Rose May, Nigerian-Austrian singer and sister of Real Madrid defender, David Alaba, has expressed sadness at not being to speak her father’s native language, Yoruba.
She spoke in a recent interview with Turntable.
Rose May disclosed that she did not learn to speak Yoruba because her Nigerian father and Filipino mother always communicate in English.
She said, “It breaks my heart that I can’t speak Yoruba because I really wish I can.
“I grew up in Austria, and my parents communicated in English, so that was how I was able to speak English. I learned how to speak German in school.
“Growing up in Austria, I was exposed to the cultures of my country of birth while also interacting with the Yoruba cultures of my father and the Filipino cultures of my mother.
“The result is a cultural hybrid that combines with my parent’s musical backgrounds to make me an artist whose music carries intercontinental markers.”