The 1970's is often described as the formative decade for Afropop. Nigerian music history would not be complete without mentioning the Lijadu Sisters and the impact they made. They are known for their unique blend of pop, reggae, Afrobeat and their advocacy for women rights. 

Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu were born on October 22, 1948 in Jos Nigeria, but grew up in the city of Ibadan. Taiwo and Kehinde are the generic names given to twins in the Yoruba culture. Rumored to be related to Fela Kuti and Wole Soyinka through their paternal grandmother, the Lijadu sisters have forged their path and career in music without any of these family affiliations.

Their voices combined generate a harmonious rich sound and their lyrics address social and political issues including corruption, poverty, and women's rights. They sang in the English language, the Yoruba language or both. The Lijadu Sisters gained wider recognition in the 1980's with the albums, Iya Mi Jowo (1969), Danger (1976), Mother Africa (1977), Sunshine (1978) and Unlimited (1979).

They achieved a lot in their musical career and had small beginnings just like several artistes. Starting as backing vocalists for studio sessions, they released a single in 1968 under their own name titled Iya Mi Jowo. 

The twin sisters performed with Ginger Baker's band Salt at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, and performed with the Philadelphia band, Philly Gumbo. One of their songs 'Life’s Gone Down Low'  was sampled by American rapper Nas, although this caused quite a stir because he did not credit them. 'Life's Gone Down Low,'  also appeared on a Luaka Bop compilation. They have also had a musical feature in Netflix's first African original series, Queen Sono. And recently, their Yoruba song 'Orere-Eleijigbo' was sampled in Nigerian artiste Ayra Starr's song 'Sare.' 

The decades the Lijadu sisters thrived in were an important period in Nigerian music history, because like now, it was a period Nigerian music transcended the borders and was widely accepted despite the different language and lingo.

Several musicians emerged in 1980s Nigeria. However, women in Nigerian music faced challenges because the industry was highly male dominated and the society had other expectations of them. The sisters spoke about these limitations in some of their interviews.

The musical duo talked about what it was like trying to make it in a macho music world. They challenged the view that a woman belonged in the kitchen. In a short documentary clip showing The Lijadu Sisters in rehearsal circa 1979, Nigeria, They shared their experiences as women artists in Nigeria.

"In the past, our men believed women should stick in the kitchen and bring kids into the world, that's all." Kehinde said.

This conversation further dived into how women were playing important roles in several industries but it was only the West African music industry that had a shortage of women artists.

“After we made our record, we tried to find a way of having our own band,” they said, “but at the time we had a lot of obstacles from men. They would tell us that we were not coming here to stay. Now those people acknowledge that they were scared of us because we were very independent.”

Life Lessons from the Lijadu Sisters, an interview series came much later in their career when they were older and seemed like they had a lot to say because they had experienced a lot. The ten-part Youtube series took a deep dive into their worldview of life. Something I found fascinating in Life Lessons was how the twin sisters completed each other's sentences and how they complemented each other. 

Kehinde in the first part of the series titled 'Speaking Out' said "I will forever be the mouthpiece of those who are oppressed worldwide."

In other episodes of the series, they talked about standing your ground, responding to adversity and the influence of their mother on their art amongst other issues.

The Lijadu Sisters emphasized their mother's impact on their music. In an interview with Arise TV, Taiwo mentioned their mother bought about a dozen LPs after she discovered their interest in songwriting. One of the LPs was Mama Africa by Miriam Makeba which they were encouraged to listen to despite the language barrier. Music transcends time and language, they stated this in one of the episodes in Life Lessons, recalling how their mother told them to make music the world would want to listen to 200 years from then. 

Kehinde Lijadu passed away at the age of 71 on November 8, 2019. However, their music and legacies live on. Taiwo granted an interview with Arise TV shortly after her sister's death. She mentioned that they were planning on releasing an album before Kehinde's demise. Talks about whether this album is still going to be released has not been made public yet.

The Lijadu sisters have been described by the New York Times as the West African version of the Pointer Sisters. Tony Amadi, a musician, described them as the girls that paid the dues for all the female musicians. I like to think of them as pacesetters for several women today because they broke barriers, stereotypes and put Nigerian music in its entirety into the world.