Yemi Alade

Alade's debut studio album King of Queens was released on 2 October 2014. Alade collaborated with producers such as Selebobo, Sizzle Pro, Shady Bizniz, Philkeyz, Young D, GospelOnDeBeatz, DIL, OJB Jezreel, Mr Chidoo, Fliptyce, EL Mcee and Beat Nation. The album was preceded by the singles "Johnny", "Tangerine" and "Kissing". It features guest appearances and skits from Bovi, R2Bees, Phyno, Chidinma, DIL, Selebobo and Diamond Platnumz.[18] Alade promoted the album by touring several African countries, including Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.[19] The album's deluxe edition was released in November 2014; it contains French versions of songs originally performed in English. The cover art for the deluxe edition was unveiled on 21 October 2014.[20] According to the music platform A Nation of Billions, King of Queens sold over 100,000 copies.[21]

Yemi Alade and Runtown in Mama Africa (album) listening party, London

Alade's second studio album Mama Africa was released on 25 March 2016.[22] Alade disclosed its title was Mama Africa and said it would focus on the strengths and weaknesses of an African woman.[22] The album combines elements of Afropop, highlife, R&B, coupé-décalé, hip-hop and pop.[23][24] Alade said recording the album was a struggle because she was constantly traveling to different countries everyday.[24] She also said she recorded the album to "capture all of Africa on one CD".[24] Alade told The Fader magazine she collaborated with artists from West Africa, East Africa and South Africa.[24] She enlisted GospelOnDeBeatz, DJ Coublon, Selebobo, Philkeyz, BeatsByEmzo, Masterkraft, Rotimi Keys and Mr. Chidoo to produce the album.[25] Mama Africa features guest appearances from P-Square, Sarkodie, Sauti Sol, Flavour N'abania, Rotimi Keys, DJ Arafat and Selebobo.[25] It was made available for pre-order on iTunes a week before its official release.[26] Alade announced that proceeds from the sale of the album will go to the Feed a Child charity initiative.[25] The album's deluxe edition was released on 6 April 2016, and features collaborations with South African musicians Bucie and AKA.[27] Mama Africa charted in Germany, Malaysia and France.[28]

Alade's third studio album Black Magic was released on 15 December 2017.[29] A follow-up to her 2017 EP Mama Afrique, the album features guest appearances from Falz and Olamide.[30] Black Magic was made available for pre-order in November 2017.[31] Prior to disclosing the album's title, Alade posted the acronym BM on social media and wanted her fans to guess its meaning.[31] The album was produced by DJ Coublon, Vtek, Sarz, Krizbeatz, Young D, Sess, Fliptyce, IAmBeat, Philkeyz, 2Kriss and Echo.[32] It was supported by the previously released singles "Knack Am", "Single & Searching" and "Heart Robber". The album received generally negative reviews from music critics, who panned its lyrics and Alade's songwriting.[33][34]

Yemi Alade a coach in The Voice Nigeria

Prior to that, On 9 May 2017, Alade was announced as a coach in the second edition of The Voice Nigeria to replace 2baba who was a former coach on the live show. She coached on The Voice Nigeria (Season 2) alongside other Nigerian artists like Waje, Timi Dakolo and Patoranking.[35]

On 1 December 2017, Alade was featured on a campaign "Make The Future" by Shell Oil Company in Nigeria. She was also starred in the company's music video "On Top of the World" which also featured Jennifer Hudson, Pixie Lott, Luan Santana and Monali Thakur.[36]

In July 2019, Alade became the first African female artist to reach one million subscribers on YouTube.[37] Her song "Johnny" currently holds the YouTube record for the most watched African Female music video of all time.[38] Alade was featured on "Don't Jealous Me", a track from Beyoncé's soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift. She appeared on the track alongside Mr Eazi and Tekno. Rolling Stone magazine revealed that Alade also recorded a verse for an earlier version of "My Power" in June.[39]

Yemi Alade performing in Sydney during her Woman of Steel tour

Alade released her fourth studio album Woman of Steel on 30 August 2019. Alade describes the album as a "buffet with different kinds of meals and drinks".[41] She named the album Woman of Steel to reflect her tough veneer to command the same degree of respect as her male counterparts.[42] Moreover, she derived the title after coming to the realization that she is her own superhero.[43] Musically, Woman of Steel is an Afrobeats record that incorporates elements of R&B and highlife.[44][45] The album primarily explores topics such as love, socio-politics and poverty.[44] Alade spent three years recording the album and said it would be released on 30 August 2019.[41] The album's cover art features Alade wearing a headcap inspired by the Nefertiti Bust artwork.[46] Artists featured on Woman of Steel include Rick Ross, Duncan Mighty, Angélique Kidjo and Funke Akindele.[47] In an interview with The Star newspaper, Alade said some of the songs that made the album were recorded the previous year while others were recorded in August.[41]

In September 2019, Alade signed a multi-year licensing deal with Universal Music Africa (UMA) and UMG France. UMA will serve as the exclusive worldwide record partner for Alade while UMG France will serve as the international rollout partner for all of her releases under the label.[48]

Over the years, Alade received multiple ambassadorial contracts and partnerships from different brands both locally and internationally. She was endorsed by brands like Luc Belaire, Glo, Maybelline, Shell and many more[49][50]

On 16 January 2020, Alade was announced the new brand ambassador for Hollandia Yoghurt.[51]

Yemi Alade starred on Beyoncé's Black Is King visual trailer and was announced to be featured in the movie set to be released and premiered on Disney+ on 31 July 2020, then premiered for African countries on DStv Mnet on 1 August 2020 [52]

On 25 August 2020, Alade was announced to be among the coaches participating in The Voice Nigeria Season 3 alongside Waje, Darey and Falz,[53] Alade is also one of the returning coaches from The Voice Nigeria (Season 2) alongside Waje[54]

On 17 November 2020, Alade announced the release of her fifth studio album titled Empress. She released the tracklist and the cover art of the album and slated that it would be released on 20 November 2020. The tracklist of the album contains 15 tracks and it features guest appearances and collaborations from the Grammy award winning Estelle, Vegedream, Patoranking, Rudeboy, Mzansi Youth Choir and Dadju.[55] She also enlisted Vtek, Phil Keyz, Egar Boi, Dr. Amir Krizbeatz, IamBeatz, Youp Boelen, Jimmy Huru and Yung Felix as producers of the album. The guitarists she likewise enlisted are Fiokee and Max Meurs.[56]

In 2020, Alade joined the United Nations Development Programme to speak for protection and aiding of poor people across Africa affected by the corona virus pandemic.[1] She also was featured in the campaign Unite for the Future by Global Citizen[15] In partnership with Nelson Mandela Foundation and MTV Base, Alade joined One Campaign on a movement Stand Together against Covid-19 She was featured on the campaign song "Stand Together" which collaborated with other African artistes like 2Baba, Ahmed Soultan, Ben Pol, Teni, Amanda Black, Stanley Enow, Gigi La Mayne, Prodigio and Betty G [60]

On 23 September 2020, Yemi Alade was appointed a Goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) by the organization's administrator Achim Steiner. She pledged with the UNDP that her focuses on Sustainable Development Goals would be on inequality, empowering women and creating awareness for the impact of global climate change.[61][62]