Yemi Alade, the Afropop superstar, opened up about a brief period of smoking during her university days, revealing how experimentation quickly turned into a nightly habit.

In a conversation with Chude Jideonwo, Alade explained that the struggle of hiding her smoking in public and the negative effects on her vocal health—vital for her music career—led her to quit.

Reflecting on her experience, she said:

“Some people say I don’t smoke, I don’t this, I don’t that. When I was in the university I tried smoking. I did not work out. But before it did not work out, it worked out a bit too much. I started needing to smoke before I go to bed. I was getting addicted to that lifestyle. But also, in public, I would hide the cigarette.

“So, I was like, ‘What’s this life; the discomfort that I can’t go to bed without smoking and then when I go out, I am going to hide the cigarette? As a teenager in the university trying to figure out life, I also made certain decisions for myself that if I’m going to hide to do something, I will not do it. Because I like to be aware of my environment and my decisions. And I just said I don’t think cigarettes are for me.

“They are not for me. And they harmed me, they affected my voice anyways. So I stopped. Smoking for me did not last up to a year.”

Alade’s candid revelation highlights her self-awareness and commitment to protecting her health and career, even in her younger, experimental years.