Award-winning Nigerian singer, Yemi Alade, has opened up about a dark phase in her teenage years when she struggled with cigarette addiction; a habit she says nearly ruined her voice and confidence.
In a heartfelt chat with media personality Chude Jideonwo, the Johnny crooner revealed that she picked up smoking while in university but quickly realized it was taking a toll on her health and image.
According to the Afropop star, the habit started innocently but soon became something she couldn’t control. “When I was in the university, I tried smoking. It didn’t work out. But before it didn’t work out, it worked out a bit too much,” she admitted. “I started needing to smoke before I went to bed. I was getting addicted to that lifestyle.”
Yemi explained that the secretive nature of her addiction made her uncomfortable, as she often had to hide her smoking habit from the public eye. “In public, I would hide the cigarette,” she confessed. “I asked myself, what kind of life is this, feeling uncomfortable because I can’t sleep without smoking, yet ashamed to be seen doing it?”
The singer said that moment of self-awareness prompted her to make a firm decision. “As a teenager in the university trying to figure out life, I made certain rules for myself that if I have to hide to do something, then I shouldn’t be doing it,” she said. “I like to be conscious of my choices and my environment, so I decided cigarettes weren’t for me.”
Alade went on to reveal that the habit had already begun affecting her voice before she quit. “They harmed me; they affected my voice,” she admitted. “Smoking for me didn’t even last up to a year, but it left its mark.”
Now one of Africa’s most respected female artists, Yemi Alade says quitting smoking early was one of the best decisions she ever made, as it allowed her to preserve her voice and stay true to herself both on and off the stage.
