Prominent talking drummer Aralola Olamuyiwa, also referred to as Ara The Drummer, is the cultural representative of the Ooni of Ife has recounts how attempts were made to dissuade her from playing the talking drum.
Ara discussed the difficulties she had when she chose to take up playing the talking drum in a recent “Terms And Conditions” podcast episode.
She disclosed that she had been informed that her infertility may be impacted by her drumming career, but she had disproved their claims.
Ara claims that she began by learning how to play traditional drums before experimenting with additional instruments like the bass guitar, keyboard, and set drums.
Nevertheless, she persisted in pursuing the talking drum in spite of opposition from others around her because of her passion for it.
Ara declared that she was adamant about learning the talking drum in spite of the misgivings and advice she had received.
She eventually had to educate herself because other people were reluctant to assist her just because she was a woman.
She said:
“There are some drums females cannot play. I started with the traditional drums. But I evolved over the years. I played different instruments like bass guitar, keyboard, and set drums.
“But I wanted something different, so I started learning how to play the talking drum. People I asked to teach me were skeptical about teaching me because I am a woman. So I am self-taught.
“Although at some point, I was afraid. I was like, ‘what could happen to me?’ They were like, ‘you might not be able to have kids.’ It’s a traditional thing but I broke that jinx.”
Ara has a son with her estranged husband, Prince Nurudeen Olalekan Saliu.
