Funky female Juju musician, Queen Ayo Balogun, is a woman with many firsts. She was the first Nigerian female to become a professional Juju musician, the first President of the Association of Juju Musicians, and the first Nigerian female professional musician to campaign against women in showbiz dumping their husbands. She combines her music with a sense of fashion and style along with an administrative skill which was garnered in the past working as a secretary. Her best part is when she begins to sing. The excitement once led a fan to hold on to the edge of her wrapper, refusing to let go! It was one of the challenges she encounters as a female musician. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, Ayo Balogun goes down memory lane, opening up on how she handles the female side of life in a male-dominated music industry.
You play juju music. Tell us, what is juju music to you?
Juju music to me is a special kind of music. It is a percussion-oriented music. I will say that it is one of the most difficult brands of music that I know. That is because it attracts too many instruments, too much percussion. It is very common in this kind of music to see an artiste having over 20 or 30 people in a band. And you have to fix your lyrics into the percussion or heavy instruments. That makes it difficult because you have to be in line with the percussion and also be in line with the tunes given to you by the guitars and the keyboards
How come you know about music?
(Laughs) I am a certificated musician. I read and write music. I went to a school of music. However, with Juju music, you do not necessarily have to be learned in the art of writing music in the scholarly form. That is because, as it is presently, it is deep mainly in traditional, cultural life of the people. But my experience in studying music has really helped me to go in line with the instruments, especially the keyboards. Though I do not play the keyboards, but if you strike any cord, I can identify it and even correct you, if you are wrong. I can also identify the cords that are suitable at any particular time.
Where did you study music?
I went to the Diploma School of Music in Lagos. Afterwards I took examinations from the London Royal School of Music.
Why music? I mean for a woman, one would not expect that you would toe a professional part in music?
Music has been what naturally came to me at childhood. I joined the church choir quite early in my childhood days. Presently, I am even still a member of a church choir. That early start in the choir gave me the basic musical knowledge that I needed to do more. It aided me much later when I decided to go to school to study the subject. Talking about juju music, I would say that it is something that started in me while I was in the church choir of the Cherubim & Seraphim Church. There in our church choir, we used a lot of equipment, percussion which helped in training me in the art of being a musician.
I didn’t, however, set out early in life to be a professional musician. I didn’t plan it. Somehow, I found myself here. And right now, I love every minute of it all.
How was your first time experience playing music as a juju musician?
It was a friend of mine who lost her father at that time that approached me with a request to perform at her event. She actually reminded me that I had been going out with my church choir to do such duties at church events. She urged me to do the same at the burial reception party of her late father in order to reduce her expenses.
I accepted to do it because it sounded like a good idea to me. At the event, I was overwhelmed with the acceptance, everyone there was surprised that a woman could actually do it. That also was because at that time, I was the only woman out there playing juju music.
But that was just one event. How did you move on from there, was there instant patronage?
Yes, the patronage came from people that saw me perform at that first event. They started calling me and requesting that I perform at their events. It didn’t come in absolute rush like that, but the requests began to grow and grow and gradually, I found myself deeper and deeper into juju music.
As a chorister, I guess you must have been singing gospel music. So how did you know that you could sing juju music?
(Laughs) In my youthful days, I used to listen to top juju musicians like King Sunny Ade, Chief Ebenezer Obey, the late I. K Dairo. I used to attend a lot of the parties where he performed, even parties where Sir Shina Peters played. So with the kind of music we played in church, I had already mastered the performance with a lot of percussion and the knowledge of fixing lyrics into percussion.
How unique is your music from that of the other juju musicians?
When I started, I had to give the listeners what they were already used to. From there I gradually started to infuse my style of beats and lyrics. When I started, at parties, people requested for the songs of other popular musicians. They did not know I had my personal song ideas. They wanted KSA’s songs, those of Admiral Dele Abiodun and others. But I knew that I had to build my own songs and style. So gradually I started dishing out what I call ‘Queen’s flavour.’
What exactly is Queen’s flavour?
It has to do with the Spanish way of playing the guitar. In Yoruba we call it the Owambe series: A special way that the guitar notes sound. I used to love it a lot. I play around singing the song but also I wait for the guitarist and the keyboards to make their impressions too. It also implies that I structure my songs in a way to allow the keyboards and guitars to do their instrumentations.
How has the acceptance been?
The acceptance has been awesome. I am very busy. I have a performance at a 50th birthday party coming up soon in Canada. I am preparing myself towards that. After that, I am moving to the United States of America where I play every year in Boston. It is like they consciously hold that party because they know that I am always there at that time of the year in the city. Before I leave the USA, I will make show stop-overs at Houston, Texas, Dallas, New York, Rhode Island. This is an annual thing for me now. Sometimes I go playing at parties in London too.
So how about Nigeria, what do you do over here?
I play an average of three shows in a week here in Nigeria.
It is a male-dominated profession. When you set out to be a professional Juju musician, how did your male counterparts feel about you?
I was surprised and overwhelmed by the showers of acceptance I received from my male counterparts when I became a professional musician. It was awesome. It was like they had all been waiting for my arrival; even now they love and appreciate me. They gave me lots of encouragement. They have also been pleased that I am carrying on very well. That is because doing something is one thing and doing it well is another thing.
No one will forgive you if you mess up their party. The celebrants will not forgive you. They would not call you another time. And knowing Nigerians well, they love quality. So I target doing well at parties because that determines where next you go to. And when I get at least two or three shows from an earlier party I performed at, and then I know that I have done well and doing something right.
You have a youthful look, are you growing older or younger?
Did you just say growing younger? That must be a compliment, so I say thank you (laughs).
You are the President of The Association of Juju musicians. You are young in comparison with the few other popular senior colleagues of yours like KSA, Obey and so on. Does this bother you?
The truth is that King Sunny Ade and Chief Ebenezer Obey are our grand patrons. I am the president, while we have Admiral Dele Abiodun as a member of the Board of Trustees, while Sir Shina Peters is the Chairman of the Board and so on and so forth. Being the president has nothing to do with age or sex. If you know your onions and you are doing it well, things will fall in place for you. I must tell you that I was handpicked though the other positions were well contested for.
In my case, it was a unanimous decision. I am the person that the members wanted to be the president of the association. The members trusted me and I thank God that I have been able to live up to their expectations. Though it is not exactly easy to impress everybody or please everybody, but I know that I am trying my best to do just that.
Can you tell us one or two innovations that you have brought into the association since you emerged as the president?
As the president of the body, the first thing I did was to be sure that the association was registered. I do not like doing something illegal or doing things in a mushroom way. We then started ‘Juju Music Day.’ It was held on the 1st of May last year across the various cities where Juju music is played in Nigeria and outside the country. We have had series of CDs on that selling on the street so that everybody who wants it can have a copy.
The event should have been held at the same time this year, but was postponed due to the general elections that took place in the country. Now that all that is over, we intend to sit and deliberate on how to hold the event this year. We have organised the association in such a way that we now have units in the grassroots, that is in the local governments. We now have zonal, state chapters and the national headquarters. We have tried to encourage people who are interested in this profession and who are also interested in producing musical albums to do so.
But with such elaborate incorporation of numbers into the association, why is it that only a few popular juju musicians are all over the place with shows, is it that there are no other major talents?
There are lots of talents among us, but we must remember that it is not the day that you start playing music that you will become popular. You have to pay your dues. For instance, nobody knows that I have been in this music business for over 20 years. However, it is not the day or year that I started that I became this popular. It took time for information to circulate and total acceptance to come. There are definitely some upcoming ones among us that are very promising. I am sure that you have been hearing new names in the Juju music scene and even more women now playing the music. So, it is a gradual thing. I am sure that someday, they too will get there.
So what endears people to you, how do you describe yourself?
I may not be able to blow my trumpet. For instance, I am already stammering. It may be difficult for me to know why people love me. But what I hear people say about me is that, they love the way I relate to people. Some of my fans have actually become like a family to me. I call them regularly to find out how they are and how things are with them. I call to ask about their well being to show that I care.
That is because if you show care, they are bound to show care for you too and continue to support you. I believe that must be what has endeared my fans to me. For instance, I have fans that are usually at most of my shows. All I do is to call them and tell them that I will be at so and so place, and they will be there. They are my loyal fans; they have followed me like that over the years to my shows, both male and female.
What is your style like?
I believe in fashion because looking good is always good business. Fashion to me is something that I am comfortable in, something that suits the figure. If you are somewhat plump and you are wearing tight fitting clothes, it is not likely to look good on you. You have to wear what suits your figure and at the same time fits your colour. It just has to be what I am comfortable in.
Looking at you with your adornments one, can easily notice that you love wearing fashion accessories. So which one will you not do without?
(Laughs) I actually cannot do without all the accessories that I am presently wearing. Each one has to be there to complement the other. Someone actually asked me if I must look perfect all the time. I replied that yeah, it is actually the way to go.
You have had this low cut hairstyle which you have maintained over the years, any specific reason?
That is simple. It is because it is comfortable for me. I do not have the time to go to the hairdressers’ place and sit down there for hours. With a busy schedule and a party to attend to perform most of the time, there is really not much time for different kinds of hair-do. Or what excuse will I give to a party celebrant if I happen to be late to his or her event? Will I say that I was at a hair stylist’s place? Performers do not give excuses. The hair is even much these days, it used to be skin-cut at a time (Laughs).
Juju musicians are popularly known to perform in traditional attire. But you came along wearing funky, western clothes while performing at events. Any special reason?
I believe that as a musician, one has to dress according to the occasion. If it is a wedding, you will see me in gele and traditional dress. But for a birthday party where there is no popular choice of an aso ebi, I can go in funky western outfit. During the week, I am mostly in shirt, blouse, skirt or long pants. Sometimes during the week when all I’m doing is to go to the office, I may decide to wear a suit like a banker (laughs). That has been my life. The day dictates the style.
What earlier things did you do before going professional with music?
I was once a secretary to the Medical Director of Ajanaku Hospital and Maternity Home.
Has being a celebrity changed or affected your lifestyle?
Initially I didn’t find it funny because I was a very private person. But after a while, I started getting used to it. Right now, I am at home with the fact that anywhere I go there is always someone or people who stop to say hello. I am now used to the fact that my fans appreciate me and want to identify with me. I am actually enjoying it now.
How do you cope with the male fans who want more of you personally? And how do you handle admirers who get carried away with your stardom?
Maybe if I had come into limelight as a teenager, it would have been different. Maybe I would have got carried away with stardom. But with my present age, I am certain that I know what I truly want in life. It’s true that I may look young, but I know that at my age, I know what I want, which is my music and not the male admirers. It’s true that some find me attractive, some even ask me out, but it is left for me to decide what I want to offer.
I have to decide what I want to sell. And to decide that is not difficult for me. I certainly know what I want to sell. Even the way a lady presents herself matters. As a performer, once you are through with the show, you are supposed to leave, more especially for a female musician, you do not wait and hang around the place because, that is when you start to encourage the male admirers that you are available. If you do not give them any encouragement, they will realise that it is strictly a business thing.
If you were not to be singing, what else would you have loved to do?
I would be a trader selling clothes because I love fashion. After music, I love fashion. I actually did some form of trading for a while before music took over everything.
You travel a lot for shows, how about family?
I have grown-up children who can take care of themselves. They were still young when I started music professionally though, but I thank God for children that understand, a family that understands. They know that when I am out there, it is for work. Nonetheless, when I am around, I ensure that I devote time for them. After office hours, I go home to attend to my family.
The music business is dominated by the male folk and the male folks are said to most often have a girl to ‘play’ with when they travel out of town. So what do the female musicians do when they are out of town?
This is why we hold seminars, we organise lectures for ourselves to educate each other on what to do and what not to do. As the president of our organization, for instance, I spell it out to the female members that decency is essential in whatever we do. Also, people used to say that people in show business do not stay married to a partner. But I thank God that the story is changing now. Most juju singing female musicians are married and they remain in their husbands’ houses. I am sure that they will stay permanently in their husbands’ homes. We also do relate with their husbands in order to encourage them in their professional wellbeing. That goes a long way to re-assure the husbands that even if their wives are out there, all is well. We guide them in order that they do not miss their emotional bearing.
How about handling of money issues, most musicians can be on top of the world today, the next year they are broke and the condition of life changes for them. What do you have to say about that?
It is piracy that is killing musicians. When you have an album and you print out 2,000 copies, for instance, and the next thing is that you find out that your album has flooded the market. It means no more money for you. How then does a musician profit from his labour? We are urging the government to look into this for us. If you ask any musician, that is the story he will tell you, even the filmmakers too, are experiencing the same thing.
Your most embarrassing moment?
That happened in the past; someone was even holding unto the edge of my wrapper. He was excited about my music. But I have gone past that level now. We take more precaution these days.
