Yemi Eberechi Alade (born 13 March 1989), better known as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, actress and activist. She came into the limelight after winning the Peak Talent Show in 2009 and signed a record deal with Effyzzie Music Group. Yemi Alade released her hit single Johnny in 2014 which hit the airways massively.
Early Life and Education
Alade was raised in a multi-ethnic household in Nigeria. Her mother Helen Uzoma is from Abia State, Nigeria, and her father James Alade was a police commissioner from Ondo State. She draws on her parents’ Igbo and Yoruba ethnic backgrounds, claims Yemi. Alade attended the University of Lagos and Victory Grammar School for secondary education (both in Lagos, Nigeria).
Alade competed in the Peak Talent Show, a TV talent competition, while she was attending university, and she won. Alade made her television debut at that time, where she also started to develop recognition. After that, Effyzzie Music Group acquired her.
Career
On October 2, 2014, Yemi Alade released her debut album King of Queens. The album gave birth to her most popular single, Johnny, as well as other singles like “Kissing,” “Tangerine,” and “Taking Over Me” with Phyno.
Both the 2015 Headies Awards and the 2015 Nigerian Entertainment Awards nominated the album for Album of the Year.
Yemi Alade’s second album, Mama Africa, which featured the singles “Na Gode,” “TumBum,” and “Ferrari,” was released on March 25, 2016, by Alade. The 2016 Independent Music Awards’ World Beat Album category was won by Mama Africa.
She made her Billboard “Next Big Sound” Chart debut in 2016 at position No. 4.
She became the first woman to win the MTV African Music Awards for Best female consecutively twice and be nominated for Artiste of the Year in 2015. She also won the MTV African Music Awards for Best female in 2015 and 2016 in a row.
Alade was the first African woman to be nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) in 2015, and in both 2015 and 2016, she received a nomination for Best International Act: Africa at the BET Awards. Yemi’s innovative and impressive stage acts, attire, and music videos are also praised.
Yemi Alade has received the Best Performer Headies Award in 2018 and 2019. She was the first artist to win the category when it was introduced at The Headies in 2018.
Alade is the first female and the second Afrobeats musician from Nigeria to reach 100 million views on a single YouTube video, behind Davido.
She also holds the record for the most-watched female African music video and is the first female artist from Nigeria to reach 1 million YouTube views in a single day.
In addition to English, Alade also sings in Igbo, Pidgin, Yoruba, French, Swahili, and Portuguese.
She is known as “Mama Africa” for her variety in employing many African languages and dress in her songs and music videos, and her music has had an impact on many African countries as well as the rest of the world.
Albums & EPs
- King of Queens (2015)
- Mama Africa (The Diary of An African Woman) (2016)
- Black Magic (2017)
- Woman of Steel (2019)
- Empress (2020)
- Mama Afrique (2017)
- Queendoncom (2021)
Yemi Alade Net Worth
Yemi Alade is a popular Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Songwriter and actress with a net worth of $4.5 million.
Personal Life
Yemi Alade has been rumored to be dating se handsome male celebrities including Patoranking and Falz which she debunked, stating clearly that she is single.
She is not yet married and doesn’t have a boyfriend, but plans to settle down at the right time with the right person.
Social Media
- Instagram: @yemialade
- Twitter: @yemialadee
