Award-winning Nigerian singer Yemi Alade has revealed the disturbing experiences she faced as a teenage artiste trying to break into the music industry, recounting moments of sexual harassment from music executives during what were supposed to be professional meetings and studio sessions.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Swift Conversations Podcast, Alade said she entered the industry with nothing but talent, determination, and faith — but quickly discovered that many “gatekeepers” were more interested in exploiting young female artistes than supporting their careers.
“In those beginning days, all I thought I needed was just my talent because that’s what I have,” she said. “I didn’t have a bank account full of money I could use to sponsor myself. I just had a talent and a zeal, and a promise I made to myself and a promise I believed God made to me.”
Despite working hard, Alade said her effort was never enough for certain powerful figures, who demanded something completely unrelated to her music.
“There were doors I needed to walk up to and when I walked up to the doors, they didn’t want my talent, they wanted something else.”
She recalled being harassed repeatedly from meetings to studio sessions to award events, even as a minor.
“Many times, from business meetings to studio sessions to even winning certain awards… you meet maybe the managing director or any other executive and they are trying to rub your thighs under the table. And I was just a teen. My grandpa is rubbing my legs and I can’t speak because I’m in shock. We are having an actual business meeting. Why are you rubbing my thighs?”
Alade said the harassment became so frequent that she began questioning whether she wanted to continue pursuing music at all.
“I had to speak to myself and decide if music was what I wanted to do because the sexual harassment was becoming too rampant. But something in me told me to keep pushing my talent.”
Despite the barriers, she refused to give up. Instead, she changed her approach to survival and success in the industry.
“If a door was left open for me, I would walk in. If it was shut in my face, I would walk away,” she said. “I became successful when I realised I needed to stop walking through the doors and start breaking down the walls.”
Yemi Alade’s revelation adds to the growing conversation about the vulnerability of young female artistes in the Nigerian entertainment industry, as more women begin to speak openly about experiences that were long kept hidden.