Goapele
Goapele |
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Goapele Mohlabane (pronounced go-ah-puh-LAY) (born on July 11, 1977, in Oakland, California), professionally known as Goapele is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means "to go forward" in the South African language Tswana.
Biography
Early life
Goapele was born in Berkeley, California, to an Israeli Jewish mother, Noa, and a Black South African father, Douglas, who was a political exile. They married in Nairobi, Kenya. Goapele attended the Berkeley Arts Magnet School in Berkeley, California. During these years, she joined several groups that fought racism and sexism. She also sang in the Oakland Youth Chorus and joined a group called Vocal Motion. After graduating high school, Goapele attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied music theory.
Closer and beyond
In 2001, after self-releasing her debut album, Closer, she founded Skyblaze Recordings with her brother Namane to oversee her musical career. In 2002, she released her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer, featuring the single "Closer," through Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings. "Closer" was also featured on the soundtrack to 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.
Taken from Ascap.com/jam:
Even Closer was an immediate regional hit, at one point outselling 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in the Bay Area. The album's indie incarnation has, to date, SoundScanned more than 60,000 units and climbed into the Top 100, reaching #63 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Her second album (third including the re-release of Even Closer), Change it All, featuring the single "First Love," was released December 2005 and sold more than 13.000 copies in the first week. To date, it has sold more than 85.000 units.
Collaborations
Apart from her solo work, she has collaborated with West Coast MCs such as Aceyalone, E-40, Hieroglyphics, Zion I, Keak Da Sneak, SupremeEx, J Boogie, and Triple Threat and has written for jazz trio Soulive.
Human rights work
On September 14, 2006, the California-based Ella Baker Center for Human Rights 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:
We are proud to name internationally acclaimed, Oakland-based [singer-songwriter] Goapele the first recipient of this award. Her first three releases have garnered praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Essence, and Vibe. But as successful as she is, Goapele remains deeply rooted in her home community and in the struggle for human rights. We first saw her sing at rallies and demonstrations when both she and Ella Baker Center were just starting out. Today, she is still here with us, side by side, looking forward to a better day for all of our people.
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.
Discography
Albums
- Closer, 2001
- Even Closer, 2002
- Change it All, 2005
Singles
- "Closer," 2002
- "Got It" (Remix) (featuring E-40), 2003
- "First Love," 2005
- "Love Me Right," 2006