Wiyaala to headline inaugural Djimba World Music Festival

Wiyaala will headline the first edition of the festival, which will take place at Wa, in the Upper East Region, Ghana.

Wiyalla won the 2012 Vodafone Icons reality show as part of the group Black n Peach, and, a year before, emerged as second runner-up in Ghana’s Stars of the Future talent show. She often draws comparisons to Grace Jones, Tina Turner and Angelique Kidjo. Her eponymous album, Wiyaala, was released in 2014.

The Djimba World Music festival was created by the artist, who has said that her home country's northern regions no do receive exposure mainly because of the distance from the capital Accra.

“The north has a wealth of talent which is just not getting heard,” she said. “I want to do something about that and the festival is just one of a number of steps I am taking.

"I am also encouraging my sisters who have real musical talent to make themselves known to me. I want to do everything I can to encourage them, whether it is to sing, play a musical instrument or to be a sound engineer.”

Wiyaala, was recently nominated for the Most Influential Artist Category at the upcoming 2016 MTN 4Syte TV Music Video Awards, which will hold on 19 November at the Accra International Conference Centre. Wiyaala is also associated with UNICEF Ghana and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection of Ghana in campaigns against child marriage, and health among other issues.