Nollywood actress Yvonne Jegede has revealed that she nearly missed out on one of the most iconic moments in Nigerian pop culture — her appearance in 2Baba’s 2004 hit music video, “African Queen.”

Speaking during an episode of the Nollywood on Radio podcast, the 41-year-old opened up about how she initially rejected the offer to feature in the now-legendary video.

“When the director of African Queen first called, I bluntly just said, no, I am not interested,” she said.

At the time, Yvonne explained, she was solely focused on building a serious acting career and didn’t want to be seen as a video vixen.

However, she later changed her mind after discussing the opportunity with a friend named Michael.

“I was like, hey, Michael, somebody said I should come and do one stupid thing, and I just said African Queen. The guy just screamed, ‘I love that song! Go and do it!’”
“So I called the director back, got the address, and by the next morning, I was on set.”

Yvonne admitted she hadn’t heard any of 2Baba’s solo songs at the time, as he had only recently gone solo after the breakup of Plantashun Boiz.

“Tuface had just broken out of the Plantashun Boiz, and I had not heard any of his solo songs. So, I did not know what African Queen was. I wondered, what is African Queen and which song is that?”

Despite the success of the music video — which played a major role in her rise to prominence — Yvonne remained clear on her career direction.

“I did not want to be a vixen after that. I just wanted to act,” she said.
“I kept telling everyone, ‘I just want to act.’”

She later made one more music video appearance in Djinee’s Ego, which she said was a favor to a friend.

Reflecting on her journey so far, Yvonne added:

“It has been fulfilling, I am not going to lie. It has been.”

African Queen remains one of 2Baba’s biggest hits and was the breakout track on his 2004 debut album Face 2 Face. The music video famously featured Yvonne Jegede and Annie Macaulay, the latter of whom went on to marry the iconic singer.

Today, Yvonne Jegede, a proud indigene of Edo State, is an accomplished Nollywood actress and film producer with several credits to her name.