When Yemi Alade sat down with media personality Chude Jideonwo, she peeled back a lesser-known layer of her past, one that had nothing to do with fame, music charts, or global tours.
The Afropop star opened up about a brief but intense period in her university days when she developed a short-term addiction to smoking cigarettes, a habit she later dropped after realising how much it was harming her voice and forcing her into secrecy.
It started innocently, she recalled a bit of curiosity and experimentation that gradually turned into a routine. “When I was in the university I tried smoking. It did not work out,” she said with a wry smile. “But before it did not work out, it worked out a bit too much. I started needing to smoke before I go to bed. I was getting addicted to that lifestyle.”
What made it worse for the “Johnny” crooner was the double life it created. She found herself hiding cigarettes whenever she stepped out in public, uncomfortable with the image it projected and the secrecy it demanded.
“I was like, ‘What’s this life? The discomfort that I can’t go to bed without smoking and then when I go out, I am going to hide the cigarette?’” she reflected.
It was during that phase of self-awareness that she made a promise to herself one that would later shape her discipline as an artist and a person.
“As a teenager in the university trying to figure out life, I also made certain decisions for myself that if I’m going to hide to do something, I will not do it. Because I like to be aware of my environment and my decisions,” she said.
Eventually, her love for music and her commitment to her craft gave her the final push to quit. She noticed her voice, her greatest asset, was beginning to suffer from the habit. “They are not for me. And they harmed me, they affected my voice anyways. So I stopped,” she admitted. “Smoking for me did not last up to a year.”
Today, Yemi Alade stands as one of Africa’s most celebrated performers, confident, vocal, and fully aware of the choices that make her who she is.
Her story is a reminder that even stars once struggled with the same battles of self-control and self-discovery faced by many young people finding their way.
“When I was in university, I started getting addicted to smoking. I hid it in public, but I couldn’t go to bed without it. It didn’t last up to a year” – Yemi Alade🧎🏽♀️➡️ pic.twitter.com/okUvljH4b1
— Oyindamola🙄 (@dammiedammie35) November 1, 2025