It is feel good music at it’s finest from start to finish; music to get listeners dancing to the entrancing sounds, smiling at the imagery of true love and hoping for better days as painted by the colorful lyrics
The musical life and times of Yemi Eberechi Alade, popularly known as Yemi Alade, has been nothing short of incredible. From winning the Peak Talent Show in 2009 to seizing the airwaves with her first hit single “Johnny” in 2014, to the release of critically-acclaimed “Shekere”, alongside legendary songstress Angelique Kidjo (arguably her crowning moment) in 2019, her evolution and progress has been a thing of beauty to witness. One thing that has been evident in her journey thus far is how Yemi Alade has continually redefined her sound, style and self, in a bid to become the torchbearer of the African culture and sound through her music.
That pattern continues on “Empress”, her fifth studio album, which was released for worldwide consumption on the 20th November, 2020. Everything about this project is shaped around creating the quintessential African album. The album art features her donning a classic African headgear, the lyrics are delivered in a variety of African languages including Yoruba, Pidgin, Igbo and French—and the sounds explored give off strong, motherland vibes; there’s something for everybody on the continent. It is feel good music from start to finish, music to get listeners dancing to the entrancing drums, smiling at the imagery of true love and hoping for better days as painted by the colorful lyrics.
Variety is an accurate way to describe the sounds featured on this album, a rich variety at that. The 15-track project contains rich elements of Afro-pop, Soukous, Gospel House, Amapiano, Highlife, Soul, Coupe decale, Gospel, and Dancehall—genres essential to the identity of African music. Variety also works in the description of the topics tackled on the songs. The emotion of overwhelming love takes precedence on the project as demonstrated by “True Love”, “I Choose You”, “Loose My Mind” “Ice” and “Weekend”. ” Temptation” follows a similar path but with a more sexually charged energy to it’s lyrics. With “Rain” and “Double Double”, the angle of prayer and hope in the divine forces comes to light. “Dancina”, “Turn Up” and “Control” are songs purposefully designed for listeners to dance to. A needed layer of lyrical depth is added on “Mami-Water”, “Deceive”, “Yoyoyo” and”Boyz”, on which she does more of storytelling singing, ranging from tales of cheating partners to African folklore.
The features on this album are few— only 6 of them in fact—but every one of the featured artistes served their purpose. French singers Vegedream and Dadju will help solidify her popularity among listeners in France, a country where her music is already well-received, and Europe at large. Beyond the commercial angle, both artistes performed vocal wonders; Dadju on “I Choose You” may just be the best feature in this project. Estelle gives the album an American appeal, Mzansi Youth Choir give the gospel song “Rain” a very heavenly feel, while duets with Patoranking and Rudeboy keep the project close to home.
Production is classy all through the length and breadth of the project. The infectious instrumentals are made all the more enjoyable by the decision of the production team to let the beat run untainted with words on the bulk of the songs, filling that gap with lovely melodies instead. Their efforts also complements Yemi Alade’s delightful voice very nicely indeed.