Biography
During Nigeria's vibrant 1970s music landscape, the Lijadu Sisters stood out as one of its most celebrated acts, issuing several albums that highlighted their seamless vocal blends alongside fresh uses of synthesizers and contemporary pop elements woven into groovy Afro-beat rhythms. Born October 22, 1948, in the northern town of Jos, identical twins Taiwo and Kehinde shared early exposure to music through records, joint singing, and songwriting that extended from childhood into adolescence; as second cousins of Fela Kuti, they drew from familial musical roots. After beginning careers as studio backing singers, the pair issued their debut single under their own name, 1968's "Iya Mi Jowo."
In 1971, still active as session vocalists, the sisters encountered Cream/Africa 70 drummer Ginger Baker; Taiwo and Baker entered a romantic relationship, leading the twins to join Baker's band Salt for a performance at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games before the partnership ended. Assisted by multi-instrumentalist and producer Biddy Wright, the Lijadu Sisters recorded four albums for Decca's Afrodisia label—1976's Danger, 1977's Mother Africa, 1978's Sunshine, and 1979's Horizon Unlimited—whose lively fusions of pop, reggae, and Afro-beat elements established their distinctive hybrid approach, fueling widespread acclaim across Nigeria and drawing international notice.
Throughout the 1980s, overseas exposure expanded via British television spots, Shanachie's 1984 U.S. compilation Double Trouble that repackaged earlier material, and repeated performance trips to the States. The sisters settled permanently in Brooklyn by 1988 amid multiple record-contract proposals that ultimately failed to materialize, prompting a gradual pivot toward deeper engagement with Yoruba religious traditions and associated herbal practices. Kehinde sustained serious spinal injuries in a 1996 stairwell fall, prolonging recovery and redirecting all prior creative energies toward addressing her medical challenges.
Thereafter the duo withdrew entirely from public view, declining every interview and media request. Several catalog tracks resurfaced in the 2000s, among them "Life's Gone Down Low," featured on a Luaka Bop anthology and later uncleared-sampled by New York rapper Nas. In the early 2010s, after declining numerous reissue overtures, the Lijadu Sisters partnered with Knitting Factory Records; the New York imprint restored all four late-1970s Afro-beat albums to circulation, and despite decades away from live stages, arrangements advanced for a 2012 return performance.
In 1971, still active as session vocalists, the sisters encountered Cream/Africa 70 drummer Ginger Baker; Taiwo and Baker entered a romantic relationship, leading the twins to join Baker's band Salt for a performance at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games before the partnership ended. Assisted by multi-instrumentalist and producer Biddy Wright, the Lijadu Sisters recorded four albums for Decca's Afrodisia label—1976's Danger, 1977's Mother Africa, 1978's Sunshine, and 1979's Horizon Unlimited—whose lively fusions of pop, reggae, and Afro-beat elements established their distinctive hybrid approach, fueling widespread acclaim across Nigeria and drawing international notice.
Throughout the 1980s, overseas exposure expanded via British television spots, Shanachie's 1984 U.S. compilation Double Trouble that repackaged earlier material, and repeated performance trips to the States. The sisters settled permanently in Brooklyn by 1988 amid multiple record-contract proposals that ultimately failed to materialize, prompting a gradual pivot toward deeper engagement with Yoruba religious traditions and associated herbal practices. Kehinde sustained serious spinal injuries in a 1996 stairwell fall, prolonging recovery and redirecting all prior creative energies toward addressing her medical challenges.
Thereafter the duo withdrew entirely from public view, declining every interview and media request. Several catalog tracks resurfaced in the 2000s, among them "Life's Gone Down Low," featured on a Luaka Bop anthology and later uncleared-sampled by New York rapper Nas. In the early 2010s, after declining numerous reissue overtures, the Lijadu Sisters partnered with Knitting Factory Records; the New York imprint restored all four late-1970s Afro-beat albums to circulation, and despite decades away from live stages, arrangements advanced for a 2012 return performance.
Albums
Singles
