Nigerian Afro pop singer Yemi Alade has disclosed that she performed 300 shows without getting a penny before she came into limelight.

The ‘Johnny’ hitmaker said in an interview on Lagos-based Beat FM on Thursday that the road to stardom hasn’t been easy at all.

“It wasn’t easy in the beginning. I performed at over 300 free shows before I became this big,” she said.

“I didn’t use to have money for studio sessions. It was that bad.”

The 26-year-old recounted how stirred she was when she mounted one of the biggest stages in London for the first time.

“My biggest stage so far has been at a performance in London. I saw a sea of people up there at Wembley, London.

“It was deep. I was shaking. In fact my soul was doing ‘alanta ‘ (a popular Nigerian dance). That has been my biggest stage so far for the English-speaking audience.

“Non-English fans also blow me away. They probably don’t know what’s happening [but they sing and dance along regardless].
“Sometimes I go online and see Asians dancing to Johnny. They dunno what’s going on in the song but they are killing it.

“Swahili-speaking fans are great too. I remember one experience when Tanzanian fans were waiting for me cuz I flew overnight and so I got in late. So they started booing me when I got on stage. But as soon as the music started playing, they started showing me love.”

Speaking on where she derives her inspirations from, Yemi said: “A lot of things. My environment, mom, family, experiences, the people I relate with, and all of that.

“My strength lies in the ability to continue being original with my sounds,” she revealed.

Yemi Alade hinted about her upcoming album, saying; “My next project is a new album which is due to be released next year and it’s called Mama Africa.”