Goapele
Goapele (pronounced gwah-puh-LAY) (born Goapele Mohlabane on July 11, 1977, in Oakland, California) is an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. Her name means “to go forward” in the South African language of Tswana. She was born to an Israeli Jewish mother, Noa, and a Black father, Douglas Mohlabane, who was a South African 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 Choir 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. In 2001, after self-releasing her first album, Closer, she founded Skyblaze Recordings with her brother to oversee her musical career. In 2002, she released her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer, featuring the single "Closer," through Hieroglyphics Imperium. 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. Apart from her solo work, she has collaborated with MCs such as Aceyalone, E-40, Hieroglyphics, and Triple Threat and has written for jazz trio Soulive. Her sophomore album, Change It All, featuring the single "First Love," was released in December 2005.
Discography
Albums
- Closer (2001)
- Even Closer (2002)
- Change it All (2005)
Singles
- 2002 "Closer"
- 2003 "Got It" (Remix featuring E-40)
- 2005 "First Love"
External links
- Goapele.com - Official site
- Goapele Lyrics