Sola Allyson-Obaniyi, popularly known as Shola Allyson or Sola Allyson (born on 24 September 1971), is a Nigerian

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

gospel singer Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compos ...

and songwriter. She came into limelight with the hit album ''Eji Owuro'' (2003), which was the soundtrack album for a film of the same title. After ''Eji Owuro'', she released albums including ''Gbeje F'ori'', ''Ire'' and ''Im'oore''. Her popular songs include "Eji Owuro", "Obinrin Ni Mi", "Aseye", and "Isinmi". She is also a voice coach, counsellor and a consultant. She also makes music covers for Nigerian movies.

Early life and education

Sola Allyson Obaniyi was born in

Ikorodu Ikorodu is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1 million inhabitants, Ikorodu is currently the 12th largest city in Nig ...

, Lagos State in the early 1970s. She was born into a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

family. She had her primary education at Anglican Primary School, Ikorodu, and attended Shams-el-deen Grammar School, Ikorodu for her secondary education. At Government Technical College, Agidingbi,

Ikeja Ikeja is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, cl ...

, she studied

Business Studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...

and obtained an NBTE Certificate. In 1997, she gained admission into

The Polytechnic, Ibadan The Polytechnic, Ibadan (also called Poly Ibadan) is an institution of higher learning in Ibadan in Oyo State, Nigeria. Founded in August 1970, Poly Ibadan is similar to other polytechnics in Nigeria. The institution was founded to offer an alt ...

to study

Music Technology Music technology is the study or the use of any device, mechanism, machine or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform music; to musical composition, compose, music notation, notate, playback or record songs or pieces; or to Music infor ...

, majoring in Voice and minoring in Music. Professor Oluwole Oladejo Adetiran mentored her music career. She later acquired a

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongside th ...

(HND) degree with an Upper Credit.

Career

Allyson started her career as a backup singer in the late 1980s, when she was thirteen. She later became a professional backup singer and worked with musicians including Yinka Ayefele, Gbenga Adeboye, Pasuma,

Obesere Abass Akande Obesere (born 20 January 1965), also known by his stage name Omo Rapala, is a Nigerian artist, singer and record producer who is a native of Ibadan, the largest city in Western Nigeria. A popular Fuji music, Fuji musician, Obeser ...

, and Daddy Showkey. The opportunity to make her first album, ''Eji Owuro'', came when she met a man with a movie script in a public bus. The man initiated a conversation about a film he had just concludedshooting, titled ''Orekelewa''. Allyson was called to sing a soundtrack for the film, which led to the change in the title of the film to ''Eji Owuro''. When the film was released, the studio decided to make a full music album for the film. The album became a huge success commercially and critically, launching Allyson into the music industry.

Personal life

Allyson got married in March 2003. She met her husband, Toyin Obaniyi, in the church choir. They have three children: Ayobami, Mopelola and Obafunmiwo.

Discography

Albums

*''Eji Owuro'' (2003) *''Gbe Je F'ori'' (2005) *''Ire'' (2007) *''Im'oore'' (2009) *''Adun'' (2012) *''Ope'' (2015) *''Imuse'' (2018) *''Iri'' (2019) *''Isodotun'' (2021) *''IMISI'' (2022)

Extended plays

* ''ÌṢỌ̀ṢỌ́'' (2023) * ''IPIN'' (2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allyson, Shola Nigerian gospel singers Nigerian soul singers Nigerian folklorists Living people Nigerian women singer-songwriters Nigerian women musicians Yoruba women musicians Yoruba musicians Yoruba-language singers of Nigeria 21st-century Nigerian women singers The Polytechnic, Ibadan alumni 1970s births Musicians from Lagos State Women folklorists Year of birth missing (living people)