Wiyaala, which means “the doer” in her local Sissala language, is a charismatic musician entertainer from Funsi in the Upper West Region of Ghana. An irrepressible extrovert since childhood, Wiyaala is an award-winning African star who never fails to excite and inspire love. With her dancing, polyglot and engaged songs, Wiyaala performs an Africa that is both modern and traditional.
Wiyaala’s music references West African Folk traditions and contemporary Afro-Pop, sometimes evoking comparisons with African stars such as Mariam Makeeba, Brenda Fassie and Angelique Kidjo.
The second of four sisters and thanks to her musical mother, Wiyaala was spared the horrors of FGM and child marriage whilst attracting attention as a child entertainer, dancer, artist and footballer despite growing up in a patriarchal society often hostile to artistic growth.
Wiyaala, a talented musician from Northern Ghana, is known for her high-energy live shows and captivating stage presence. She is also a vocal advocate for women’s rights and education, advocating for gender equality, child marriage, and access to education for girls. She founded the Wiyaala Foundation, a non-profit organization empowering young girls through education and the arts.
In 2012, she travelled to the capital city Accra and won the Vodafone Icons Reality Show. Since being discovered by Rita Ray of BBC’s Global Beats in 2014, Wiyaala has become one of Ghana’s leading media personalties representing Ghana and Africa at events and festivals around the world. Wiyaala has performed for Kamala Harris, vice president of the USA and at the Commonwealth Games 2018, The African Union in Addis Ababa, SummerStage 2022 in New York, WOMAD UK and many more. In 2014, Wiyaala was the first Ghanaian artist to chart on Billboard since Osibisa in the 1970’s with her 2014 FIFA World Cup Song “Go Go Black Stars”. She has released three albums “Wiyaala” (2014) and “Sissala Goddess” (2108) and “African Polyglot” (2024). In 2022, Wiyaala was admitted as a Voting Member of The Recording Academy (Grammies)
An articulate communicator, who designs and makes her own costumes, Wiyaala is a role model in her community where she has built a Stage, Guest House and Restaurant and Arts Centre, known as “The Lioness Kingdom,” where she organizes jam nights for local artists and children. Wiyaala campaigns against child marriage and in 2020, she detected and handed over to the authorities a 36-year-old man attempting to abduct a young girl into a forced marriage.