Queens in Conversation: Yemi Alade & FAVE on Afrobeats, Ambition and Authenticity

Nigerian singer and songwriter Chidozie Godsfavour Ugochinyere, better known as FAVE, broke through in the stillness of 2020 when viral freestyles cut through the noise and “Baby Riddim”  cemented her as one of Afrobeats’ most promising voices, a blend of soul, R&B and raw honesty. Since then she has carved her own lane, collaborating with Olamide on “PonPon”  and “Want” and with Davido on “Kante”, while keeping her writing intimate and emotion first. Now, on the cusp of her debut album, Global Afropop superstar Yemi Alade sits with FAVE for a candid, cross generational conversation about artistry, ambition, softness, strength and navigating the spotlight as African women in music today.

Yemi Alade: Most times your songs explore romance and vulnerability, and also have a subtle strength, especially in the texture of your vocals and how you transmit those emotions with your range. How do you balance softness and emotional honesty while still holding on to the parts of you that need guarding? How do you create your art, as music?
FAVE: For the most part, my emotions are usually heightened, which people mix up with being someone who just cries a lot. The difference is I feel every emotion very deeply, almost too highly. In my songs, even if you can tell the story I am talking about is sad or dark, the way my voice delivers things always seems like, “Oh yeah, this is someone who is strong,” talking about this particular type of situation. There is a lot of strength in my voice. That comes from how much I feel things. I am not the kind of person to have an experience that passes me; I always feel it in a very, very deep manner. So I translate that in my songs, and I try to make sure I can let the listener feel that emotion as well.

Yemi Alade: I think that is very beautiful, for you to feel that side of yourself and be able to translate that into music. Inasmuch as you say you may be singing a sad song but it sounds strong, I feel like there is strength in being able to sing the things that people keep on the inside. It is like speaking your own truth; the truth can never lie. That’s really beautiful. Omowunmi, when I started off my career, the one thing she told me is that anytime I sing a song I should make sure that it is true. If it is a sad song, I really need to sing like I am sad; it’s called emoting. I feel you are very good at emoting, especially when you go on sad songs, even when you sing, am I supposed to dance or cry?

Yemi Alade: Either way, you are an emoter. Feeling emotions the way you do is a blessing. I am the same, oh.
FAVE: I know now, Pisces.
Yemi Alade: Are you a Pisces? You’re a March baby?
FAVE: Yes! Our birthdays come after each other.
Yemi Alade: We’re actually even birthday mates. Forget it, it’s over!
FAVE: That’s why we are one and the same.

Yemi Alade: You hinted you were going on your very first tour. How does it feel to go on your first tour outside of the motherland?
FAVE: Going on tour for the first time is something I have been waiting for, for a long time, patiently, not anxiously. When it is the right time, it will be the right time. I didn’t want to rush things. That paid off because a lot of artists starting off don’t realize tour is a lot of money; production, styling, traveling, accommodation, and you have to cater for the other people on the road with you. Most people are in a hurry to tour: “Yeah, my song is popping; let me go to Europe, let me go to America,” but if you don’t have sufficient money, you almost won’t enjoy yourself. You might end up in debt. When we finished the tour, we still had money to pay people.
It wasn’t a huge tour. Out of ten cities, we went to seven. I figured I should be the only one on stage; traveling with a band would not be cost effective. So we did new productions of songs I already had on streaming to make them sound live, a reconstruction of the beat. We got a music director to arrange the songs with a live band. I did half my set live with no backing track, and the other half with the track; I was doing mostly dancing and singing. I paired the two sides of myself: the side that loves to sing with nothing underneath, and the side that wants a party, a dutty party. This tour let me show both sides, calm and collected, and high energy, very ragga, in love with dance and upbeat music. I enjoyed myself on tour.
I will put my money toward a band or anything that adds to the music experience, as opposed to what I look like. What’s important is my connection with the people on stage, the music. Wearing shoes that I can’t move in, I don’t want that. I am at the stage of small halls, 500 people. I want to enjoy this stage before things get bigger.

Yemi Alade: That is a very beautiful unraveling of events. It is important for every musician to go into the world, experience things, and make their choices. Some artists will wear their home clothes instead of investing in styling because you are fixed on the vision. You are such an intelligent musician. I feel a lot of artists are losing their musicianship, it is dying because they are not watering that flower. I am happy you intend to water it. I pray all the means you need will come in the exact quantity you need. What are five things that are always in your bag, show night or daytime?
FAVE: My wallet with my cards. Makeup, because you never really know; you have to touch up here and there. Chewing gum, because the night goes on and then you’re like, “I need a fresh breath.” A pocket perfume, those small samples. My phone. And if I am going to the beach, I would probably put in…
Yemi Alade (at the same time): A pair of glasses.
FAVE: A book.
Yemi Alade: I never read at the beach before; that’s another level!
FAVE: I think because I’m in the U.S., I am seeing the other side to culture; normally I would never do that.
Yemi Alade: I took a book to the beach once to shield myself from the sun. It did something. 

Yemi Alade: On tour, what was your favorite city; the one you felt you really connected with?
FAVE: Amsterdam!
Yemi Alade: Amsterdam is iconic for me too! Don’t tell me it’s the weed… don’t tell me it’s weeeeeed.
FAVE: It’s not! Amsterdam is amazing. I enjoyed myself from beginning to end. The reception from the crowd was shocking; hearing them sing word for word. It felt like we were performing together. New York was really good; D.C., too. But Amsterdam was different. The energy felt like Lagos, your own city. After the show I took photos with a lot of people; it was nice to connect outside the stage. Why was it your favorite?
Yemi Alade: On my first European tour, that was my last city. I discovered they are very in tune with African culture. You see posters around the city with white chalk marks, African musicians. They love Fela. They are rooted in the history of Afrobeats. And they want to sing your song to you, like they are performing for you. Every move you make is appreciated. It’s like there is a connection you can’t see, vibrations. Amsterdam has a very high vibration.

Yemi Alade: What’s your dream city to perform in that you haven’t yet?
FAVE: I don’t have a venue. Growing up, I never took interest in venues; I just knew big stage or small stage. It was last year I found out what Madison Square Garden was; I am vibing. But Brazil, because people say Brazilians are willing to dance to anyone’s music and accept anyone. It’s about people knowing how to connect with your music. They are receptive; their ears are open. With a Nigerian crowd, sometimes people don’t listen; they wait to vibe with the most popular song. I’m chasing places where I can convert people who’ve never heard of me before. I want to sing to a crowd in love with music so they discover me and we connect. That’s what I want to do with my life.
Yemi Alade: That’s beautiful. You’re describing festivals. Abroad, everybody leaves home to have fun. They receive you whether it’s slow or fast. I can’t wait to see you at festivals. Brazil is fun to perform; I’ve been three times, São Paulo and another city. They will rock your world. They have Yoruba ancestry; they are rooted in the culture and rhythm.
FAVE: Exactly! That rhythm. They have it in them as well.
Yemi Alade: The favela is kind of like the ghetto. They have nice things there. I can’t wait for you to go and enjoy it.
FAVE: Anyone reading this, you need to buy me a ticket to Brazil.
Yemi Alade: Direct, please take her to São Paulo.
FAVE: São Paulo, I’m coming for you.
Yemi Alade: But don’t go anywhere they tell you not to go.
FAVE: I am an obedient tourist; my stubbornness hasn’t reached that level.

Yemi Alade: Every artist has emotions or sounds they usually don’t indulge. Since you have a new album coming, are there sounds you previously weren’t a fan of that made the album?
FAVE: : Yes. Growing up on music, I always felt Afrobeats was something I would never do. I felt the pace was too fast for me and it focused too much on rhythm and beat and less on lyrics. I’ve always been in love with deep music; Adele, Sia the poetry of it. My first single, “M.O.M.M.S.”, in 2019 is very slow, very lo-fi. In 2020, when COVID hit, I decided to try something new. I tweeted for producers to send me beats, and I posted videos on Twitter. That’s how I met Afrobeats producers. I started writing a lot. “N.B.U” popped after a freestyle went viral; that was my first Afrobeats song. From there, I realized I don’t have limitations. If I connect with a sound, I’m eager to do what I can on it, because the vibe I bring isn’t something anyone else has brought before. Now I don’t say no to a genre. In sessions, when producers ask, “What genre?” I say, “Play me anything.” I have a song on my project called “Afrobeats.” On it I’m talking about how I dey run from Afrobeats but Afrobeats still comes to look for me. As an African, you can’t really run from it. It’s in your blood. Foreign instrumentalists sometimes find our rhythm difficult, but tell any African player, “Play pam pam parampan,” they get it. There’s a connection in our blood. I need to explore that. So it used to be Afrobeats, but no more.

Yemi Alade: That is beautiful. I hear the soul in your voice. What about songs inspired by a movie, a book, a random conversation, a third party point of view, anything that didn’t happen directly to you? Is there a song like that on your album?
FAVE: Let me think. I have to list the album songs in my head.
Yemi Alade: Take your time. Was everything written purely on your experiences?
FAVE: I think so. Honestly, it’s hard to tell. I absorb things easily. Some experiences I’ve seen and registered with me could end up in a song, mixed with my experience. For the most part, these are my stories. There’s a song where I’m telling people to awaken their “rude government.” I got to a point where I felt people come and go. Time is fickle and precious. If there’s something you want to get done, do it. That’s the rude awakening. Get up and move. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Use the time, the people, the resources in front of you. Explore. Go out. Don’t limit yourself in the name of “I have time.” I want people to listen and feel like, in some way, they know who I am.

Yemi Alade:  Lola Young. Her song “Messy”  was the first I heard. She just released “One Thing”. I’ve been following her since I discovered her. She is different to me out of the box, unconventional. Her voice is not conventional. Sometimes she talks while singing and then goes back. It’s amazing. I know you’ll like her if you check her out. She toured recently and dropped a video for the new song very unconventional. Usually, when it’s time to shoot a video, people expect us to look cute, be beautiful, and be a woman. I love when women push the boundaries and do crazy things. You’re not so concerned about looking pretty because you already are. If the story you’re telling has to get you bloodied or tattered to pass the message, then that is what we have to do. That song and video push me to be more unconventional as an artist, which I’ve always wanted. Besides that, her music is amazing. She’s my number one dream collaboration.
Yemi Alade: Have you established contact with her yet?
FAVE: No. I don’t even know how that’s going to happen.
Yemi Alade: Sometimes you put it into the universe and people echo it and it finds its way to you.
FAVE: Yes, I am putting it out there.

Yemi Alade: Most times, people prefer that women in the industry are not opinionated. They want us to focus on aesthetics and be pretty and quiet. How have you coped with that? What’s your advice to women who will come after you?
FAVE: Whatever you feel you want to say, your opinions matter. We’ve come too far to be quiet. Being emotional, intuitive, and observant doesn’t serve the world if we can’t say what we’re feeling. I am opinionated, and sometimes it bites me, but I would pick that over being quiet. Closed mouths don’t get fed. You can end up five years down the line in a career you haven’t been 100% in because you were trying to make others happy. Say what you’re feeling. You have the same rights. It’s not fair when you feel a type of way about something and don’t say it.
In the industry, especially with men, it can be shocking to see how they react when you insist on something. In Beyoncé's tour documentary there’s a scene where she told a guy the camera and lens to use. He said he didn’t have that lens. She asked again, “You don’t have that lens?” He said, “We have it, but we thought we wouldn't need it.” She said, “You need to get the lens.” That happens often. Sometimes a man feels like your opinion isn’t valid because he thinks he’s the expert. You find yourself repeating things or explaining when you shouldn’t have to. We should trust each other and do what’s necessary especially when it concerns a woman. Say your mind. Be respectful, but say your mind.
Yemi Alade: The media and even sweet fans try to pit one artist against another. I’ve experienced it. I’m sure they’ve tried it with you. What is your message to the media?
FAVE: The media has been this way since the dawn of time, clickbait, ways to make money. It’s worse for women. They don’t accord the same respect. They act like there’s only space for one woman, which makes no sense. You have all these men, and you’re not pitting them unless there is cult beef between fans. With women, it’s like there can only be one queen. That’s my issue with the blogs. Women are the prize. Too often here they think women are inferior in music or entertainment. In the rest of the world women hold the baton. They don’t realize how powerful a coalition of women can be. My note to them is simple: just watch and see. With time, we ourselves are going to change things for the better.

Yemi Alade: To wrap up, if you could describe your album in one word?
FAVE: Splash!
Yemi Alade: What’s the title of the album?
FAVE: I don’t want to say. I’ll tell you in private.
Yemi Alade: What should people look out for, what’s the “It” factor?
FAVE: Me. I’m the “it” factor.
Yemi Alade: Hey, wahala oh!
FAVE: This is my first album. I don’t know what people are expecting, but whatever it is, the album will supersede it. I am putting my entire everything into the project.
Yemi Alade: How many tracks?
FAVE: I feel it’s going to be 12, but anything can happen and we might add one more for an intro. But it’s going to be 12.
Yemi Alade: That’s my hardest part, the selection, because I’m attached to every song. Most times I wish I could step out when the team is selecting, but if they pick, I’ll come and be against everything.
FAVE: You’re like, “Oh my God, this song is not there.”
Yemi Alade: Yes, yes, yes. So the best way is for all of us to choose it together, je je. We had such a great conversation. You’re kind to have shared your thoughts so openly. I hope the best for you. I can’t wait to experience you on stage, and eventually both of us on stage at the same time.
FAVE: Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to do this interview. I would have preferred nobody else but you, to be honest.
Yemi Alade: Thank you, my sweet potato! You’re so sweet, FAVE! Honestly, you are really sweet. I appreciate your personality and who you are. Abeg, try not to change. Don’t allow this bitter world to change you. You are a sweetheart. I pray the best for you always. Keep doing you, my darling, plenty money coming your way, abeg, plenty money. Bye, darling.
FAVE: Bye. Thank you, my queen!

Deeds Magazine is honored to bring you this rare meeting of minds between Yemi Alade and FAVE. As they compare notes on vulnerability, touring, genre boundaries and finding their voices, you can hear their shared commitment to authenticity and a fearless desire to push the culture forward.

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