Salawa Abeni: Waka queen who rose from housemaid to become famous singer with melodious voice
- Queen Salawa Abeni did not have life easy growing up, she was one of several kids born into a polygamous home
- The young Salawa armed with her melodious voice had always known that she wanted to be a star
- The Waka queen's life took a great turn when she was spotted by Lateef Adepoju, a businessman who had an interest in music
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Indigenous Yoruba music legends would not be complete without the mention of a talented woman who modernised Waka music, Queen Salawa Abeni.
Born into a polygamous home in Igbogun, one of the mangrove villages that border Ogun and Lagos state, Salawa's childhood was pretty rough, and when things took a terrible turn she was sent off as a housemaid in a neighbouring town.
Source: Instagram
She was blessed with a melodious voice which the people she worked for noticed and it was perfect for Waka music, an indigenous traditional Yoruba music mostly sung by women.
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Salawa soon started singing at every opportunity, when she was at play with friends or in a gathering of women. Soon enough, she started to sing at parties and social gatherings which brought her a lot of happiness.
The young singer knew she wanted to be a star, but had no idea how it would happen.
Fate smiled on her around 1974, when a businessman, Lateef Adepoju spotted her showcasing her raw talent at an event in Lagos.
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Salawa's life took a turn for good from that moment, she released an album two years later, the first of many and she became a household name.
Despite the stiff competition with male counterparts who had already made a name for themselves, the young queen rose to fame to become the legend she is today.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Patience Ozokwo went down memory lane to recall how her journey into Nollywood started.
Taking to her official Instagram page, the actress shared a throwback photo of her younger self, noting that the photo was from her early days in the movie industry.
According to Ozokwo, she was introduced to the film industry by Chief Zebrudaya also known as Chika Okpala, and Pete Eneh who is now late.
Source: Legit.ng
