Before Kehinde Lijadu passed away in 2019, they attended an interview in 2016 discussing their experience in the music industry: In the past, no one wanted to collaborate with a female singer, including record labels.According to Taiwo Lijadu, women in Nigeria had difficulty in the music industry. “They didn’t think women had brains back then.” Kehinde Lijadu, 71, passed away in New York City, United States, on November 9, 2019.
Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, and Dele Abiodun from Juju; Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the originator of Afrobeat; Sonny Okosuns, the originator of Ozzidizm; Victor Uwaifo, Prince Nico, and the Oriental Brothers, highlife rejuvenators; Ayinla Kollington and Ayinde Barrister from Fuji; Haruna Ishola, apala veteran; Salawa Abeni, waka child prodigy; and the Lijadu Sisters, roots-modernists. In the 1970s, men dominated the Nigerian music scene, with the exception of Abeni and the Lijadu Sisters.
Only a small number of female artists in Nigeria in the 1970s broke through from the backing singer/dancer stereotype to become solo stars; these artists included the Lijadu Sisters, whose repertoire included love songs, dance anthems, philosophy, and political/social commentary, and Abeni, whose lyrics were directly inspired by or based on Islamic scripture and folk wisdom.
