By Voleine Amilcar
On Friday night Oakland urban soul vocalist Goapele Mohlabene will captivate the Mills community with her evocative and powerful voice. A year after her five track debut CD, Closer’s released, Goapele is now on tour promoting her latest offering, Even Closer.
A fusion of jazz, R&B and urban hip-hop results in a soulful multi-faceted album giving way to the truest form of urban soul.
Born and raised in Oakland, Goapele draws from her multi-cultural background (her mother is Jewish and her father is South African), musical educators and a community of independent musicians to fortify the new album. Her initial offering of five tracks in Closer was released in the summer of 2001 which prompted the leader of Spearhead, Michael Franti to ask the budding singer to join him on tour. Five months later, Goapele returned from the tour and started work on Even Closer.
One listen to the majestic vocals of Goapele and there is no denying that she brings a higher element to the world of urban soul. A selection of socially conscious songs demonstrates the artist’s maturity and adept songwriting skills.
Brought to Mills by a collaboration between the Black Women’s Collective and ASMC, Goapele is an upcoming songstress ready to take the music world on a lyrical adventure.
