Goapele: No Labeling
Thursday - March 2, 2006
— by Willow
It hasn't been since Toni! Tony! Tone! that the Bay Area music scene gave shine to its vocalists. With the rising fame of hip-hop in the Bay, R&B artists seeme to be non-existent in public eye. With names like Keyshia Cole and American Idol contestant Latoya London, soul artist Goapele's many years of study fits neatly into the niche, musical influences Erykah Badu and D'Angelo carved out for themselves in this Hip-Hop-n-B driven industry. Unlike most R&B artists who sang in church before branching out into secular music, Goapele sang in the Oakland Youth Choir and became part of a semi-professional music group called Vocal Motion, before going solo.
Goapele's vocals flow like melodic pieces of true artistry. Her songs are like the artistic vision of a painter that dares to be different when bringing stories to life through song. By not going with the subliminal approach to hooks/choruses to get Top 40 radio spins, her standout approach has made her a phenomenal artist in every sense of the word. Her socially conscious antidotes shape the very essence of her persona and her music.
As she promotes her latest venture, Change It All, the sultry songstress took time out to share her thoughts with Ballerstatus about what makes her so different, why she doesn't fit into the brand name "Neo Soul," and why she sticks to the formula that brought her to the attention of Sony Records.
Balletstatus.net: How long have you been singing?
Goapele: Ever since I can remember...
Balletstatus.net: Were you raised in church like the bulk of your peers?
Goapele: No, my mother is Jewish, but I wasn't raised religiously. I didn't sing in a choir until I was in high school and that was a city choir -- the Oakland Youth Choir. I grew up with a lot of music around me when I was a little kid. And part of my family is from South Africa, so I grew up with a lot of live South African music. Music and the arts were naturally a part of my life, even though it was not in a church environment. I always sung with my friends for fun and after singing with a choir, I studied music, started getting vocal training, writing songs, then after awhile, it was a natural progression.
Balletstatus.net: What was it like when you were first approached about being a recording artist?
Goapele: It was a little different for me because I pretty much decided on my own. I moved to Boston to attend the Berkeley School of music for a short period of time and started recording some songs. When I moved back to Oakland, I kept recording, and really at that point, I tried to figure out how I was going to try and get my music out.
During that time, my family really stepped in and said, "Let's just put it out on our own." From there, I recorded an EP and we started our own label called Skyblaze recordings. We really worked the Even Closer project in a real grass roots way, more so because we didn't have a huge financial backing. In the Bay Area, we really tried to run our label like a major, so we could build a foundation -- a foundation that led to involvement into other areas like doing shows and meetings with other major labels for a partnership, so we could put the album out on a larger scale. As we started meeting with those major labels for backing, it led to our deal with Sony -- a relationship that started about two years ago. We re-released Even Closer together (with Sony) and my newest project Change It All with them too.
Balletstatus.net: The independent spirit of the Bay Area is probably bigger than any other region except for down South, because the consumers and radio really support their local acts. The support is so great that the artists are really successful without garnering that mainstream attention. Did that work in your favor?
Goapele: It definitely worked in my favor. The radio support I would have to say has been in and out. With my song, "Closer," that really got me a lot of radio play. Before that, the local artists weren't getting as much radio play. My music was coming out right around that time when there was a little more pressure to support Bay Area artists. Some of the DJs at the station took notice to what I was doing on their own and started giving me love at the station also.
I feel like there are so many other artists emerging now it's totally different then it was a couple of years ago. We really have a presence on the radio -- mainly hip-hop artists with the whole Hyphy thing. It's a different feeling now then it was and I have been really thankful. We really got the support of the Hieroglyphics: Del, Casual, Pep Love and all of them. They helped us get our first distribution deal. It really felt like a Bay Area love thing even though it was through hip-hop.
Balletstatus.net: Do you feel an added pressure to get noticed because you're a soul artist and the Bay is known more so for hip-hop?
Goapele: No, I think it was more helpful because I was doing something that a lot of people weren't. There wasn't any direct competition. Now, there are other soul artists doing their thing and we have R&B artists like Keyshia Cole and Latoya London and I am really happy about that.
Balletstatus.net: In my own discovery of you, I was going through my phone looking for ringtones and I found your song "First Love," and from that point on I have been a fan.
Goapele: Wow! Thank you. That's how you came to know me as an artist? So the ringtone is working?
Balletstatus.net: Yes, the ringtone is working.
Balletstatus.net: Do you have a problem with the term "Neo Soul?"
Goapele: Yes. At first, I didn't when it was only associated Erykah Badu and D'Angelo when they first came out doing their thing. But, now more artists are coming out who are associated with music that is considered soul music. It's becoming so broad and getting played out. I feel like it starts taking away from how we can grow as artists. We get confined to a label and people tend to think they know what you are going to sound like before they even hear you. For me, that title doesn't do it for me, especially with this new album Change it All. I really stretched myself artistically, experimenting with different styles. I wrote all of the songs on the album, so they represent me, but musically they're very different and I just feel like I want the freedom to do the different styles that I love and not be trapped in people's expectation.
Balletstatus.net: With the industry using sex appeal as a marketing tool to sell music, how have you remained firm that you are not going to sex it up to upstage the fact you a true talent?
Goapele: I think artists constantly have to make decisions and I know for me personally, I have to make choices that keep me from compromising who I am as a person. I know it's really based on looks now, but I think all women in any line of work are often times faced with having to work twice as hard to prove they belong. With the clothing, I can be creative with my clothing and express myself keeping it interesting without taking them off.
Balletstatus.net: Did you have to fight with your label about them wanting you to sex it up a bit?
Goapele: No. I was already doing something independent of Sony, but mainly because I am part owner of the label and this was a joint venture. I have been apart of the decision making process of my career from the beginning.
Balletstatus.net: Who are some of the producers you've worked with?
Goapele: Jeff Bhasker, Mike Tiger, Amp Live and Bedrock, a newer producer. I worked with Sa-Ra productions and Linda Perry. Most of the producers I work with are people I've worked with before. We really work well together, though people I worked with on the first album aren't recognizable names. We have good chemistry and I wanted to keep working with them and now they are working with other artists. I'm thankful we got to do this album together. Like I said, I got to do some different things with this album, so I worked with other producers as well, and I did a duet with Dwele. Also, I did a song with Clive Carson from The Team; they are from the Bay Area.
Balletstatus.net: When you are writing your songs, do you always draw from a personal place or do you sometimes find yourself getting into character?
Goapele: Usually I write from a personal place, but there are times when I have to draw on a little bit of fantasy. Most of the songs are based on my own experiences.
Balletstatus.net: What other artist do you find yourself more inline with, if anyone?
Goapele: I have been compared to Sade; she's amazing. Why exactly, I don't know? Maybe it's because of having more of a mellow voice, the lyrical content or our backgrounds. There are a lot of artists I'm inspired by and they influence my music, but I don't know if once the song is done it comes out sounding like them even when I try.
Balletstatus.net: Who are some of those artists?
Goapele: It's anyone from Miriam Makeba to Stevie Wonder, Prince, Mary J. Blige and Bjork; it's all over the place. Then lyrically, I like to keep it interesting. Change It All has a lot of love songs and the political issues we are dealing with and how it is effecting our communities.
Balletstatus.net: What was the Lyfe Tour like?
Goapele: It was good to get back out there with the new music. Vivian Green was on the tour with us and I had a chance to see how Lyfe has grown as an artist. He really has a lot of fans out there. I got to visit a lot of cities I'd never been to like Memphis, Cincinnati and Nashville. There were so many places I hadn't gone before and I really wanted to reach those people. It was fun. We got to revisit places like New York, Philly, Atlanta and D.C, where I've been a few times.
Balletstatus.net: On which one of the tour stops or if there was more than one, where you felt like you really connected with the people and you left knowing you had gained some new fans?
Goapele: I don't know honestly, it's always hard to tell. Sometimes the people are just sitting there watching and you wonder (laughing), "Well did they like it or didn't they?" I leave feeling one way, then when I talk to people they are like "I really like you," and that is always a good feeling.
Balletstatus.net: If there was someone living or dead that you would want to collaborate with, who would that be?
Goapele: I would've love to work with Otis Redding or Ray Charles. And the living, it would be Prince, Slick Rick or Outkast.
Balletstatus.net: What are the one or two songs on the album that are Goapele in her entirety?
Goapele: I think all the songs are me, but they are me going through different things. So, I can't say one better describes me more than another. It just really depends on the mood I'm in. With me trying to be different, I would say "Love Me Right," where I was trying something new and really having fun with the music. And "4 A.M." has a different vibe, but has more of the contemplating vibe that I am used to.
Balletstatus.net: What was it like the first time a fan came up to you and said song "XYZ" really hit home for me, or it really got me through some hard times?
Goapele: I think it's mainly been from the song "Closer." It continues to amaze and encourage me. That's a song so personal to me at a time in my life, it has affected so many people. It feels good to know when people are authentically affected by your music.
Balletstatus.net: If there were any misconceptions about you, you'd want to clear up, what would that be?
Goapele: I am not a brand new artist; I have been grinding and laying down a foundation for about six years now.
Balletstatus.net: Any message to your fans you'd like to share?
Goapele: I am really happy that I have an album out there I really believe in. It's an album about love, real feelings, my thought on the world and the need for change in the world and in the way we think. I also want to share we have website out there, www.ChangeItAll.org. It's for anyone that is interested in getting involved in their communities and wanting to be introduced to other artists out there. You know, the whole concept of ChangeItAll.org is "Big Things Start Small."
Goapele's "Change It All" is in stores now. For more info, visit www.ChangeItAll.org.
