Yemi Alade: “I consider myself a rebel queen!"

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Yemi Alade, I am a musician, and I am from Nigeria. I am a lover of afrobeats, high-life and R’n’B. What I would say about my music is that it is very African and if you like dancing you are in the right place!

Your new album comes out on July 26, named Rebel Queen, is that how you consider yourself, as “a Rebel Queen”?

Honestly, yes!  I consider myself a rebel queen! I feel like it’s my way of life; The choices I have made so far, as a musician and as a person, are not popular choices. I always felt like I was rebelling against people’s norms and expectations.

Can you explain to us the meaning of choosing the photo for the cover of your new album?

The cover of my new album is inspired by me! I wanted a photo that shows strength, resilience, originality, authenticity and above all a photo that shows me as I am right now! I think my album cover really captures it! You can even find some of my roots there if you look closely at the choice of fabric, the neck accessories and my hair! My hairstyle in this photo makes it look like there's a whole story going on. As for the whole production, I wanted it to show royalty.

You play afro-pop. How would you describe this musical genre?

That's a big question! My music is a fusion of high-life and R’n’B, but at the same time there’s a lot going on inside! There's also a bit of jazz, and if you listen carefully, you'll hear afro-pop in all its entirety!

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“I have always had a love affair with France, since my first global solo concert took place in Paris at the Trianon."

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Whether through dances, outfits or music, we always find a trace of your roots within your music, is this important to you?

It’s very important that in my music and my aesthetic that we can always find my “Africanness”, because that’s what I am! And honestly, I'm just being myself, you can call it African, Pan-African or Nigerian, you can call it whatever you want! There should be a genre called Yemi Alade because I'm just me, and that's it!

You are going to make your first performance in France on September 21 at the Zénith in Paris, what can we expect?

Honestly, I'm very excited because it will be the first performance of the Rebel Queen album in France. I have always had a love affair with France, since my first global solo concert took place in Paris at the Trianon. Recently, I did the Olympia, and now that we're here for the zenith, it's really huge! I'm just grateful that each time I manage to come up with something better. I feel excited and can’t wait! September 21st is already approaching and you can still buy tickets, but grab them while you can!

Who is the artist who inspired you to become who you are today?

So many artists have inspired me throughout my journey and still inspire me! I grew up listening to King Sunny, Usher, Beyoncé, Brandi and B2K, a very long list of people. But at the moment, I know that it is the women who have inspired me enormously like Angélique Kidjo and Beyoncé.

They call you “the Beyoncé of the African continent”. Besides, we find you on the song “My Power” with her… How did this collaboration go?

It was a dream come true to work with Beyoncé on the “Lion King” project! And also meeting her in person and having two songs with her, it felt like it happened overnight. I'm just grateful because I think she released this album as an ode to Africa, to honor her roots, and I'm happy to have been part of this adventure with her.

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“Beyoncé’s team had been sending me emails for a while. My team didn't know Parkwood was the name of her label. I told them: 'We have to respond to these people right away!'"

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There were rumors that she sent you messages and you didn't respond?

It happened, honestly! His team had been sending me emails for a while. My team saw an email saying that a certain "Parkwood" was about Beyoncé, and it made no sense to them because they didn't know who Parkwood was, so they assumed it was about a crook. When they told me about these emails, I said, "Don't you know that Parkwood is Beyoncé's company?" ". They didn't know it, because they're not crazy about Beyoncé like me! It was like a punch in the face! I told them: “We have to respond to these people right away!” ".  The good thing was that I was already on tour and my next trip was to Florida, so from there I went to Las Vegas, where his office is and where the studios were, and we recorded all the music! But my team will remember this mistake, believe me!

You are followed by more than 18 million people on Instagram, how do you experience this notoriety?

I don't know. They are the ones who decided to follow me! I did everything I've always done based on what they wanted, so I made content to try to get everyone involved! What I can say is that when I see them in concert, it’s not the same thing as on social networks! When I'm on stage, I feel like this little person who is going to perform in front of this crowd! But the butterflies in my stomach never die! I could perform in 3 venues on the same day and the audience will never be the same! People bring different energies, and honestly, when I'm on stage, I feed off the energies of the crowd, and when I feel like I don't have enough, I feed off my own. It’s a symbiotic relationship! We play together !

You studied geography, you are multilingual, is it important for you to reach everyone with your music?

I studied geography at university, and I never reuse what I learned! I guess I'm discovering the practical side of my degree by traveling the world! On the other hand, I think it's important that my music reaches people who need it. I put a lot of joy and passion into it. There is always a healing message inside if you let yourself be vulnerable enough, and if the people receiving it are all over the world, then so much the better!

Our media is called S-quive, which could be translated as “avoid” in English. What do you think should be avoided in music?

Personally, I think music is a weapon. It could be a weapon of love, it could also be a weapon of mass destruction or self-destruction. If I think of things that could be avoided, it's self-hatred and the promotion of hate and negative vibes. But still, music is an art, so it’s very difficult to give rules, because there aren’t any! So I can't say that this should be avoided. It's hard!

This is your 10th album, what does it symbolize for you?

This is my tenth album. I can't believe I'm here! First of all, for this number ten, I'm very proud of myself and I'm very happy to make this album and share it with the world. I still love what I do, and that’s very important, as I’ve been doing this for over a decade now! As I'm releasing my tenth album, someone needs to buy me a private jet, because I need to celebrate!  It’s really huge!