Yemi Alade isn’t a new face in the Nigerian music industry anymore.
The 23 year old has shown with her on stage performances how energetic she is and full of life.
She has finally won the heart of Nigerian music lovers and in an
exclusive interview with ‘NET NG’, she answers all questions of how she
got to where she is now.
Read interview excerpts below: -
What have you been up to in the last couple of months?
I embarked on a nationwide media tour and just got back. The tour was to promote my two new singles ‘
My head’ and ‘
Birthday song’ and I decided to take a hundred cakes to the media houses.
While on tour in Enugu I recorded a song called ‘
Johnny’ with
Selebobo. The song has quite a nice storyline attached to it and we’ve been promoting it since we got back. I was recently nominated for
Exquisite Lady of the Year (ELOY) awards although I didn’t win.
I intend participating in the awareness for chest and cervical cancer and HIV/Aids this December.
Uti Nwachukwu would
be taking a couple of celebrities on a trip to the orphanages on the
20th of this month. I would also be involved in a programme with Peak
Milk; they just made me one of their ambassadors. In January by the
special grace of God we are going to schools to encourage kids to stay
in school and live their dreams. Even after winning the
Peak Talent Show I was still able to stay back in school and get a degree in Geography.
When did you decide to go into music professionally?
I have been doing this music thing for like seven to eight years now; I was in a girl group called
Naughty Spices and my stage name then was Ginger (
laughs) but I kicked off my career three or four years ago, just after winning the Peak Talent Show.
If you hadn’t won the Peak Talent Show would you still be singing?
I would have deviated to be sincere with you, because I wasn’t 100
per cent keen on dong music professionally. But emerging as winner
opened my eyes and made me realise that I have to make something out of
this talent.
What inspires your kind of music?
Everything I do comes from the heart. I always try to make sure that a
piece of me reflects in all my songs. Secondly the producer has to lace
a perfect beat that gives the song the direction I want; if it’s a club
joint, I give it the club banger approach and if it’s a ‘silky sheet’
beat I would give the beat the pillow case and all that’s needed to go
with it. Inspiration is from my environment and experiences.
Do you think that in terms of vocals you should be ranked in the same category with Waje, Tiwa Savage and Omawumi?
Those that have witnessed the strength of my vocals can attest to the
fact that I am a great vocalist and since my talent is God given and
can’t go anywhere then it’s just a matter of time. When you open your
eyes you open them that is all I can say.
Why hasn’t Yemi Alade gotten that big breakthrough despite the fact that you’ve been in the industry for like four years?
It would be four years by next year. I believe that’s what my team
and I have been working on and the only thing that can bring the
breakthrough on a major scale is time and chance and this is only made
available by God. I know that where I was last year and where I am this
year are two different places and for some big shots to recognise me
means I’m doing something right. I mean I’m just 23 years old and Waje
and the rest are way ahead of me. When I knock on the door, open the
door for me abeg.
Who are your role models or people that inspire you to sing more or even help lift your mood?
My role model playlist is quite long. I listen to the powerful three
like you said earlier; Waje, Tiwa and Omawumi. Waje is a classic example
of a perfect RnB diva, Omawumi is Afro, Tiwa is a perfect Afro Pop
singer. But outside the shores of Nigeria I listen to
Maria Carey; her voice is like a projection for me, I always try to match her. I love
Beyonce’s stage craft but I still take it back to
Whitney Houston. I also listen to
Etta James. I love listening to old songs so yes my playlist is long.
What are the recently played songs on your iPod right now?
You will find ‘
Seun Rere’ by
Christy Essien Igbokwe. I recently performed the song at her memorial and then
Coldplay’s ‘
Fix you’.
Apart from the ‘Power Three’, how competitive is the market amongst yourself, Seyi Shay, Zaina and your other peers?
I believe all the ladies in the industry are really trying, every day
we have to look prim and proper and it takes a lot of effort. But I
really think that I am my biggest challenge. I’m the one that can hold
myself backward or push myself forward, it all depends on me.
When you first started you had a tomboyish look, comparing that to
your new sexy look, you’ve considerably changed. Was the transformation
as a result of you growing up or your team’s decision to get you a
wider fan base?
(
Laughs) They say if you have it flaunt it, but on a more
serious note I’m still the tomboy till now. It has a little to do with
my team though. I’m a chameleon; if you notice me very well I change my
hairstyle regularly and in my videos as well. If you don’t know me very
well you might be confused as to the Yemi Alade singing. So I guess my
style is always changing.
When would you start headlining major events alongside other big names?
Well we are getting there, my new single ‘
Johnny’ has been
getting massive airplay and love. It’s just about two months old and
there’s no telling where it would be in the next couple of months. It’s
already been compared to Wizkid’s ‘
Caro’ and that’s quite positive so let’s just say in no time we would be on all those major shows.
A lot of people say you’re dating your manager. Is it true?
Well that’s a very awesome question which I get asked a lot of times.
The truth of the matter is that when it comes to my relationship I
always try to let it reflect in my songs. My relationship status at the
moment is in ‘
Johnny’, so if you listen to the song, you will know what’s happening in my life. And no, I’m not dating him.
Do you think that industry politics has affected you in any way?
There’s a bit of politicking everywhere so yes it has but if there’s
no politics that means there nothing worth fighting for. I really think
we need to drop some of those cabal moves because it’s really not
helping good music.
With your talent and voice one would have assumed that you would have a lot of massive collaborations which is not so. Why?
If I were to pen down the number of artistes I’ve had collaborations
with, they would turn out to be quite a number but right now I’m looking
forward to collaborations with other African artistes as well as
international acts.
You have about 7- 8 singles and there’s been rumours about you
dropping a mixtape as well as an album, can you please clarify that and
let us know what’s coming out first?
Well, we have shot the video for ‘Johnny’ during the first week of
this month, but my album should be dropping between the next 2-3 months
after that, the ‘Aristo Music’ mixtape would also be out