Yemi Alade
Biography
Yemi Alade, born Yemi Eberechi Alade on March 13 1989 in Abia State, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter who emerged from relative obscurity to become one of Africa's biggest and most globally recognised female artists after winning the Peak Talent Show in 2009. Her breakthrough came with the 2014 single Johnny, released through Effyzzie Music Group, which became one of the most viewed Nigerian music videos on YouTube with over 100 million views, turning her into an international sensation almost overnight. Johnny's success opened the door to a continent-wide fanbase that extended far beyond Nigeria into East Africa, where her Swahili and pan-African messaging found an especially warm reception. She followed with the albums King of Queens (2014), Mama Africa (2016), Black Magic (2017), Woman of Steel (2018), and Empress (2020), demonstrating remarkable consistency in releasing commercially successful and critically regarded music across half a decade. Her stage name Mama Africa reflects her explicit pan-African artistic identity and commitment to celebrating African womanhood. Yemi Alade has won multiple MTV Africa Music Awards including Best Female Act on several occasions, and has collaborated with Beyoncé on the Lion King: The Gift soundtrack with her contribution to the song Don't Jealous Me. She was also part of the Lionesses project celebrating African women. She has toured extensively across Africa, Europe, and North America and performs consistently to massive crowds across the continent. She continues to record prolifically and is widely regarded as one of the most important female voices in contemporary African music.
