For Aralola Olumuyiwa, the first notable female drummer in Nigeria, fate has so far been fair. As a young girl who grew up in the midst of boys, she was attuned to the ways of men. While in the secondary school, she picked a flair for beating the talking drum and groomed herself to standing out and winning several awards even when everyone thought it was a crazy idea. Her success story has positioned her today as a mentor of note to many youths both male and female.
Yemisi Olusina
Just like the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti did with the Afro beat that is today acceptable worldwide even after his demise, Aralola Sherifat Olumuyiwa has made “Gangan fusion” her genre of music that stands out in the world of traditional music.
It is a conjunction of different forms of music from all parts of the world with a strong African motif.
Talking about the genesis of her passion, Aralola told this newspaper that it was a mixture of passion with heredity. She said: “I grew up in the midst of men and always act the way of men. I was the type that many would readily describe as a tomboy. Nobody was in this kind of music in my immediate family but history told me that it can be traced to my mother’s side.”
Her passion endeared her to many friends mostly guys but she was too busy with her dream to give them any attention. “I had my growing up years in Warri and I had a lot of fun memories. As a pupil in primary school days and even secondary, I’ve been the head of the cultural group. I was the social prefect, the head drummer and won a lot of competitions, beating all the boys hands down. I had been leading my cultural group with boys as my group members since then. It was fun way back then in secondary school especially because all the boys wanted to get closer to me but I was a tom-boy who didn’t have such space and time,” she said.
All these while, she was attracted to the talking drum but was discouraged by the fact that it was an all-men affair. “I had always loved the talking drum but what kept me away from playing it was the fact that it was played by only men. I got inquisitive and asked my uncles and aunts why this was so and whether I could touch it. Well, no one said I should not play it but the fact remained that no woman was involved playing it,” she recalled.
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One day, however, luck smiled on her. “There was this old man called Olopade, he was an indigene of Ondo town but is late now. He had a talking drum and my great grandfather had a place in Ondo town where drummers always gathered. This gave me an access to all these drums, so, one day, I tried my hands on it. Well, I did and nothing bad happened like I was made to think. I also tried my hands on other musical instruments like the saxophone and the acoustic. When I made sounds with the drums someone saw me and asked if I wanted to play it and I said yes. He encouraged me to go ahead but have in my mind that women did not play it. This man ended up being my manager at the end of the day,” she said.
Since then, Ara had not look back. Looking back now, Ara spoke about what worked for her: “In my early life, I recognized my innate talent and quickly grasped the element of music. I started playing African percussion like the Konga in my primary school days, this I developed up to my secondary school where I formed my own band and later joined several bands cutting my teeth in music.”
On the peculiarity of her music, she said, “My lyrics speak to humanity, so that everyone everywhere will be able to feel it. I aim to make Africa proud. None of the great African artistes out there like Sade Adu, for instance, were groomed in Africa. As such, they cannot really project African values. I want to be the first home grown African artiste that would make such a telling impact as to make people look up and regard African cultue and accept it for what it really is.”
Reflecting on her radical fashion sense, Ara said it is intended to bring out the inner beauty of the African people. “My choice of hair style is intentional. It tells of the uniqueness of my art and it is intended to promote the African music and culture to the greater height. My stylist is from Cotonou and it takes them about 18 hours to completely braid it,” she told The Nigerian Xpress.
She plans this year to attend great cultural festivals all over the world and to continue to propagate the rich culture and heritage.
“You can’t be tired of getting the best fr om me and this I’m ready to give you throughout the year and beyond,” she declared.