Ara discloses how she became 'the Queen of drums'

Nigerian entertainer and talking drummer Aralola Olamuyiwa who is commonly known as Ara has disclosed that she learned how to play the drum on her own.

The self-proclaimed queen of drums made this revelation during a career-related interview on Channels TV.

Ara stated that the males didn't want to teach her so she had to figure out how to play the drum on her own and she did that by watching them perform.

She said: “I learned how to play the talking drum by watching the guys play because they refused to teach me. So, I watched them play. I bought the music of people that I look up to in the industry.”

She added that she needed to listen to a range of sounds played by seasoned Nigerian artists in order to hone her skill and expand her artistic horizons.

“My father had a huge collection from Fela to Ayinla Omo Wura to Yusuf Olatunji to King Sunny Ade and everybody. So I learned to play with them. I listened to even Lagbaja when I was learning how to play because I love Lagbaja a lot. So I listened to all of their music and I trained my ear to listen differently and play differently.”

Ara, with a career spanning more than two decades, is the cultural representative of the Ooni of Ife.

She is the top African female percussionist.

GA