Nigerian music star Yemi Alade has accused Lagos-based radio stations Cool FM and CloutAfrica FM of blacklisting her music after she missed their December 2023 event. The 35-year-old singer revealed this on her X handle, alleging that her absence from the event led to the stations removing her entire catalogue from their playlists for nearly a year.
Alade claimed she had reached out to apologize for not attending the event but was ignored by the stations’ managers, Mr. Serge Noujaim and Mr. Joseph Adamu. She expressed her frustration, accusing them of acting as “gatekeepers” and using their platforms to punish her.
“Since December 2023, I personally reached out in January. You are still refusing to play my music and giving my team a hard time. You’re not gatekeepers, and you are not God,” she wrote.
Alade also accused the stations of intimidation and unjustly removing her songs, both past and present, from their airwaves. “The common decency to clear up any misunderstanding caused by sheer carelessness on your part… your next move is to place an embargo on my songs? Remove my whole catalogue?” she questioned.
The “Johnny” hitmaker vowed to stand firm against what she called an abuse of power, stating, “This world is a small village. My God will fight for me.”
Her allegations have sparked conversations on social media, with fans and industry observers debating the role of radio stations in supporting or hindering artists’ careers.
