Everybody has a memory of their favorite Onyeka Onwenu song. She was one of those rare artists who sang for everyone, whose music shone with warmth and compositional brilliance. And so the sudden news of her death on Tuesday evening, July 30, at the age of 72, will rock emotions for a long time to come.
Nigerian music has lost one of its great icons. Her legacy is entrenched in the very fabric of our quintessential sounds — highlife, soul, gospel and disco. Competent in all those genres and several others, Onwenu gradually worked her way into becoming the toast of Nigerian music in the 1980s.
More than a decade after the Nigeria-Biafra war, it was a period that gravitated towards positivity and Onwenu gave us several classics which fulfilled that purpose. The Golden Songs volumes and her other albums reflect a striking sense of national unity, embracing a wholesome palette of traditional sounds and nearby perspectives, and essentially making her one of the most beloved artists of all times.
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.