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YahZarah.
Defined, means "Queen mother is the Brightest Star". If her latest
album "Hear Me" is any indication of what we can expect from this
DC native in the future, she will be certain to live well beyond her namesake.
Fresh off her own tour and 24 hours removed from a slight case of laryngitis,
(a direct result of back to back shows) LiquidSoulRadio.com was blessed to
have the opportunity to sit down and talk to this sista who is creating such
a buzz in the underground neo-soul music scene.
Born
Dana Williams, YahZarah grew up with and has centered her life around music.
According to YahZarah her gift of music was not of her own making but just
as her style and unmistakably pleasant attitude - Divine.
"Prior
to my mother becoming pregnant they told her should would never be able to
carry babies full-term. It was funny because my father knew she was pregnant
before she did. While pregnant, she had hands laid on her womb and it was
prophesized that I would create music and that GOD would allow me to touch
many people through not only my voice but through art and dance."
The transition
from Dana Williams to YahZarah when described seems completely natural and
according to her, was influenced greatly by the rich African heritage of her
father. YahZarah's father was not present in her life as a child. However,
as fate would have it, she finally met him at the age of 14. His presence
in her life opened up a new world that would forever change and ultimately
define who she is now.
"I'm
a descendent of the Ashanti tribe and 1 of 13 children. My Grandfather had
3 wives and 21 children. In their culture this was not uncommon. I mean, my
father likes the ladies and the ladies like him. He's a very wonderful person
and life's too short to harbor resentment and ill will when you have someone
who's as courageous as him. When he met me, he named me after his Grandmother,
Nana Yah, whom he called the old lady. Yah means "Queen mother".
Zarah is for here grandmother Sarah. I just found out that Dana means brightest
star so I know that my life is purely ordained and GOD had a plan way before
I did."
A part
of this plan is her debut album titled "Hear Me". From beginning
to end this album lives and breathes truth; true emotion, true energy, and
true spontaneity. With the help of producer/musician Chip Shearin, YahZarah
was able to take her raw talent and mold it into something "spiritual".
The first song recorded on the album was a sexy/confident piece titled "Feel
Me" (a song in which she recorded in one take, by the way). According
to YahZarah she knew her performance in the studio that day would define the
future of her career.
"This
wasn't my first time in front of a microphone. I had done demos before and
I had been chasing this brotha (Chip) for damn near three years. At first
Chip didn't think I could sing because he would come to my shows and I was
so nervous that I wasn't always giving what I should. When the opportunity
for me to work with him finally presented itself I let go of my fears, tried
not to put any pressure on myself, and asked GOD to allow me to do what we
both knew I was capable of. I sung the first phrase which was in fact the
only thing that was written and the rest is just history. This is a way a
lot of the songs on the album were created between chip and I. The song "Love
Is You" in fact was just one sentence and then everything else just became
a freestyle. I put my lips and my heart to the microphone and that's what
you got."
Like
a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, the metamorphosis from Dana Williams
to YahZarah has been completed. Now complete, what does the world think about
YahZarah? According to her it depends on whom you ask.
"Right
now I'm still digesting what the world is thinking of me, I mean I get so
many different opinions. I meet people who love YahZarah and then I meet people
who don't think I have any talent. I meet people who think I sound like Erykah
(Erykah Badu) and that I'm trying to be like her. Then I meet people who believe
I'm sounding like YahZarah. However, overall nobody can say that they can't
enjoy my music." Check YahZarah out at www.yahzarah.com
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