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Essence.com Interview: Yemi Alade
It’s 10:00 pm at the Playstation Theatre in New York City, where Nigerian Afropop singer Yemi Alade makes her NYC debut.
It’s the last stop on her 11-city U.S. tour, from Los Angeles to DMV, with the Ova Sabi band. Ever since Alade’s hit single, “Johnny,” became the most watched music video by an African woman on YouTube–it’s at 75 million views and counting–global audiences have been clamoring to see her. Last year, Yemi won Best Female Artist at the MTV African Music Awards, and most recent album, Mama Africa, hit No.1 on the continent’s iTunes chart.
As a few stragglers wander into the venue, tourists rush past towards Times Square. To perform here, in the heart of the Big Apple, means Yemi has made it. Onstage, a DJ spins Afropop beneath a flashy disco ball. It’s been an hour since the opening act. A few diehard fans gyrate on the dance floor, as a trickle of angry guests start heading home.
“This is why I become ashamed as a Nigerian. I’ve been here four hours and she’s still not here,” an older man complains. The consensus: Yemi’s on African people time—hours late—despite insisting to her 2.5 million Instagram followers that tardiness would not be allowed. As irate as everyone is, it would take a miracle to please them. At 11PM, a flurry of stagehands set up mics as the band members take the stage. There are drums, two keyboards, a backup vocalist, and dancers in military gear. The room explodes with neon lights as the rhythmic baseline of Tumbum fills the air.
Yemi strides onstage in a camouflage green mini-dress.
“I know you like Nkechi jollof / I know you like my beans / I know that she give you fufu / You put am for my soup / Baby what you gonna do?” she croons, in her velvety smooth voice. Her vibe, music, and groove are infectious as she joins her dancers in hip-shaking choreography. Pipes? She’s got them. Moves? She’s got them. And when the song ends, she’s got the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.
“New York, I see you!” Yemi shouts. “I told you no African time, but unfortunately African time happened and there’s nothing we could do about it,” she apologizes, breaking into Nigerian pidgin. “We get thunderstorm for DC and they cancel flight. We enter bus, travel all the way down here. I no go miss this one, o!” People cheer, thoroughly smitten. Alade has been called the Queen of Afrobeats, a music style that mixes Ghanaian highlife, Ivorian coupé-décalé, and Pop music (not to be confused with Afrobeat, a mix of highlife, fuji music, and American jazz popularized by Fela Kuti). A superstar at home, she’s crisscrossed the globe on her world tour, starting with a sold-out performance at Le Trianon in France. Tonight, Yemi delights New Yorkers with renditions of “Na Gode,” “Charliee,” “Marry Me,” and a mellowed out version of “Johnny,” complete with a lap dance for a lucky audience member.
It’s easy to see why people love her so much: she has a great voice, iconic style, and performs with a grace beyond her 28 years. Among her peers, few rival the girl-next-door charm and down to earth demeanor she’s maintained on her rise to superstardom. Following her show, Yemi sat down with ESSENCE for an exclusive chat about her world tour, her journey in the industry, and what inspires her.
Read the rest on Essence.com or download the full interview.