Goapele
Encyclopedia
Goapele
Goapele ' onMouseout='HidePop("78675")' href="/topics/United_States">American
soul
and R&B
singer-songwriter
. Her name means to move forward in Setswana
, a Southern African language.
n father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled political activist who struggled against the Apartheid System. Goapele's New York-born Israeli Jewish mother Noa had been attending protests since the age of 12. Noa attended Friends World College and was studying in Nairobi, Kenya, where she met and married Douglass. Goapele and her older brother DJ Namane Mohlabane were raised in a California South African exile community.
Both of her parents inspired Goapele to become very involved in community affairs at a young age. She attended the Berkeley (California) Arts Magnet School, where she led a pre-teen peer-support group. She also became involved in various groups and organizations that combated racism and sexism. In high school, she sang in the Oakland Youth Choir and became part of a music group called Vocal Motion. Upon high school graduation, she attended Boston's Berklee School of Music for a year and a half.
Today, her music often highlights the need for political and socio-economic change. She says she has been influenced by many including Stevie Wonder
, Etta James
, Nina Simone
, Billie Holiday
, Aretha Franklin
, Whitney Houston
, Bob Marley
, Portishead, Miriam Makeba
, Prince
, Sade
, Caiphus Semenya, Zulu Spears, and Hugh Masekela
.
Goapele and boyfriend Theo Rodrigues have daughter Bahia Osun (born May 2007).
, where she concentrated on writing and recording songs. In 2001, she self-released her debut album, Closer
, which sold 3,000 copies. At the same time, she was building a devoted audience through her popular live performances in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Closer" peaked at #63 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
In 2002 she reworked Closer, adding five new songs. With the help of her family, she formed her own independent label, Skyblaze Recordings, to oversee her musical career. She released her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer, featuring the single "Closer," through Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings
. “Closer” was also featured on the soundtrack of the 2003 movie Honey. In 2004, Columbia
/SME
Records picked up Skyblaze Recordings for worldwide distribution and rereleased the album with additional tracks. She co-wrote and co-produced the entire album, which is a mixture of neo-soul, trip-hop, lieder, and jazz
. She also toured North America
with the band Spearhead. In 2004, Even Closer peaked at #24 on the Billboard Charts for Top Independent Albums.
, featuring the single "First Love" and the song "Love Me Right," was released December 2005. The album featured production work from Jeff Bhasker, Mike Tiger, Amp Live, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, and Linda Perry. In 2006 the album peaked at #32 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Album Charts and #2 on the Top Heatseekers while the single "First Love" reached #18 on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay. Goapele appeared on Soul Train
to promote the album in May 2006, in what turned out to be the show's final new episode. She also appeared on The Orlando Jones Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, ABC View from The Bay and FOX Good Day Atlanta. Her first three releases have garnered praise from the likes of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Nylon, Interview, Marie Claire, Billboard, Essence, and Vibe. She has appeared on the covers of local Bay Area publications San Francisco Magazine, Diablo Magazine, East Bay Express, SF Bay Guardian, Mugshot Magazine, and City Flight, She was named the number-5 artist to watch in the July 2003 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, made the countdown on MTV’s Top 10 Artists to Watch, and collaborated with ALDO Shoes’ advertisement campaign in its fight against HIV/AIDS, which featured artists such as Avril Lavigne, Ludacris, Dave Navarro, Charlize Theron, Pink, Eve, Rosario Dawson, Eva Mendes, Bow Wow, Ziggy Marley, and Kelly Rowland.
such as Aceyalone
, E-40
, Zion-I,(Mac Mall), and those involved in the Hieroglyphics Crew, Detroit based vocalist Dwele
as well as Clyde Carson and Mos Def
on the track “Different.”
honored Goapele with its first ever Human Rights Cultural Hero Award during the Center’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, titled “Tribute to a Dream.” The following statement was issued by the Center regarding the award: The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is a non-profit strategy and action center. The stated aim of the center is to work for justice, opportunity, and peace in urban America.
Goapele ' onMouseout='HidePop("78675")' href="/topics/United_States">American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Her name means to move forward in Setswana
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
, a Southern African language.
Early life
Goapele's South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled political activist who struggled against the Apartheid System. Goapele's New York-born Israeli Jewish mother Noa had been attending protests since the age of 12. Noa attended Friends World College and was studying in Nairobi, Kenya, where she met and married Douglass. Goapele and her older brother DJ Namane Mohlabane were raised in a California South African exile community.
Both of her parents inspired Goapele to become very involved in community affairs at a young age. She attended the Berkeley (California) Arts Magnet School, where she led a pre-teen peer-support group. She also became involved in various groups and organizations that combated racism and sexism. In high school, she sang in the Oakland Youth Choir and became part of a music group called Vocal Motion. Upon high school graduation, she attended Boston's Berklee School of Music for a year and a half.
Today, her music often highlights the need for political and socio-economic change. She says she has been influenced by many including Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, Portishead, Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, Caiphus Semenya, Zulu Spears, and Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
.
Goapele and boyfriend Theo Rodrigues have daughter Bahia Osun (born May 2007).
Even Closer
Goapele returned to Oakland, California after her stint at Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, where she concentrated on writing and recording songs. In 2001, she self-released her debut album, Closer
Closer (Goapele album)
Closer was the début album of Contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Goapele Mohlabane. It was self-released in a strictly limited run, only available at select brick-and-mortar outlets and Web sites throughout the United States...
, which sold 3,000 copies. At the same time, she was building a devoted audience through her popular live performances in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Closer" peaked at #63 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
In 2002 she reworked Closer, adding five new songs. With the help of her family, she formed her own independent label, Skyblaze Recordings, to oversee her musical career. She released her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer, featuring the single "Closer," through Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings
Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings
Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings is an Oakland, California-based, independent, primarily alternative hip hop record label founded and owned by underground hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics...
. “Closer” was also featured on the soundtrack of the 2003 movie Honey. In 2004, Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
/SME
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
Records picked up Skyblaze Recordings for worldwide distribution and rereleased the album with additional tracks. She co-wrote and co-produced the entire album, which is a mixture of neo-soul, trip-hop, lieder, and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. She also toured North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with the band Spearhead. In 2004, Even Closer peaked at #24 on the Billboard Charts for Top Independent Albums.
Change it All
Her second album, Change it AllChange it All
Change It All is the third studio album by American singer–songwriter Goapele, released in the United States on December 27, 2005, by Skyblaze/Columbia Records. This album was composed of all-new material and was a forward step in her development as an artist, which was a great expansion in range...
, featuring the single "First Love" and the song "Love Me Right," was released December 2005. The album featured production work from Jeff Bhasker, Mike Tiger, Amp Live, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, and Linda Perry. In 2006 the album peaked at #32 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Album Charts and #2 on the Top Heatseekers while the single "First Love" reached #18 on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay. Goapele appeared on Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
to promote the album in May 2006, in what turned out to be the show's final new episode. She also appeared on The Orlando Jones Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, ABC View from The Bay and FOX Good Day Atlanta. Her first three releases have garnered praise from the likes of magazines such as Rolling Stone, Nylon, Interview, Marie Claire, Billboard, Essence, and Vibe. She has appeared on the covers of local Bay Area publications San Francisco Magazine, Diablo Magazine, East Bay Express, SF Bay Guardian, Mugshot Magazine, and City Flight, She was named the number-5 artist to watch in the July 2003 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, made the countdown on MTV’s Top 10 Artists to Watch, and collaborated with ALDO Shoes’ advertisement campaign in its fight against HIV/AIDS, which featured artists such as Avril Lavigne, Ludacris, Dave Navarro, Charlize Theron, Pink, Eve, Rosario Dawson, Eva Mendes, Bow Wow, Ziggy Marley, and Kelly Rowland.
Break of Dawn
On July 10, 2009, Skyblaze Recordings leaked the single "Milk & Honey" (produced by Bedrock), the first single from her third studio album of the same title. However, in August 2011, she announced that the album would be titled Break of Dawn. The album is being recorded at the Zoo, home of Goapele’s Oakland-based Skylight Studios and will feature production from Drumma Boy, Bedrock, Kanye West, Dan Electric, Mike Tiger, Bobby Ozuna (Raphael Saadiq, John Mayer, Erykah Badu), Malay (John Legend, Mary J. Blige), Jeff Bhasker (The Game, Kanye West, Ludacris, T.I), and other guest musicians. Expected release date is Spring 2011.Victory
In celebration of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa Goapele released the first single "Victory" featuring South African emcee Hip Hop Pantsula, a prelude to her upcoming musical project Victory, which will be released in Winter 2010 and feature an array of artists from the African continent as well as throughout the Diaspora. The leading track was recorded in English, Setswana, and Xhosa and tries to draw attention to the need for education and resources to combat Africa's most crucial dilemmas. The album will also encompass philanthropy, political and social activism. Proceeds from the project will go to ANSA (Artists for a New South Africa) a non-profit organization working to combat HIV/AIDS, assist children orphaned by the disease, advance human and civil right, educate and empower youth and build bonds between the U.S. and South Africa through Arts & Culture.Collaborations
Apart from her solo work, she has collaborated with West Coast MCsRapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
such as Aceyalone
Aceyalone
Eddie Hayes, better known by his stage name Aceyalone, is an American rapper.He is a founding member of the Freestyle Fellowship. Apart from his role in Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone is also a member of Haiku D'Etat and The A-Team , and he is a co-founder of Project Blowed.After releasing a...
, E-40
E-40
Earl Stevens , better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Vallejo, California. He is also part of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. His solo debut album, Federal, was released in November 1992, after The Click's debut...
, Zion-I,(Mac Mall), and those involved in the Hieroglyphics Crew, Detroit based vocalist Dwele
Dwele
Andwele Gardner , better known by his stage name Dwele is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.-Biography:...
as well as Clyde Carson and Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
on the track “Different.”
Human Rights Work
She has performed at rallies, demonstrations and various political events around the world from Cuba to South Africa. On September 14, 2006, the California-based Ella Baker Center for Human RightsElla Baker Center for Human Rights
The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is a non-profit strategy and action center based in Oakland, CA. The stated aim of the center is to work for justice, opportunity and peace in urban America....
honored Goapele with its first ever Human Rights Cultural Hero Award during the Center’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, titled “Tribute to a Dream.” The following statement was issued by the Center regarding the award: The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is a non-profit strategy and action center. The stated aim of the center is to work for justice, opportunity, and peace in urban America.
Albums
- CloserCloser (Goapele album)Closer was the début album of Contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Goapele Mohlabane. It was self-released in a strictly limited run, only available at select brick-and-mortar outlets and Web sites throughout the United States...
, (Goapele Music, 2001) - Even CloserEven CloserEven Closer was the second album and the first nationally distributed album by singer-songwriter Goapele, which was essentially an expanded version of her début, Closer...
(Skyblaze/Columbia/SME Records, 2002) - Change It AllChange it AllChange It All is the third studio album by American singer–songwriter Goapele, released in the United States on December 27, 2005, by Skyblaze/Columbia Records. This album was composed of all-new material and was a forward step in her development as an artist, which was a great expansion in range...
(Skyblaze/Columbia/SBMG Records, 2005) - Victory (Skyblaze Records, 2010)
- Break of Dawn (Skyblaze/Decon Records, 2011)
Singles
- "Closer" (2002)
- "First Love" (2005)
- "Love Me Right" (2006)
- "Soweto" (featuring Hieroglyphics) (2008)
- "Chocolate" (2008)
- "Milk & Honey" (2009)
- "Victory" (featuring Hip Hop PantsulaHip Hop PantsulaHip Hop Pantsula, born Jabulani Tsambo, is a popular South African Motswako hip-hop MC who frequently performs in ethnic languages, though mostly in Setswana.- Career :...
) (2010)