Salawa Abeni is queen in a music genre where all the men are kings. Think back to her duet with Kollington. Remember her singing – Kollington professor, Salawa Waka Queen. Thisislagos reminds us why she is queen…
Salawa Abeni’s last album released two years ago was titled Recovery.
She reportedly said it was basically because of her recent health challenge, which she is thankful is over that’s why she gave it that title. But even that health challenge could not unseat the Queen of Waka music, a title she got in 1992 courtesy of the then Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, for taking the brand of music to heights the originators probably never dreamed of.
Born Salawa Abeni Alidu on May 5, 1961, the singer has come a long way from when she started singing at 13 in spite of the concerted efforts by her family to stymie her desire to attempt a career in music.
Those were difficult days to venture into music according to the singer from Ijebu Waterside, in Ogun State, who is encouraging her own son, Big Sheff’s career in music.
The limelight came to her with the release of her first album, Memoriam: Late Murtala Ramat Muhammed Volume 1 in 1976 in honour of the late head of state Murtala Mohammed and except for the time when she was ill, she has never looked back.
Salads Abeni has said that she is desirous of bouncing back big time in her music career and has been performing since her recovery from an illness for which she made several medical trips abroad.
The singer who back then used to listen to the radio and pray the people would one day listen to her songs the way she listened to King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, among others, has had her dream come true and more.
She has lived her life exactly how she wanted to live it, singing through it all. “I will continue to sing till my last days,” she said in a recent interview.