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’s "Omoge Mi". Waje was also featured on the duo's 2008 hit track "Do Me". Moreover, she contributed vocals to Banky W'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'' Nigeria. In 2018, on its final season of Africa Magic

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, ''

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'', 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, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of 2022. It is situated ...

, 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 to attend the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 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 "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

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 University of Nigeria, Nsukka (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

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, 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 ...

, and has also worked with artists who had hit singles, including "One Naira" with M.I and "Do Me" with P-Square. She collaborated with Dencia 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

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, alongside Femi Jacobs, Patrick Doyle, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Lepacious Bose. Directed by Stanlee Ohikhuare, 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 ...

-assisted "Coco Baby". In August 2015, she released the single "Left for Good", featuring Patoranking and Godwin Strings. Waje was featured on "Strong Girl", the theme song for

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

'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 ...

for the Lagos campaign in 2015. Waje was announced as one of the judges on '' The Voice Nigeria'', alongside other Nigerian musicians, including 2face Idibia, Timi Dakolo and Patoranking.

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

In January 2019, Waje and Omawumi 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

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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'' 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 NGOs 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, 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)