Ghanaian songstress Wiyaala on the rising popularity of African music, being compared to Grace Jones, and finding fame with her ‘androgynous’ image

Dubbed the ‘young Lioness of Africa’, Wiyaala is a musical force to be reckoned with. Hailing from Ghana, the fast-rising artist sings in both English and her native language, Sissala, creating a style that she calls ‘Sissala Pop.’

Often singing about the stories and traditions of her childhood, and fusing those tales with contemporary Western song structures, Wiyaala self-released her first album, Tuma, in 2009.

Three years later, she was a member of the group Black N Peach, who won the music reality show, Vodafone Icons Mixed Edition 2012.

But with solo success in her sights, the singer, born Noella Wiyaala, formed her own identity – opting to use her surname (which translates to “the doer” in Sissala) as her professional name, and adopting a fierce and fabulous image to match.
She went on to find favour with her 2013 hits Make Me Dance and Rock My Body, which were both nominated for awards at Ghana’s 4Syte TV Music Video Awards.



The following year was filled with further success. She released her World Cup anthem Go Go, Black Stars for Ghana’s national football team; she was confirmed as the face of Pepsi Ghana; she was nominated for Female Fashion Personality of The Year at the Fashion Icons Awards; and she won the award for the Most Promising Musician in Africa at The All Africa Music Awards.

Having also racked up a plethora of live performances, Wiyaala will now bring her unique style to UK shores, when she performs as part of the world renowned WOMAD music festival next month.



Here, the songstress talks to Life & Style about the rising popularity of African music in the mainstream; being compared to Grace Jones; and embracing her ‘androgynous’ image.

How do you describe your musical style?
I think Afro-pop would broadly define my musical style. I sing in Sissala, Waale and English, often mixing the languages up. So sometimes I call it Sissala Pop.

I often sing about the stories and the traditions of my childhood, using contemporary western song structures – you know like, verse, chorus; verse, chorus; bridge, chorus, etc. I think it’s because there is a very strong melodic tradition in the music of the West and my work shows that they can work well together.

What inspired your love of music?
My surroundings as a child played a huge part. My mother was a chorister so music was everywhere. I come from a family of songwriters and musicians, but I am the first one to make it out of the village.

There was no electricity and so we would make our own entertainment under the moonlight in the village. My song Siiko is about those days. Sometimes we might occasionally see videos of Madonna and Michael Jackson thanks to the one TV and generator in the village.

After the TV went off, I would imitate both of them, their dance moves and everything. I didn’t know what they were singing about so I would make up my own words to fit the melodies. Back then I was a star in my village. I was inspired by that as much as African musical traditions, which is why when you hear me today, you hear both influences.

What are your key memories of growing up in Ghana?
I used to walk around a lot scouting and hunting lizards with the boys using catapults. I also used to get beaten a lot for stubbornness and doing wild things – there was a special cane in the house reserved for me. I remember playing football, wrestling and looking for trouble. I was happy doing these things.

At school, you were described as ‘man-woman’, and now, as an artist, your image is often described as androgynous. Do you consider that an accurate description?
I love this question! Am I actually a man dressed as a woman? Well, last time I checked, I’m all woman. But yes, it is kind of accurate. I was always a little boy more than a little girl. I played aggressive football and at school I was known as ‘man-woman’. I ride big motorbikes and I am very strong for a girl. So to be honest, since it has helped me to gain identity in showbiz, I’ve encouraged it a little!

How do you feel about being compared to Grace Jones?
I love it! I’ve been compared to Angelique Kidjo, Mariam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, Tracy Chapman and most recently Katy Perry. What a line-up – even I’m impressed!

Recent years have seen the mainstream take a greater interest in African music, with increased radio airplay for Afrobeats, and major label signings of several African artists. Do you think this interest will be long-lasting?
Totally. African talent is just as good as any other. What is happening is that we Africans are now learning better how to make an impact. Standards of production and marketing are improving month by month.

What can audiences expect from your WOMAD performance and are you looking forward to it?
Looking forward to it? I’ve been waiting for this kind of stage since I was about five years old! I’ve actually got two performances at Womad. The first is to cook a traditional Ghanaian dish for the festival-goers at their Taste The World stand in the morning. The second is my musical performance. The food will be tasty and I will do a couple of acoustic numbers to help it go down well! As for the performance, I am an entertainer so if the audience don’t go home feeling good, I have not done my job. My musical menu will be full of contrasts, the echoes and sounds of my childhood, through to a total African rock-out vibe.

Anything else you’d like to add?
I want to tell your readers that I don’t believe Africa is a complete basket case. Africa is rising. There are many hugely talented young Africans and they are the future. I believe in that future.

Written by Davina Hamilton 

"There is real hope for the continent with the young people at the helm.” These are the words of the first President of Zambia, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, sentiments recently echoed by United States President Barack Obama during his recent visit to the continent. They are words which, if African leaders take to heart and implement fully, could see the region attain high standards and earn global accolades.

She from South Africa has had a lifelong passion for aviation, and she didn’t let an airline’s arbitrary rejection get in the way of letting her dreams take off. Sibongile Sambo launched her all-women-owned aviation company in Johannesburg in 2004 after suffering a professional setback.

Every entrepreneur knows that the success of their business ultimately rests on their shoulders. This is especially true in the early days.  Yes, the product you build and the team you hire are important, but your ability to lead is what carries your company.
With that kind of pressure, it’s easy to feel stressed, lonely and overwhelmed at times. Every great leader has faced a challenge that defined their greatness, which is why we often turn to their advice when needed.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, or team leader, here are 75 inspirational quotes when you need a little pep talk.

Empowering Africa’s youth is one of the most serious challenges facing the African continent today. Although many African countries are experiencing an economic boom, youth empowerment in Africa is at a crisis stage. While we have made great strides in providing access to education, we have not matched this with providing equal access to employment. African youth are attaining higher education levels than ever before, and with increasing access to internet and mobile connectivity, they are more exposed to Western ideals and aspirations than in previous generations.

Young educated Africans have come to expect the same opportunities to succeed as their western counterparts. It is these unfulfilled aspirations that are translating to anger and frustration among African youth, with deadly results.

Africa is experiencing an unprecedented wave of senseless violence, brutality and crime, the outcome of frustrated youth who are struggling to fit into a world that does not have opportunities that match their aspirations. The advent of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab, the senseless killings at the University in Garissa and the Westgate Mall in Kenya, as well as the recent Xenophobic attacks in South Africa were all perpetrated by angry young men, giving voice to their frustrations in the most horrific way.

We need to equip young Africans with the skills they need to thrive in the modern world. This is critical if we want to move African countries from emerging to developed markets and to harness this emerging talent that our youth represent.

So it is not surprising that youth empowerment is at the top of the agenda for most African governments. Young Africans enter the workforce at a faster rate than jobs are created and currently 40 million youth are out of work. The rise in the numbers of unemployed youth is directly proportional to the rising insecurity, hopelessness and despair that is manifesting in violence and insecurity across the continent.

What do the statistics tell us about employment in Africa?
According to the United Nations, 87% of the world’s youth population live in developing countries, and 72% live on less than US$2 a day. The Millennium Development Goals identify young people as among the most vulnerable sectors of the African population, upon whom issues such as poverty, hunger, lack of education, maternal mortality, unemployment and HIV/AIDS have a far greater impact. This is because young people often don’t have access to the information, schooling, social influence and basic rights needed to address these issues, and are often overlooked in national development agendas.

Looking further out, these problems are only set to rise unless an intervention is made. Africaneconomicoutlook.org recently released some concerning statistics. Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is becoming more youthful, with youth as a proportion of the total population projected at over 75% by 2015.
It is estimated that more than 50% of Africa’s youth, or 133 million youth lack sufficient business and life skills needed to enter into a productive economic and social life. Those that have some education often exhibit skills that are not sufficiently relevant to current demand in the labour market.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) in partnership with Dalberg Global Development Advisors conducted research to get to a better understanding of the issues driving youth unemployment in Africa, through a series of focus groups and interviews with youth in Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa. The findings showed that:

• Academic performance no longer guarantees employment as it did in the past: Despite increasing levels of academic achievement, 27% of sub-Saharan African companies surveyed said that youth are not gaining the practical, technical or soft skills that employers are looking for.
• Conversely, employers say that finding qualified talent is challenging: In South Africa, 81% of businesses struggle to source talent, leading to as many as 650 000 jobs remaining vacant.
• Youth lack the resources and networks to seek employment opportunities: Disadvantaged youth do not have the resources or networks needed to find work in the formal sector. In South Africa, approximately 23% of unemployed youth do not even have enough money for transport to look for a job.

What this tells us is that education alone is not sufficient to remove the barriers to employment and education. For example, a brilliant young university graduate who comes from a disadvantaged background and whose family and social networks are primarily in the informal economy may find it difficult to “network” and find opportunities in the formal employment sector.

The challenge around solving the issue of youth unemployment in Africa, therefore, is not just about creating more jobs it is also about matching youth skills to jobs and, once in jobs, enabling them to thrive in the workplace. Considering the complexity of the challenge, we need to help young people increase their productivity in order to expand the options they have to be economically active, for example by providing soft skills to enable them to market themselves better, seek employment effectively, and, once they are gainfully working, to thrive and succeed.

Our survey established that African youth have higher aspirations and expectations about the type of job that they are looking for than their parents did. They also value autonomy and are more open to entrepreneurship as a way to have control over their own lives. They place more of a premium on finding a good job “fit” and or achieving affluence quickly, than on getting a “stable” job that may pay the bills but doesn’t leave anything for the luxuries in life that they aspire to.

Solutions
The research revealed several solutions to the issues of youth unemployment, which if pursed in tandem give African communities a real chance at resolving this issue.

• Scalable youth inspired opportunities

1. Youth are connected and exposed through technology and need solutions that can match their aspirations to create social and economic benefits that they can earn a living from.

• Private sector engagement

1. To enable young people access the few existing opportunities, the private sector needs to dedicate itself to expanding opportunities for all young people, for example by finding opportunities within their value chain where young people can add value for economic gain. The Coca-Cola Company has been doing so through micro-franchising and is now going to create a micro franchise model that is youth inspired.

• Creating opportunities for entrepreneurship

Africa simply is unable to generate enough jobs to accommodate the large numbers of youth graduating from high school each year. In addition to expanding the number or opportunities for young Africans to secure gainful employment, entrepreneurship affords young people the autonomy that they desire, in determining their destiny.

As such, any solution to the youth empowerment issue needs to include a mechanism that allows young people to create their own jobs, not just for the sake of employment, but also to enable our economies to thrive and grow at the pace needed for us to achieve our development goals. To catch up with the developed world, Africa will need to grow faster and innovate more aggressively than ever before.

African youth live a unique existence, in many ways acting as a bridge between the developed world in which they are now living in, and the developing world of their parents’ generation. As such African Youth display a marvelous combination of high aspirations and pragmatism, excellent qualities needed for a budding entrepreneur. Harnessing the incredible energy and ambition of a young and growing population will be critical for Africa to achieve our development goals. We must work hard to take advantage of this growing pool of talent, and move quickly to create opportunities for them to succeed.

How can The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation support African youth?
Africa’s youth have proven that with the right support, they are capable of achieving more than we could ever have imagined. This was ably demonstrated with the recent awarding of an Academy Award to a young African woman, one of only a handful of blacks and the first African to ever win an Oscar.

Coca-Cola is investing in youth development because we believe in the tremendous potential of Africa’s youth and we believe that as a Company that actively seeks to connect with youth every day, we are uniquely qualified to help to unleash their potential.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, in partnership with several partners including Mercy Corps, Microsoft, have launched the Youth Empowered for Success (YES!) initiative. By 2017 we will empower 25 000 young Africans in six countries with the skills needed to create and access sustainable, safe and productive jobs. The programme will support disadvantaged and vulnerable youth between the ages of 18 and 35 in Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda through access to soft skills, access to jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities through a job matching platform, e-mentoring, access to finance/financial services, and access to ongoing upskilling to support career advancement.

We believe that an issue as critical as youth economic empowerment requires bold ambitious action. We extend a challenge to other organisations to join Coca-Cola in this exciting journey to unleash the potential of Africa’s talented youth, and in so doing, turn an emerging problem into the solution that will dramatically accelerate Africa’s growth and innovation.

The writer, Dr Susan Mboya-Kidero, is the President of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation