Yemi Alade has been a trailblazer in the music scene for many years now. Her sixth studio album ‘Rebel Queen’ teems with thought-provoking tracks that tempt the listener to move.
In this body of work, the bold and brilliant songstress blends afrobeats, dancehall, and amapiano influences to give her listeners a truly memorable and motivating experience. She does this in a dynamic yet disciplined way; a testament to her growth and groundedness as an artist.
What are a few things you do to get yourself started for your day?
If I’m being honest, every day has its requirements but in general, I go to my Bible app and read the quote for the day to get my day started at a good pace.
Then I try my best to see if I can work out real quick before I start attending to emails and phone calls or what have you. Sometimes I’m successful, sometimes I’m not. Sometimes I yield to the phone instead of going to the gym.
Generally, I just really try my best to bring back balance. If I can’t go to the gym in the morning, I try to go in the evening or I just work out at home. I enjoy working out at home. That’s how I get my day started, it gets me going and I make sure that there is food around the corner so that I’m not tired and hungry at the same time.
What inspired your project and what message do you think it carries?
On this particular album, ‘Rebel Queen’, I am my own muse because I decided to focus on making a call to present a collection of music that is inspired by the sounds I fell in love with as a kid growing up in Nigeria, bringing it all together and serving it like a musical buffet which is why you have different genres there; Highlife, Afrobeats, Amapiano, Dancehall.
I just wanted to present nostalgic music that resonated with me and will resonate with the listener as well. I feel like it’s my best body of work so far.
The project has 16 tracks and each song is almost a different genre from the next one. Why do you feel it’s important to experiment with sound?
Well, first of all, I would say “to every mallam his kettle”. Do as you please as a musician, because as musicians, we are artists; just as artists use a paintbrush to paint, we use our music to paint images and melodies.
I get bored quickly and so I like to keep myself intrigued and interested and I also want the same for the listener- to be intrigued and interested which is why I don’t, and cannot present an album and only stick to one genre. It will be very unlike me. It wouldn’t be Yemi Alade.
When you hear Yemi Alade, expect variety, expect effort, expect surprise. If I’m not offering an element of surprise, I would rather not present a body of work at all. The project also carries a variety of languages; I sing in Yoruba, English, Igbo, French and Swahili.
Africa has always been something you carry as an identity so I’m inclined to believe that you are proud of the way African music is growing right now, and finding dominance in global spaces. What do you think the future of African music is from where you stand right now?
I honestly must say that it’s a beautiful time to be alive and to be part of the pioneers and contributors to Afrobeats and what it has become today. There’s no telling what will unfold tomorrow with the momentum at which the music is spreading and taking over the entire world, especially the musical scene globally.
I expect that very soon the development and the structures that are seen in the Western world musically will finally come this way because we have the talent, the culture, and the spotlight. What we don’t have in our sector is the actual systems that match up with the Western world and give us a certain worldwide standard. I’m talking about the royalties, concert halls that are worldwide standards, and other systems that go with development, those are the things that are still missing in the Afrobeats scene.
Once we have that, I think the future will be a very beautiful place to be and a successful industry will finally be manifested.
Aside from your identity as an African, you are a woman and so many young women look up to you as a leading artist in Africa and globally. What advice would you give to younger ladies navigating this scene as artists?
There are so many advantages that I wish I had gotten when I was starting off in the industry, but I think I managed to turn out good. Here’s what I would say to the female musicians that intend to make music a career, in this industry, nothing is given, you have to take it.
There are double standards that exist for female musicians and as a result, you’re going to have to work ten times harder than your male counterparts but do not be discouraged because the crown is inevitably yours. You just have to make sure that you put in work and you get what is yours. Because, as they normally say, na who work, go chop.
What matters the most to you right now and why?
Aside from my health, the other thing that matters the most to me is being able to take care of my family and the people closest to me. Just knowing that I can fend for them and they would lack no immediate needs. I hold that very dear to my heart.
