Nigerian singer Yemi Alade recently opened up about a brief period in her university days when she struggled with cigarette use.
In a candid chat with Chude, the Oh My Gosh hitmaker shared that she began smoking as a teenager, but it quickly became a habit she found hard to control. She would often smoke in secret before bed, hiding it from others because she wasn’t proud of it.
“I started needing to smoke before I could sleep,” Yemi said. “It made me uncomfortable, and I didn’t like hiding it from people. I realized it was affecting my health and my voice, so I had to make a choice.”
Her decision to quit came from self-awareness and discipline. The smoking phase lasted less than a year before she stopped completely.
Yemi reflected on the experience:
“Some people think I don’t do anything, but when I was in university, I tried smoking. At first, it worked out a little too much — I became dependent and uncomfortable. I decided that if I had to hide something to do it, it wasn’t for me. Cigarettes harmed me and affected my voice, so I stopped.”
Today, Yemi Alade credits that choice for helping her focus on her health and her music, leaving the habit firmly in her past.

