Celebrated African music goddess, Yemi Alade, has returned with a new project to augment her rich repertoire released over the years.
The album Rebel Queen, which the singer describes as her “best body of work yet”, went public on Friday, July 2, 2024, catching up with followers of the Johnny hitmaker.
“Rebel Queen is my 10th body of work and is inspired by sounds I have fallen deeply in love with for so long…Every note is delivered with the right amount of love and passion,” she said about the project.
Explaining the concept of ‘rebel’, as indicated in the album title, she said: “To be a rebel is to travel the path less traveled…To rebel is to continuously be true to oneself even when one’s personal choices are not regarded as popular opinion.”
The 16-track compilation features Angelique Kidjo, Kidi, Ziggy Marley, and others. It has titles like Karibu, Tomorrow, Chairman, Ije Love, I’m Sorry, Happy Day, Big Connection, and African Woman.
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In May this year, Yemi Alade took a swipe at some artistes in the industry whose comments sought to denigrate the Afrobeats genre.
She believed it was “hypocritical” for top talents on the continent to “downplay the role of Afrobeats” which continued to contribute to the development of many artistes.
In her timeline, she said artistes could “go ahead” to redefine their style of music but should not belittle the Afrobeats brand.
“I don’t see anything wrong in informing your listeners of the genre of music an artist makes especially when you feel it doesn’t define your art…Just announce your genre in peace. Downplaying the role Afrobeats has played in every artiste’s development is hypocrisy,” she wrote on her X (Twitter) handle.
Yemi Alade’s “bombardment” came after artistes like Wizkid and Burna Boy, said they did not want to be tagged as Afrobeats musicians, despite the global influence of the genre.
Nicknamed “Mama Africa,” Yemi was among the selected African musicians who entertained spectators at the African Cup of Nations opening in Cote d’Ivoire in January 2024.
