Biography
Blending jazz, Afrobeat, pop, and further influences into an elegant vision of modern R&B, neo-soul vocalist and composer Y'akoto first drew notice with her 2012 major-label debut Babyblues. Reviewers likened her expressive phrasing on that release to the interpretive styles of Macy Gray, Erykah Badu, and Billie Holiday. Her follow-up full-length, Moody Blues, rose to number 11 on the German album chart in 2014.
Born Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck in Hamburg in 1988, Y'akoto passed portions of her childhood across Cameroon, Togo, Chad, and Germany. She began composing songs at age 13 and formed her initial band at 18. In 2011 a Hamburg music television program spotlighted her work, leading to an opening slot for Erykah Badu and the independent release of her first recording, the Tamba EP.
Y'akoto subsequently joined Warner International and cut Babyblues with the production team of singer/songwriter Max Herre, breakbeat specialist Samon Kawamura, and jazz pianist Roberto di Gioia. The album peaked at number 20 on the German chart in 2012. Moody Blues improved on that position, climbing to number 11 while also appearing on the Austrian and Swiss listings. Her third album, the empowering Mermaid Blues, drew inspiration from the lives of outspoken icons such as Muhammad Ali, Frida Kahlo, and Zadie Smith. Issued by Warner in 2017, the set incorporated contributions from the production duo Johan Kronlund and Stefan Örn.
Born Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck in Hamburg in 1988, Y'akoto passed portions of her childhood across Cameroon, Togo, Chad, and Germany. She began composing songs at age 13 and formed her initial band at 18. In 2011 a Hamburg music television program spotlighted her work, leading to an opening slot for Erykah Badu and the independent release of her first recording, the Tamba EP.
Y'akoto subsequently joined Warner International and cut Babyblues with the production team of singer/songwriter Max Herre, breakbeat specialist Samon Kawamura, and jazz pianist Roberto di Gioia. The album peaked at number 20 on the German chart in 2012. Moody Blues improved on that position, climbing to number 11 while also appearing on the Austrian and Swiss listings. Her third album, the empowering Mermaid Blues, drew inspiration from the lives of outspoken icons such as Muhammad Ali, Frida Kahlo, and Zadie Smith. Issued by Warner in 2017, the set incorporated contributions from the production duo Johan Kronlund and Stefan Örn.
Albums
Singles
