Nkonkonsa Celebrity Gossip From Africa
Acclaimed singer and songwriter, Noella Wiyaala known popularly as Wiyaala recently talked candidly about the difficulties she had when she first started her career as a result of singing in her native Sissala tongue.
She expressed her dissatisfaction with Ghanaians for originally not embracing her musical style in an interview on 3FM Lounge monitored by tigpost.co.
The award-winning artist revealed that she encountered body shaming and a lack of appreciation for her music when she first entered the music scene.
“They were like that girl is she not a footballer? They were talking about how I’m going to beat somebody, my body is too hard, my back is too flat and my body is too hard,” Wiyaala stated.
She described how, in stark contrast to the treatment she received from those in Ghana, Ghanaians residing outside, or the diaspora community, were ready to accept her.
Wiyaala shared, “The disappointing part was immediately I stepped out only Ghanaians living abroad, diaspora accepted me. They just accepted me quick, but the authentic Ghanaian were not even minding me.”
She went into further detail about the criticism she received, including remarks about her appearance and musical taste.
She faced difficulties, but the diaspora community gave her comfort and encouragement, which helped her move forward.
Wiyaala clarified that she trusted her gut and concentrated on foreign markets where her music was well-received, believing that local listeners would eventually warm up.
Regarding attempts to adapt her style by featuring other Ghanaian artists, she revealed the financial strain and lack of success, asserting, “I tried but I was not doing that because I wanted to but the people around me wanted to feature some few artistes in Ghana so they will introduce you.”
NKONKONSA.com
