- Rebel Queen was released on July 26 as Yemi Alade’s 6th studio album
- The album embraces the themes of love, individuality, African culture and more
- Rebel Queen solidifies Yemi Alade as a lover of African heritage but suffers from inconsistencies
Coming a decade after debuting King of Queens in 2015, Yemi Alade’s sixth studio album, Rebel Queen, has solidified her nickname as ‘Mama Africa,’ highlighting her evolution in the Nigerian music scene.
The title indeed poses food for thought. Why does she consider herself a rebel? Yemi Alade, while speaking with KBC Digital, revealed that she is an African rebel queen walking the path less travelled in the diverse world of monotony. She has refused to succumb to it because she is different and unique.
In her words, “I am a true rebel in words and action. So many albums tend to have monotony in genre and style and it bores me easily most times. This album has something new, old and borrowed. I want to emphasize to you that every song is unique and a capsule of my thoughts and melodies and a truckload of nostalgia.”
Rebel Queen, Yemi Alade’s 16-track album, features collaborations with legendary African singers such as Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley, to experiment with different African and diverse musical influences in creating resonating music.
The flow and track arrangement in Rebel Queen suffers inconsistencies, to say the least. For instance, listening to a fast-paced track that makes listeners hyper and excited, one would expect that the next track would keep the emotions going, but it dies as soon as the next track comes up because it is slower plus needs more time to understand the emotion behind it. Skipping becomes an option.
Be that as it may, as a well-travelled singer, Yemi Alade, who sings in Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin, Swahili, French, and Portuguese, delivers sonic music with her powerful vocals. She drives home powerful messages with most tracks on Rebel Queen, making the album lyrically grounded and rich in content.
With six studio albums so far and notable hits like Shekere and Africa, Yemi Alade’s artistic evolution has seen her unflinching stand and love for African heritage. As one of the Afropop female artiste, she has maintained her tag Mama Africa, but her recent project, Rebel Queen, despite solidifying that status, is flawed by her rebellious approach to experimenting with too many genres and the inconsistent flow from one track to another.
Reviewing Yemi Alade’s ‘Rebel Queen’ album
A beautiful intro with Karibu invites listeners into Yemi Alade’s music world. Welcome to my heart. Welcome to my Africa, she says. Derived from Swahili, the title translating to ‘welcome’ sets the comfortable tone with a blend of African rhythms and her sonorous vocals. The time limit, however, makes it more of an introduction than a proper track.
Yemi Alade put in her best in Tomorrow, her single first released off the album. The reflective piece of art ignited hope and resilience. The track flows with a soothing melody and heartfelt lyrics that propel listeners to look forward to better days ahead. Ki Lo Wa Wa brings nothing new, just a regular, maybe fun beat that is casual and would be suitable on the dancefloor. It passes more as a freestyle between.
Tracks on Rebel Queen
Chairman romances the ego of a proud, wealthy man who enjoys praises to show off his status. It is also a declaration for a man to be confident in showing off his wealth as her lines said, Owonikoko, chairman, spend the money. Ije Love is a traditional love song spiced with contemporary influences.
From an introspective and slow-paced angle, Yemi Alade takes on I’m Sorry. She feels unapologetic, contrary to the title, about her emotions and what people think of her. The beat, though, wears uniqueness and has great potential to stand out in the album. Happy Day shares a similar theme with Tomorrow as it also amplifies the message of Bob Marley’s lyrics, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ message. It is quite relatable for listeners to draw strength and inspiration.
Tracks like African Woman featuring Angelique Kidjo and Peace and Love featuring Ziggy Marley are powerful odes to African heritage. African Woman celebrates African women and their beauty. Peace and Love track preaches oneness among Africans and the world at large. The collaborations give a passionate delivery to make them shine.
Closing the album with ‘Baddie Remix’ featuring Konshens, Femi One ends on a very high note. Compared to the original hit track in 2022, the remix feels more lively and energetic but most importantly fresh. Rebel Queen is an exploration of different musical styles and themes, from Reggae to Afropop, and highlife that is hooked on a powerful storytelling approach.
The themes are poignant to entertain, inspire, educate and, above all, promote the African culture to solidify Yemi Alade’s status as one of the artistes exporting the African culture. However, the exploration of genres could have been better done to flow from one track to the other seamlessly.
Ayra Starr solidifies her superstar status with sophomore album 'The Year I Turned 21'
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reviewed Ayra Starr’s sophomore album ‘The Year I Turned 21.’ The project solidified her status as a formidable force in the industry, garnering over 200 million streams in its first week and making her the ultimate Gen Z pop star.
The album contained 14 tracks and featured numerous music stars, including Seyi Vibez, Asake, Anita, Coco Jones, Giveon and Milar.
