nigeria'' is the Nigerian franchise of the TV series ''The Voice''. It is a singing competition that features music enthusiasts and professional performers. Since its first edition in 2016 in Nigeria, the show has become the biggest ...

'', alongside other Nigerian musicians, including 2face Idibia,

Timi Dakolo Timi Dakolo (born January 20, 1981) is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and music producer. He emerged winner of the inaugural season of '' Idols West Africa'' in 2007. Accompanying his victory was a recording contract with Sony BMG, in addition to ...

and

2019–present: Hermanes Media and ''She Is''

In January 2019, Waje and

Omawumi Omawumi Megbele (born 13 April 1982), known by her stage name Omawumi, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and actress of Itsekiri ethnicity She is a brand ambassador for Globacom, Konga.com, and Malta Guinness. She's also part of the campaign cal ...

launched Hermanes Media, a media company that specializes in film and TV production, adverts, content curation, brand event activation, and creative digital marketing. In March 2019, Waje revealed her intentions to quit music professionally. She said she was considering quitting because of the lack of support towards her music. In April 2019, Waje was featured in the Somkele Idhalama-produced movie ''She Is''. She worked with Omawumi to record the movie's soundtrack. In December 2019, she teamed up with another Nigerian rap artiste, Zoro, to release a single titled ‘Ngwa’. The song is a ballad styled song produced by Philkeyz. The lyrics of the song is in Igbo Language. This song followed her earlier released single called ‘Udue’ where she featured Johnny Drille, an artist from the Mavin records.

Personal life

Waje is a single mother. Her sister, Amaka Iruobe is an actress who has had bit parts in popular soap opera ''

Tinsel Tinsel is a type of decorative material that mimics the effect of ice, consisting of thin strips of sparkling material attached to a thread. When in long narrow strips not attached to thread, it is called "lametta", and emulates icicles. It was o ...

'' and the movie ''First Cut''. Waje worked with the youths of her community through an organisation "Waje's Safe House", where she teams up with other

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s quarterly to help fight for their cause. The first project supported under Waje's Safe House was the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children, assisting the Project HELP (Help Educate the Less Privileged) which the goal of raising funds for allowing children to continue their studies in the school in

Makoko Makoko is an informal settlement across the 3rd Mainland Bridge located on the coast of mainland Lagos. A third of the community is built on stilts along the lagoon and the rest is on the land. The waterfront part of the community is largely har ...

, through Ring Back Tones with her singles "Oko Mi" and "I Wish". She was one of the notable Nigerian entertainers who collaborated with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria to stand against electoral manipulation, vote-buying, violence and thuggery.

Discography

Studio albums

*''W.A.J.E'' (2013) *''Red Velvet'' (2018) *''Heart Season (EP)'' (2021) *''WAJE 2.0 (2022)

Awards and nominations

Nominations

* Nigerian Music Video Awards 2009 (Best New Video) * Dynamix Awards 2009 (Best New Act) * Hip-Hop Awards 2010*Headies* (Best Vocals) * City People Awards 2011(Best R&B Female) * Nigerian Entertainment Awards 2011 (Best Pop/R&B Artist Of The Year. Best New Act Of The Year) * Headies 2011 (Best Vocal Performer Female, Best R&B Single) * Exquisite Ladies Of The Year 2011 (Female Music Act Of The Year) * Channel O Music Video Awards 2011 (Most Gifted Female Video) * Nigerian Music Video Awards 2011 (Best Contemporary Afro Video) * Deafa Afro-Europe Entertainment Awards 2011 (Best African Art) * Best Recording Of The Year 2013 (I Wish, W.A.J.E Album) * Best Reggae/Dance Hall 2013 (I Wish, W.A.J.E Album) * Best Vocal Performance Female 2013 (I Wish, W.A.J.E Album) * Black Canadian Awards 2014 (Best International Act) * World Music Awards 2014 (World Bst Album)W.A.J.E * World Music Awards 2014 (World Best Live Act) * World Music Awards 2014 (World Best Female Entertainer) * World Music Awards 2014 (World Best Entertainer) * Eloy Awards 2014 (Best Female Artist)