Artist page

Goapele Mohlabane, known simply as Goapele (pronounced gwa-puh-LAY), means “to move forward” in Setswana, a South African dialect. She began singing as a child and joined the Oakland Youth Chorus at age 14. After high school, Goapele pursued a professional music career by enrolling in the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She collaborated with musicians in San Francisco and recorded her self-released debut album, Closer, on both the east and west coasts of the United States. To manage her musical career, she formed Skyblaze Recordings with her brother Namane. Her first nationally distributed album, Even Closer, an expanded version of her debut, was initially released through an undisclosed label before being picked up for worldwide distribution. Even Closer was re-released with additional tracks, and in 2005, her second album, Change It All, was released, highlighting her activism efforts since childhood.

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