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Lijadu Sisters

Kehinde Lijadu and Taiwo Lijadu were identical twin sisters from Nigeria who performed as the Lijadu Sisters from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. They achieved success in Nigeria, and also had a more modest success in the United States and Europe. Described as an influential dynamic who mixed Afrobeat sounds with jazz and disco, the sisters retired from the music scene in the late 1980s, reforming and performing sporadically during the 2010s up until Kehinde's death in 2019. They were the cousins of the popular Nigerian musician Fela Kuti.

Career
The twins grew up in the Nigerian city of Ibadan, and were inspired musically by various artists including Aretha Franklin, Victor Olaiya and Miriam Makeba. They had guidance from music producer Lemmy Jackson who is credited with helping them with their early successes. Their reggae number Reincarnation insisted that if reincarnation were a reality, then they would like to be reincarnated again into the home where they grew up. They performed in various venues including the lower Manhattan club Wetlands and in Harlem with King Sunny Adé's African Beats as their backing band. They performed with the Philadelphia-based band Philly Gumbo. They also performed with the Atomic Bomb! Band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and on tour dates in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles in May 2014. On 9 November 2019, Kehinde suffered a stroke and died on the same day, at the age of 71. In July 2024, The Numero Group announced they would be remastering and reissuing the duo's discography. Such reedition will include vinyl, CD and streaming platforms starting with Horizon Unlimited. ==Reviews==
Reviews
The New York Times music critic Jon Pareles described their music as "a West African parallel to the Pointer Sisters" with a mix of Nigerian Afro-beat, reggae, South African pop with elements of disco and "Memphis soul". • Reviewer Myles Boisen in All Music Guide wrote that they were "a rarity in the African music scene" and added that they were "liberated twin sisters who share the spotlight on smooth close harmonies and command a sharp, inventive backing band." ==Discography==
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