South Africa’s BLK JS, 16 Stitch & East Africa’s Just a Band are a few of Africa’s leading rock bands breaking stereotypes and showing Africans too can make rock/alternative rock music, and do it quite well. These bands, who fuse their African heritage in their music, show the world what they are missing. Joining them to continue to break stereotypes is RETTA, one whose sound we at Ladybrillemag.com would describe as UK’s band Noisettes meets UK artist Adele. RETTA, who appears to be the first female rock/alternative rock singer from West Africa, was discovered in 2008 by fashion model and entrepreneur Joy Tongo of JTON Productions while Tongo vacationed in Nigeria.
“Retta is the void that is missing in the African female music scene,” said Tongo to Ladybrillemag.com. “She has the voice of an angel and a look of a goddess plus the determination that (will) take her straight to the top.”
Indeed. Africa’s mainstream music is saturated with mostly hip-hop and r &b. RETTA bucks this trend. For RETTA, however, the path seemed inevitable. One of six girls born to Nigerian parents and raised in Rivers State, Nigeria, RETTA enjoyed the solitude of her room more than she did hanging with her peers. In fact, she always felt out of place and was often teased in school on being a “loner.” In her “alone” world, she made friends with the creative arts escaping through painting, song writing and singing. For RETTA, even at that early stage in her life, she believed she would one day share her emotions (pain, love and heartbreak) with the world. By high school, RETTA had developed a deeper love for the creative arts and managed to say goodbye to her room, albeit for a short while, to participate in school shows, a platform she found helped her express herself freely. Having participated in numerous shows (music, acting and dancing), it became unequivocally clear to RETTA music was her calling. The new kid on the block, who we expect to be very successful across the continent and beyond, cites, as her influences, rock groups and artists like Adele, Corrine Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Adele, Tracy Chapman, Amy Winehouse, Dido and Noisettes. Ready or not, here comes RETTA, Africa’s new kid on the rock/alternative block!
[audio:https://ladybrille.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/RETTA-KOLO-FOR-YOU-.mp3|titles=RETTA -KOLO FOR YOU]‘Kolo For You’ shot by Nigeria’s Clarence Peters in the USA is coming soon! Stay tuned also for a few more tracks coming your way and purchase information.
Producer: ‘KOLO FOR YOU’ by Oscar Heman Ackah
REACH RETTA on her social media pages below: www.reverbnation.com/rettamusic
~Article by Uduak Oduok
~Courtesy photo
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
[…] these 3 tips for wearing the peep toe shoe trend. Ladybrillemag.com says Noisettes Meets Adele in RETTA, Africa’s New Kid on the Alternative Rock Block! Shopping and Info loves the versatile […]
[…] these 3 tips for wearing the peep toe shoe trend. Ladybrillemag.com says Noisettes Meets Adele in RETTA, Africa’s New Kid on the Alternative Rock Block! Shopping and Info loves the versatile […]
she's got a killer voice,a stunnin look…..yea we need dis face and voice in d nigerian music industry…givin us a tune diffrent from d regular jump jump songs witout impact….i feel dis song"kolo for u"kip it up retta….u'll fly…i c it.
retta is awesomely goood…….her voice is just too hot…
I went and checked out her first single. She's got a nice voice.