Ayoola joins league of female bata drummers

Ayoola

In Ibukun Ayoola, another lady has joined the league of female drummers that have made their mark on the country’s entertainment scene.  Hitherto, Ara and Ayanbirin had proved that when it comes to drumming, what a man can do a woman can also do with finesse.

Unlike the duo who are popular with talking drums, however, Ayoola is staking her talent with bata, the high pitch-tone drum that was originally associated with Sango feasts. Yet, something else is peculiar to the emergence of the young act now called Olo Omidan Bata – Young Queen of Bata Drum. Unlike many Yoruba drummers, she is not from a drummers’ family.

She started out as one of the singers and back-up artistes for Anu, an artiste with the Lagos-based Atunda Entertainment.

She recalls, “‘I never thought of drumming bata in my life. I came here as a back-up singer for Anu but during one of our rehearsals, Baba (referring to the founder of Atunda Entertainment) just gave me the bata drum and said, ‘Ibukun, you are going to be playing the drum,’ and that was how I started drumming.”

Since then, she has never looked back. Rather, she has continued to dazzle her growing clan of fans whenever she steps on stage either with Anu or other artistes – national and international. Her slim frames and usually moving dance steps are part of her strengths.

But the Kaduna-born artiste also has a distant relationship with the drum.  She is from Oyo town, where many people are revered for their prowess and magic feat with the bata drum, which traditionally is their ancestral and cultural symbolism when it comes to entertainment.

At 21, Olo says she has outlived any form of stage freight as she dreams for great heights. She gives kudos to the Atundaolu group for the mentoring she gets, saying the leadership is usually down to earth.

On the experience that has exerted the most memorable impact on her, she refers to a birthday party for former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Easter & More Concert with Jay King and Club Noveau. ‘‘My first performance was at OBJ birthday party in Abeokuta and I was not shy playing alongside other artistes because I was already used to the big occasions. I was very happy and I told my mum and everybody about it.’’