Wiyaala biography of donald

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Today, she is one of Africa’s most distinctive voices – a fearless performer, cultural preservationist, and gender equality advocate.

Her songs are stitched from many tongues – Sissala, Waala, English – and her costumes speak before she sings, echoing both ancestry and revolution. She began a solo career in 2013 with the smash tune “Rock My Body,” which earned her two honours at the 2014 first edition of the All Africa Music Awards: Most Promising Artiste in Africa and Revelation of The African Continent.

wiyaala biography of donald

Wiyaala appeared on the BBC to discuss early child marriage and expressed sympathy for feminism as a means of encouraging young girls to complete their education so that they can make their own life choices. AJ Nelson’s “Power to the People” and Dark Suburb’s “Mama” were both featured in 2015.

Wiyaala made her television acting debut in the hit Viasat 1 comedy series MultiKoloured in late 2013.

She has been praised as a youth icon and an inspiration for young Ghanaians to strive for success by Vodafone for her achievements.

Wiyaala was nominated for six Vodafone Ghana Music Awards in 2015, winning Best Songwriter and Best Female Vocalist. The night promises an electrifying journey through Afro-folk, pop, and dance rhythms – followed by an Afro party with DJs Dark Jay and Tsetun Tsentanaua.

No problems so far!

As for combining – everything combines and influences. They don’t have to get pregnant in their teens. Sometimes it’s an obvious choice – the song is an adaptation of a traditional song in one of the languages. How do you reconcile being a voice of resistance and an ambassador of joy in the same body of work?

It’s not a contradiction.

Wiyaala was nominated for the Ghana Sports Excellence Awards 2014 as Best Sporting Artist.

Wiyaala took home two of the coveted 23.9-carat gold-plated trophies for “The Most Promising Artist in Africa” and “The Revelation of the African Continent” at the maiden edition of the All Africa Music Awards, which took place on December 27, 2014 in Lagos.

We have a saying: “You don’t know who you are unless you know where you came from.” These simple things underpin my outlook.

Your music flows seamlessly between Sissala, Waala, and English. Angelique Kidjo, Miriam Makeba, and Brenda Fassie are among the African artists she admires. An irrepressible extrovert since childhood, Wiyaala is an award winning African star who never fails to excite and inspire love.  With her dancing, polyglot and engaged songs, Wiyaala performs an Africa that is both modern and traditional.

Wiyaala's music references West African Folk traditions and contemporary Afro-Pop, sometimes evoking comparisons with African stars such as Mariam Makeeba, Brenda Fassie and Angelique Kidjo. 

The second of four sisters and thanks to her musical mother, Wiyaala was spared the horrors of FGM and child marriage whilst attracting attention as a child entertainer, dancer, artist and footballer despite growing up in a patriarchal society often hostile to artistic growth.      

In 2012, she travelled to the capital city Accra and won the Vodafone Icons Reality Show.

As my song When The Lord Get Us Ready says: Do your thing. Owning plenty of cattle traditionally symbolises wealth and resilience. So it’s a natural process.

Would you ever consider releasing a photo book or short film that visually narrates the journey of your albums? She also performed at the 2014 Stanbic Ghana Jazz Festival’s opening ceremony.

The single “Go Go Black Stars…Goal!” was released in April 2014 on the Djimba World Records label and incorporates tribal percussion and stadium choruses in English and Ghanaian languages.

Wiyaala means “the doer” in Sissala. It’s made them realise that there are choices. I do both because we all do – we laugh through pain and adversity, and dance through hardship.

When you return to your hometown or travel through rural Ghana, what stories or reactions remind you that your music is doing more than entertaining – it’s empowering?

I never set out to be a role model.

And they are so big, bold, and with all those black seeds inside – a potent symbol of fertility! As a young person, I never realised that having a public face would mean becoming influential. It gave them hope that they, too, could do something to better their lives.

The girls also saw that I had not married early in the traditional way and had babies.