Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Oludemilade Martin Alejo, and I’m a Lagosian, born January 29, 1993. I’m 22. I’m a hip hop artiste signed to Tinny Entertainment and currently a 200 level student of University of Lagos studying Marine Biology.
What was your journey into music like?
Professionally, it all started in December 2012, when I released my first single entitled, Smile on me.
Before then, I used to record covers of other artistes’ songs because I couldn’t afford beats or even studio sessions.
A friend of mine played some of my covers for his elder brother who was starting up a record label at the time (Tinny Entertainment).
He liked my stuff and thankfully, he gave me a deal and that’s when music stopped being just a hobby for me.
It became my career and my life. Since 2012, there have been ups and downs, which is no surprise because that is life for you.
All in all, I’m very thankful for where I am today.
What’s your title as you refer to yourself as a titled man?
I believe I am the King of New school hip hop in Naija. The new school Jagaban…. In the Nigerian hip hop scene, no young rapper is really prominent and that’s the vacuum I intend to fill.
What is your view on the growing “local rapper discrimination”?
It’s sad because we are all rappers at the end of the day. So, why do people feel the need to separate this from that. If you are rapping in your dialect and making it good, that doesn’t mean someone else who’s rapping in English can’t also make it good.
Besides, in a case where the supposed local rappers live a westernized lifestyle, what is local about you then?
I think it’s all a misconception.
Tell us about the remix to your hot joint ”JAGABAN”, which you featured Olamide….
After I dropped my first single of the year CONDO, I got quite a number of reviews saying Ycee is a yankee boy, Ycee just got back and all sort of things like that. So i dropped “Jagaban” to clear the air and to remind everyone that i am fully Nigerian. I never even go yankee self
Jagaban is currently trending and gaining street credibility, tell us about the way you record music and what is it about your style that makes you different?
The way I record music is quite simple for me. I listen to the beat and then freestyle to it. if necessary, I pull out my notepad or my phone and I write stuff down. my delivery is unique and that’s basically what makes me different from other artists.
I believe the way I deliver my bars is very peculiar to me.
They can say what I say but it won’t just sound right coming from them.
What is your view on collabos and how many have you done?
I have done several collabos actually, most recently olamide, BOJ, Saeon, Patoranking, Mbryo and some others. some months ago i visited South Africa, I was invited to do a collabo. I think collaborations are good and sometimes bad. It could be a plus or sometimes it can take away from you. For me, it’s been good so far though.
There were a lot of women in your Condo video, the general opinion is that they were too many, and that you sleep with them, what is the truth?
I don’t think there were too many girls and I definitely did not sleep with them.
It has been rumoured that you are a womanizer, what do you have to say about that?
Unlike most artistes, I am not a womanizer. I do have a deep appreciation for women.
What’s next for YCEE?
A video for “JAGABAN” remix is in the works and I have a new single dropping pretty soon. So, basically, that’s what’s next for YCEE. New singles, new videos, possibly an international collaborations and I’m working on my E.P which would probably come out at the turn of the new year. Its Tinny Entertainment baby!