Yeye Asa Festival to showcase Nigerian culture in Diaspora

Nigerian musician, Florence Onigbinde, aka Floxxy Bee, opens a new chapter in cultural promotions in the United States with the hosting of the maiden Yeye Asa Festival, CHUX OHAI writes

After spending a total of 16 years promoting Nigerian music and culture in the United States of America, Florence Onigbinde, aka Floxxy Bee, returned to her hometown, Modakeke, in Osun State in 2012.

Upon her arrival, the singer and exponent of Hikosso music, a fusion of Highlife, Makossa, Juju, Soukous and Afrobeat, was given a title by her kith and kin.

She was installed as the Yeye Asa (meaning 'Mother of the Source') of Ile-Ife in recognition of her achievements, as well as her efforts to place the culture and music of her people on the global map.

Encouraged by this gesture and determined to give back to society, Floxxy has concluded plans to host the maiden edition of the Yeye Asa Festival in New York on Saturday December 7, 2013 (tomorrow).

The singer says the event will feature a musical concert and an awards ceremony. Awards will be given to three outstanding African women in recognition of their efforts at projecting and promoting African culture in a positive light.

The awardees are Joyce Adewumi, a singer and choreographer; Olori Kikelomo Adekoya, a marketer of traditional African art and craft; and the Guinean fashion designer, Dione Saoudatou. The women are all based in the US.

Floxxy adds that the forthcoming festival will emphasise the feminine aspects of African culture and the importance of the womenfolk in preserving and adapting African cultures to social realities in the 21st century.

Also, she expects that the YAF will be considered as significant to the Yoruba in the Diaspora

"Historically the Yoruba were the dominant cultural force in the Diaspora. What they brought with them in a mostly involuntary displacement to the New World has survived in various forms up to this day. Traces of our rhythms, dance, customs and spirituality can be found virtually all black cultures throughout the Diaspora. The Yeye Asa Festival seeks to remind us of who we are and that our culture still has more to offer," she says.

Although she lives in the US, Floxxy has always maintained a close link with her roots. As a matter of fact, most of her works were recorded in Nigeria and in her native Yoruba language.

For the queen of Hikosso music, who has been honoured with several awards within and outside the US for her contribution to the global entertainment industry, the YAF provides another opportunity to promote African music and culture in the Diaspora.

The attendant musical show is aimed at encouraging the target African-American audience to appreciate their African heritage.

Regarding the enormous financial challenges of hosting a cultural fiesta of such magnitude in the Diaspora, Floxxy says, "The cost of the YAF is nothing compared to the expense incurred in the process of preserving our cultures. Promoting Western culture is a multibillion dollar enterprise, the effects of which have been devastating to our indigenous cultures. It should be a priority of the Nigerian government to preserve and support the diversity of our culture, but Nigerian artists and artisans themselves are struggling to do this independently, lest they lose it."