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Queen HALIMAT OMOWURA Tells City People
One of the most enduring traditional Yoruba music till date is Apala music. It’s a genre of Yoruba music made popular by the late Ayinla Omowura. Apala was big in the 70s down to the 80s. Ayinla died in 1980 and his death has remained a watershed in Yoruba popular culture. The vacuum created by his tragic demise has remained impossible to fill to this day. No artist has been able to play Apala music like Ayinla Omowura did. But, surprisingly, one person that has been able to make an impact in the Apala genre has been the daughter of the Apala Icon himself, Halimat Ayinla Omowura.
The very beautiful Halimat says she has been playing Apala music for over twenty years and it has been no roller coaster ride for her. It is no walk in the park for a lady to play Apala music and play it well. But everyone that has watched Halimat perform agrees she is an extra ordinary talent. No other person, apart from her late father, can sing Apala like she does. Her stage presence is impressive and her delivery of her brand of Apala music is quite appealing. This is why many people are talking about her and her exploits in the music industry right now. They are impressed with her. They love the way she plays her brand of Apala music.
Two Sundays ago, Halimat was honoured at the City People Music Awards for her contribution to the growth of Apala music. It was an elated Halimat that spoke with City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290). She revealed how challenging it has been for her trying to keep her father’s Apala music legacies alive.
Not many people know that late Ayinla Omowura had a daughter that sings Apala so well like you do. How do you feel when people show you so much love and respect as Ayinla Omowura’s daughter after listening to you sing and also tell how proud they are of your father’s legacies?
Well, I feel honoured, I feel elated. I feel proud that I am Ayinla Omowura’s daughter. I am so overjoyed right now because, for me to be considered worthy of a City People Music Award means a great deal to me. If a horse is ridden inside me right now, it would move without a hitch, that’s how excited I am right now. This award is not just for me, its also for my father, and this, by the grace of God, is just the beginning of many more awards. I now use this opportunity to thank the Publisher of City People, Otunba Dr. Seye Kehinde, may he and his organisation continue to grow from strength to strength. They will contnue to prosper in all they lay their hands on.
When I got the notification of this award, I was surperised. I was surprised, not because I didn’t think I could ever reach the height of being considered for recognition, but because I didn’t expect Dr. Seye Kehinde to ever think of bringing the daughter of Ayinla Omowura, the son of Yusuf Olatunji, son of Haruna Ishola and other artistes, without asking them for anything, is something very novel. He deserves commendation. This has gone a long way in encouraging people likje us to put more efforts in what we are doing because, clearly, there are so many out there who appreciate our efforts and creativity.
When did you start singing Apala? From your performance that I just saw moments ago, you clearly did not start singing yesterday?
You are right, I started singing over twenty years ago. I have done some records as well. I have about three released cassettes to my name. I felt I should do Apala music because so many others are already into gospel music, fuji, juju, Juju music, so I nedded to do something unique. But most importantly, I didn’t want my father’s Apala music to just fade away like that, I felt I needed to revive it and make it even stronger. And besides, no woman has ever sang Apala music, so that was a motivation for me, to do something unique. With the backing of God and some well meaning Nigerians like Dr. Seye Kehinde, it has been encouraging. Many people love Apala music, but they are not willing to invest in it. So, with the help we are getting from City People in terms of publicity, maybe soon, we will get somebody to invest in the music.
What are the challenges you have had to contend with so far in terms of looking for sponsorship?
There are so many challenges. The three cassettes I said I did, I had to do them all on my own. There was no sponsor, there was no support. I had to do everything on my own because I do not want Apala music to die. People love the music but getting them to love it enough to put down their money has been a major challenge. This is why we are appealing to our government to come to our aid and support us in whatever way they can because in Apala music, you will find embedded in it our rich culture and tradition. When my father was singing, he used a lot of Yoruba chants. You have to be knowledgeable in Yoruba proverbs to do Apala music, these are the components that make the music so appealing and beautiful to listen to. These days, people often say the country or society is disintegrating, its because we are not uplifting our cultural values and tradition. And it’s from music like Apala that a lot of the hip-hop artistes get a lot of their contents from, meanwhile, those of us who are the custodians of the music, we don’t get any form of support.
When your father was alive, did you show signs that you were going to go into music someday?
I was quite young when my father passed away. I was just five years old. The thing is, it was right inside our house that they practised every Thursday and I was always present because he used to call me his mother. And you know, because of that bond between us, I was always around him. Maybe it was from there that I picked it up from, it’s possible. But I also do know that, as young as I was then, I loved my father so much and never joked with him.
How old were you when you decided to take up singing Apala music as a profession?
I was already above thirty years old then. I am approaching my 50th birthday right now, so I definitely was over thirty at the time. Even when I finished my secondary education and proceeded to the School of Health Education, I was still very much involved in entertainment and cultural activities. I loved to be with the Kegites, I loved to be where there is dancing and singing. Once I hear music and dance, I come alive. I abandoned a lot of my academic responsibilities back then because of the entertainment blood running in my vein, something I obviously got from my father. Even when I practiced nursing for over ten years, it was still music that was priority for me.
The death of your dad must also have affected your growth in the profession, don’t you think, because if he was alive, he definitely would’ve supported and encouraged you?
Well, the truth is, he may not have agreed for me to go into music. Though he used to say to people then that he had a baby that wants to entertain them because as a child, I was always singing all over the place, so, he knew I liked music. But he may or may not have allowed me go into music because, if you noticed, most of the musicians of that time didn’t encourage their kids to sing because the profession came with a lot of hazards back then. Music profession is now much easier with less hazards. If any of my kids say to me now that they wanty to do music, I will encourage that child, but I will insist they finish their university education first. Once the child is done with education, they can go into music.
How about your father’s numerous fans back then, are they still together as fans of Ayinla Omowura? Are they not encouraging you in any way?
Yes, when I started back then, I still met a few of them. You know, even for me, at the start, it was really difficult for me to sing Apala because I couldn’t even hear most of what my father was singing. So, I would go to their houses with pen and note and ask them, what did my father say here, what is he talking about here? It wasn’t easy at all at first, but through their help, I started picking up bit by bit. But these days, most of them have passed on. They were already old then. If my father was alive he would’ve been over 90 years of age by now.
What are your plans to bring some innovation into Apala music because you’re young and you will definitely want the youths to also enjoy and follow Apala music?
When I recorded my first record, I titled it, Apala Gbode. The second one, I titled it, “Like father, like daughter,’ and I did those ones the way my father did his Apala music. But I now realized, these days, you have to tune to where the rest of the world is going, so that’s why I now used many of the modern instruments used in modern music and infused it into my Apala and called it ‘Apala Extra ordinary.’ Some people were upset, saying that I contaminated their Apala music with new music elements, but do you know that Apala Extraordinary did far better than the previous records? So, I’m happy now that anywhere I go, I can play on the key board, I can play on anything. And this is where we know those who are ready to work and those who are not. You cannot say you only want to remain on the same spot where you met Apala music. So, for me to be Iyalode Oganla for Pasuma, it’s because I can play on any kind of music instrument given to me by any band. So, I have blended the old Apala into current trend of music.
That’s fantastic. So, when did you release this Apala Extra ordinary into the market?
It was last year.
And how did it do?
Like I said, it did pretty well. It enjoyed tremendous air play.
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