Onyeka

Born Onyeka Owenu on 17 May 1961 in Onitsha, Nigeria, the singer has long navigated a path between mainstream global pop and the traditional sounds of eastern Nigeria while maintaining several pursuits beyond recording. She first studied journalism, earned a master’s degree in communications in the United States, and spent time at United Nations headquarters in New York before returning to Nigeria to join its television industry. In 1984 she presented the BBC Television documentary The Squandering Of The Riches, which examined the handling of the Nigerian economy. Her debut album, Onyeka, appeared in 1981 under the guidance of Sonny Okosun, with Endless Life following two years later. Both were issued by Nigerian EMI Records, whose financial practices prompted her in 1985 to establish the independent Ayolo label and release In The Morning Light. Later the same year Stern’s, the London specialist imprint, issued the unusual single “Trina 4,” whose reggae rhythms were paired with bagpipe melodies. After a stretch of relative quiet she joined King Sunny Ade for the late-1980s album Wait For Me, whose release sparked widespread debate once it emerged that the project had originated with the USAID Office Of Population’s campaign against overpopulation.