Anthology

Goapele Mohlabane is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter whose music mixes neo-soul, trip-hop, lieder, and jazz. Goapele (pronounced gwa-puh-‘LAY) means to move forward in Setswana, a Southern African language.

Goapele Mohlabane is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter whose music mixes neo-soul, trip-hop, lieder, and jazz. Goapele (pronounced gwa-puh-‘LAY) means to move forward in Setswana, a Southern African language.

Goapele attended the Berkeley Arts Magnet School, where she led a preteen peer support group and was involved with groups combated racism and sexism.

She sang in the Oakland Youth Choir and became part of a music group called Vocal Motion. After high school she studied songwriting while briefly attending the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

After attending Berklee, Goapele returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and released her debut album, Closer, which eventually reached #63 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

In 2002 she and her family formed Skyblaze Recordings, an independent music label. She released her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer with Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings and her music was part of the movie soundtrack Honey.

In 2004, Columbia Records/Sony Music Entertainment Records acquired Skyblaze Recordings and re-released her first album. Even Closer reached #24 on the Billboard Charts for Top Independent Albums.

Her second album, Change It All was released December 2005.

She has collaborated with Aceyalone, E-40, Zion-I, the Hieroglyphics Crew, Dwele, Clyde Carson and Mos Def.

On September 14, 2006, the Ella Baker Center honored Goapele with the Human Rights Cultural Hero Award during the Center’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, titled “Tribute to a Dream.”

* American soul and R&B singer-songwriter whose music mixes neo-soul, trip-hop, lieder, and jazz.

* Collaborated with Aceyalone, E-40, Zion-I, the Hieroglyphics Crew, Dwele, Clyde Carson and Mos Def.

* Does a lot of work promoting human rights.