Goapele

Infobox musical artist
Name = Goapele


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Goapele Mohlabane
Born = birth date|1977|7|11|mf=y Fact|date=August 2008
Origin = Oakland, California, United States
Genre = Contemporary R&B
Neo soul
Trip-hop
Occupation(s) = singer-songwriter
Years_active = 2001–present
Label = Skyblaze/Columbia/SBMG Records
Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings
Associated_acts = Hieroglyphics
URL = [http://www.goapele.com/ Goapele.com]
[http://www.changeitall.org/ ChangeItAll.org]

Goapele (pronounced gwah-puh-LAY) (born on July 11, 1977 Fact|date=August 2008) is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means "to go forward" in her grandmother's native language of Tswana.

Biography

Early life

Goapele was born in Berkeley, California, to an Israeli Jewish mother and a Black South African father who was a political exile. They married in Nairobi, Kenya. She grew up listening to Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Zulu Spears, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Billie Holiday. 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 from high school, Goapele attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied music theory.

Recordings

In 2001, after self-releasing her debut album, "Closer", her family founded Skyblaze Recordings 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. Itsold more than 150,000 units and climbed into the Top 100, reaching #63 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Her sophomore album, "Change it All", featuring the single "First Love" and "Love Me Right" was released December 2005. Goapele appeared on "Soul Train" to promote the album in May 2006; as it stands, she is the last artist to appear on the program, as immediately after the episode aired, the show went into reruns. She has also appeared on "The Orlando Jones Show", "Jimmy Kimmel Live", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", and "FOX Good Day, Atlanta". Her first three releases have garnered praise from the likes of magazine 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", "SF Bay Guardian", "Mugshot", 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 Therron, Pink, Eve, Rosario Dawson, Eva Mendes, Bow Wow, Ziggy Marley, and Kelly Rowland.

Goapele is planning to release a live DVD, taped at the Great American Music Hall, which was a French restaurant, a legendary jazz club after World War II, and a contemporary nightspot for Bay Area elite that has showcased luminaries such as Duke Ellington, the Grateful Dead, and Robin Williams. The DVD will spotlight Goapele alongside her live band the Heat, in a 10-song performance including original tracks and her rendition of classics.

She is currently in the studio recording songs for her third album (as yet untitled) with producers including Krucial Keys, Drumma Boy, and Bedrock. One of the newest songs released is titled "Don't be Shy" and was produced by Don Lawrence.

Collaborations

Apart from her solo work, she has collaborated with West Coast MCs such as Aceyalone, E-40, and those involved in the Hieroglyphics Crew, as well as Clyde Carson and Mos Def on the track “Different.”

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: Cquote|We are proud to name internationally acclaimed, Oakland-based [singer-songwriter] Goapele the first recipient of this award. 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" (Skyblaze/Columbia/SME Records, 2002)
* "Change it All" (Skyblaze/Columbia/SBMG Records, 2005)

ingles

* "Closer," 2002
* "Got It" (Remix) (featuring E-40), 2003
* "First Love," 2005
* "Love Me Right," 2006

External links

* [http://www.goapele.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.changeitall.org/ ChangeItAll.org]
* [http://www.goapelepress.com/ Goapele Press]
* [http://www.myspace.com/goapelemusic Goapele at MySpace]
* [http://www.goapeleonline.com/video/Goapele_EPK1_VidFull.mov Goapele EPK]
* [http://www.vibe.com/celebs/feature.html?id=177 Goapele VIBE Profile]