Goapele (pronounced gwa-puh-LAY) means ?to move forward? in Sitswana, a South African dialect. Goapele Mohlabane started singing as a child, and at age 14 she joined the Oakland Youth Chorus. After high school, she decided to pursue music as a professional career and enrolled in the Berkley College of Music in Boston. After that, she worked with San Francisco musicians and artists, then went on to record on both east and west coasts of the United States to record her self-released debut album, Closer.After this release, she formed Skyblaze Recordings with her brother Namane to oversee her musical career. Her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer, an expanded version of her debut album, was initially released through [Invalid Label] until Columbia Records picked her album up for worldwide distribution and signed her to a recording contract. Even Closer was rereleased with extra tracks, and, in 2005, her second album, Change it All was released, focusing on the activism in which she had been involved since she was a child.
Goapele attended the Berkeley Arts Magnet School in Berkeley, California. During these years, she joined several groups that fought racism and sexism. She also sang in the Oakland Youth Choir and joined a group called Vocal Motion. After graduating from high school, Goapele attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied music theory.
In 2001, she signed with Skyblaze Recordings/Columbia Records, and in 2002, she released her first album Even Closer, featuring the single "Closer". She co-wrote and co-produced the entire album, which is a mixture of neo soul and jazz. She also toured North America with band Spearhead.
Apart from her solo work, she has collaborated with rappers Aceyalone, E-40, Hieroglyphics, and Triple Threat, and written for jazz trio Soulive.
Her second album Change It All, featuring the single "First Love", was released in December 2005.
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From Wikipedia:Goapele (pronounced gwa-puh-LAY; born July 11, 1977), is a Jewish African American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means to move forward in Setswana, a South African language.