NOSTALGIA: THE LIJADU SISTERS

'Orere Elejigbo' exponents, the Lijadu Sister , born in the northern Nigeria city of Jos on October 22nd, 1948 are one of the more popular musician in Nigeria music scene of the 70s .Lijadu Sister are second cousin of Afro beat king Fela Kuti.

Early Life

At a very early age, the two girls were drawn to music; listening to records, singing, and writing songs together from their early childhood into their teenage years. Beginning as backing vocalists for studio sessions, the sisters eventually released a single under their own name, 1968's Iya Mi Jowo.

Music Career

With the assistance of multi-instrumentalist and producer Biddy Wright, the Lijadu sister would make four albums for Decca's Afrodisia imprint: 1976's Danger, 1977's Mother Africa , 1978's Sunshine and 1979's Horizon Unlimited.  These vibrant collisions of pop, reggae, and Afro-beat influences defined the sisters' unique hybrid sound and rocketed them to immense popularity in Nigeria, as well as gaining them the attention of a broader audience internationally. Throughout the '80s, their reach grew overseas, including appearances on British television and a repackaging of earlier songs in the form of U.S. label, 1984 collection ‘Double Trouble’

  Life in USA

By 1988 the sisters had relocated permanently to Brooklyn, with several offers of record deals on the table. Nothing panned out with any of these offers; however, they performed in various venues including the lower Manhattan club Wetlands and in Harlem with King Sunny Ade’s African Beats as their backing band. They performed with the Philadelphia-based band Philly Gumbo.^[1] They were featured in the music documentary Konkombé by English director Jeremy Marre, and their music was featured in the Nigerian instalment of the 14-episode world music series entitled Beats of the Heart which aired on PBS during the late 1980s. The two shifted gradually from a focus on music to deepening their practice of their Yoruba religion and the herbal remedies related to it.

In 1996, Kehinde suffered severe spinal injuries as the result of a fall down a flight of stairs. Recovery was long and painful, and all efforts formerly put toward creative endeavors were redirected to overcoming Kehinde 's medical issues. In the years that followed, the sisters stayed out of the public eye completely, turning down all interviews and other press requests.

The N.Y.C. label re-released all four of the sisters' classic late-'70s Afro-beat albums, and though it had been decades since their last public performances, plans were made for the sisters' return to the stage in 2012.