Aralola Olamuyiwa (born January 23, 1975), commonly known by her stage name Ara, is a female singer, entertainer, talking drummer, and the cultural ambassador of the
Ooni of Ife
The Ooni of Ile-Ife (Ọọ̀ni of Ilè-Ifẹ̀) is the traditional ruler of Ifẹ, Ilé-Ifẹ̀. The Ooni dynasty existed before the reign of Oduduwa which historians have argued to have been between the 7th-9th centuries A.D.
After the de ...
.
She is the foremost female drummer in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.
Widely travelled, she has performed both locally and internationally to critical acclaim, sharing the stage with the legend
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
, in one of her rapturous performances. In a career spanning four decades, Ara has lived up to her stage name.
She was born in
Lagos State
Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...
and hails from
Ondo State
Ondo () is a States of Nigeria, state in Points of the compass, southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State (Nigeria), Western State. Ondo borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast fo ...
.
Education
She spent a good part of her childhood in Warri
The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...
, Delta state
Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...
, where she attended Nana Primary School, Our Ladies High School, and Folashaye Girls Grammar School.University of Ilorin
University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the ancient city of Ilorin; making ...
as a fresh law student, but left and later returned, this time to Ambrose Ali University Ekpoma
Ekpoma is a town in Edo State, Nigeria. It is the administrative headquarters of the Esan West Local Government Area. Ekpoma lies on the geographical coordinate of latitude .
The town has an official Post Office, and it is home to the Ambrose ...
, Edo State
Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...
, where she studied English Language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
.[
]
Career
She was born into a music-loving family that also appreciated excellence. Her journey into musical excellence began at a tender age, and had written her first song before age 10.[
According to her, she started playing drums at the young age of five.
She went from performing at family events and corporate events to becoming the head drummer and rshe epresented her school in many singing and choral competitions in which she won numerous awards. She admitted her love for music was influenced by her father. She also admitted to playing drums during her days in secondary school.][
She came to the limelight in 2000 with her first video titled ‘Which one you dey,” recorded by Ebenezer studio between 1998 and 1999.]Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...
, Black Mayors Caucus in America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...
, Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...
and Broadway executives. She recently collaborated with 2face Idibia
Innocent Ujah Idibia Order of the Niger, MON (; born 18 September 1975), known by his stage name 2Baba and formerly as 2Face Idibia, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, record producer and philanthropist known for his solo debut album, ''Face 2 Fa ...
for the remake of Ebenezer Obey's classic “Olomi”. She is an awardee of the Nigeria Books Of Record
Personal life
She married her ex-husband, Prince Nurudeen Olalekan Saliu, and has a son with him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olamuyiwa, Aralola
1975 births
Nigerian drummers
Living people
University of Ilorin alumni