Y’akoto is a pseudonym of Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck (b. 1988 in Hamburg). Read Full Bio ↴Y’akoto is a pseudonym of Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck (b. 1988 in Hamburg).
“It feels so good to be restless.”
(Moving)
It is restlessness which drives her.
There is this urge which impels her never to stand still and to keep growing and learning. The feeling of never arriving yet always being there. The conviction that one must lose oneself first in order to someday, find oneself.
In the life of Y’akoto it is precisely this restlessness which has been the root and motive force behind all her work, the fount of her being and ultimately, the reason why her voice embodies so much more inherent depth, experience and life, than a singer of 23 years of age would otherwise, under normal circumstances, be endowed with. But let’s start at the beginning!
As the daughter of a Ghanaian father and a German mother, Jennifer Yaa Akoto was raised a cosmopolite from her infancy. She was born in Hamburg and grew up in Ghana with sojourns in Cameroun, Togo and Chad before finally ending up shuttling between Hamburg, Lomé and Paris, a wanderer between worlds, a modern-day nomad who has always drawn strength from a state of permanent transition, which she has always seen as the inexhaustible source of her inspiration. “The numerous relocations, all the travel, and the global adaptability this entailed – all these things strongly influenced me.” states Y’akoto. “Yet I feel no sense of displacement or inner conflict. On the contrary, it is all these stages of a journey, all the impressions and experiences en route, which together, form a sum that is greater than its parts – a greater whole – the sum of me, my totality.” And to be sure, this statement characterizes her career as an artist to date, which has turned out to be just as exhilarating and multifaceted as her eventful personal life.
Music has always defined Y’akoto’s life: her father was a renowned artist of the West African Highlife music genre while Y’akoto herself was given piano lessons at a very early age. At the age of 13, she sang in a band for the first time. With their effervescent fusion of Rock, Reggae, Soul and Funk, they toured the youth clubs and won numerous band competitions. At 16, she made a brief excursion into electronic music in a fit of adolescent whimsy which lasted until she ended up in a line-up involving beat box, guitar, bass and vocals. “The turning point in my music only came when I turned 20” reminisces Y’akoto. This was shortly after successfully graduating as a certified teacher of dance when the solo artist Y’akoto emerged full-blown, which meant, in concrete terms: less experimentation and getting down to basics; no more compulsive innovation for its own sake, but focusing upon the essentials. In short: effectiveness meets avant-garde. “Nowadays the most important thing is to tell stories with my songs. That is why the sound is stripped down to the very basics. Less is more. I took great pains to make sure that in this album, things were kept consistently purist and unadulterated.”
This record, her debut album, ‘Babyblues’ is a splendid collection of songs full of meaning and depth which Y’akoto wrote herself in the course of the past two years in close collaboration with Mocky, Haze and the Kahedi production team (Max Herre, Samon Kawamura and Roberto Di Gioia). “A number of songs on the album such as ‘Good Better Best’ or ‘Moving’ have a very strong Afro feel to them, but for me, they are, above all, folk music, because I want to address people at a very personal level. The songs deal primarily with real life, with the things that happen to each and every one of us every day of our lives; stories that everyone has experienced and can empathize with.” In consequence, Y’akoto’s tracks excel so impressively for reason of a fascinating universal validity which they express with no trace of being clichéd.
With her songs, Y’akoto follows in the footsteps of such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Erykah Badu as she manages effortlessly to encapsulate grandly intense feeling in exquisite narrative vignettes, moving miniatures in which the concerns of a single individual become the concerns of many. And yet, Y’akoto is simply on a hegira of soul-searching.
At least that is what a spiritually empowered woman in Africa asserted, who Y’akoto consulted - just for fun, actually - in the course her latest sojourn there. The old lady took Y’akoto’s hand, looked deep into her eyes and solemnly declared that Y’akoto had lost her soul. A short, sharp shock. “Then the old lady said that I was in constant search of my soul, which immediately made perfect sense to me” declared Y’akoto, late of Hamburg. “And I then realized that’s why I’ve always refused to say that I perform ‘soul’ music. ‘Soul-searching-music’ would be the better term.”
And indeed, Y’akoto is actually on a hegira of soul-searching.
One thing’s for sure: a voyage of self-discovery like that can hardly be undertaken alone. You need a crew of capable, trustworthy hands to make a musical manifesto out of this soul-searching mission. And Y’akoto found this crew of kindred spirits in Mocky, Haze, as well as in Max Herre, Samon Kawamura und Roberto Di Gioia aka Kahedi. “What I like best about Mocky is his impulsiveness”, enthused the female vocalist about her work with the Canadian now residing in Berlin. “Without wasting words he knew immediately what I wanted. He always managed to bring the right spirit into our studio work and his love of experimentation was perfectly in tune with my approach to music.” Her collaboration with Max Herre turned out to be similarly rewarding. “Things could get tricky and complicated while recording vocal passages where raw, inmost feelings are revealed, but since Max is a vocalist himself, he has a profound understanding of my needs as a singer” states the 23 year-old about the studio sessions and adds: “Everyone involved were, first and foremost, really great musicians. Each an every one of them, a master of his craft. But what amazed me most was the fact that every one of them poured so much work and love into this project. Everything came so harmoniously and naturally, everything felt so right – it didn’t feel like just another job.”
And this feeling of uncompromising consistency is a recurring theme joyously audible through all the songs of the album. Each effortlessly rendered track leads smoothly to the next, the appeal of each individual song seemingly interwoven with that of every other in the album, within the greater context of an encompassing love for music which is the leitmotif.
Take, for instance, the lively and infectious song ‘Moving’, a musical allegory of melancholy mysticism and effusive sensuality. ‘Moving’ is a track which stays with you, imprinting echoes of itself in your mind, a breathtaking, continuous adventure which seems to have neither beginning nor end, with a compelling melody which stems mostly from Y’akoto’s experimental side, from her penchant for non-conformist artistic expression.
This individualistic bent is also strikingly manifest in the choice of track for her first single off the album: then instead of regaling the public with a cheerful effort like ‘Good Better Best’ styled with the help of Haze into a nimbly catchy world music hymn replete with captivating allusions to the music of traditional African dance, Y’akoto chose the moving ‘Tamba’ where she tells of the terrible fate of an African child-soldier. The song is fraught with mordant images which bury themselves into the listener’s mind like a spray of shrapnel, making the frightful lot of the child-soldier a thing to be heard and felt. “Of course, this isn’t a song that conjures a smile on the listener’s face. But it gives him food for thought” offers Y’akoto as explanation for her choice of ‘Tamba’ as first single release. “Music simply doesn’t always have to present a pleasant face. Sometimes music must hurt to make a difference.” That this album will have lasting impact is undeniable.
‘Babyblues’, where Y’akoto reveals her innermost feelings, is testament to the emotional gravity in which she was occasionally immersed in the course of writing her songs. More than anything, her title track ‘Babyblues’ underscores the mystery and darkness inherent in such an otherwise luminous personality as Y’akoto’s, where, accompanied by delicate strains of the piano, she mines the depths of her soul for that black, lightless pulsing core which she then brings to light, transmuted into a glittering prize. “There was actually a time when I felt the blues within me” confesses Y’akoto and laughs. “I got totally absorbed in the blues and that was hard – still, it was fun. A rather silly, childish sentiment came to life at the time – that’s the reason for the title ‘Babyblues’.”
The way in which the 23 year-old adds astounding weight to the meaning of her words with profound emotion; the way in which she combines her youthful vitality with the technical accomplishment of an avowed female vocalist of stature and experience; the way in which her acute flair for creating moving moments of emotion and sensibility emerges from her supreme artistic composure – all this touches the soul, moves the listener; makes a lasting impact.
There is this urge which impels her never to stand still and always to keep growing and learning. This feeling of never arriving yet always being there. The conviction that one must lose oneself first in order to someday, find oneself.
It is restlessness which drives her.
Sites: De.Wikipedia
“It feels so good to be restless.”
(Moving)
It is restlessness which drives her.
There is this urge which impels her never to stand still and to keep growing and learning. The feeling of never arriving yet always being there. The conviction that one must lose oneself first in order to someday, find oneself.
In the life of Y’akoto it is precisely this restlessness which has been the root and motive force behind all her work, the fount of her being and ultimately, the reason why her voice embodies so much more inherent depth, experience and life, than a singer of 23 years of age would otherwise, under normal circumstances, be endowed with. But let’s start at the beginning!
As the daughter of a Ghanaian father and a German mother, Jennifer Yaa Akoto was raised a cosmopolite from her infancy. She was born in Hamburg and grew up in Ghana with sojourns in Cameroun, Togo and Chad before finally ending up shuttling between Hamburg, Lomé and Paris, a wanderer between worlds, a modern-day nomad who has always drawn strength from a state of permanent transition, which she has always seen as the inexhaustible source of her inspiration. “The numerous relocations, all the travel, and the global adaptability this entailed – all these things strongly influenced me.” states Y’akoto. “Yet I feel no sense of displacement or inner conflict. On the contrary, it is all these stages of a journey, all the impressions and experiences en route, which together, form a sum that is greater than its parts – a greater whole – the sum of me, my totality.” And to be sure, this statement characterizes her career as an artist to date, which has turned out to be just as exhilarating and multifaceted as her eventful personal life.
Music has always defined Y’akoto’s life: her father was a renowned artist of the West African Highlife music genre while Y’akoto herself was given piano lessons at a very early age. At the age of 13, she sang in a band for the first time. With their effervescent fusion of Rock, Reggae, Soul and Funk, they toured the youth clubs and won numerous band competitions. At 16, she made a brief excursion into electronic music in a fit of adolescent whimsy which lasted until she ended up in a line-up involving beat box, guitar, bass and vocals. “The turning point in my music only came when I turned 20” reminisces Y’akoto. This was shortly after successfully graduating as a certified teacher of dance when the solo artist Y’akoto emerged full-blown, which meant, in concrete terms: less experimentation and getting down to basics; no more compulsive innovation for its own sake, but focusing upon the essentials. In short: effectiveness meets avant-garde. “Nowadays the most important thing is to tell stories with my songs. That is why the sound is stripped down to the very basics. Less is more. I took great pains to make sure that in this album, things were kept consistently purist and unadulterated.”
This record, her debut album, ‘Babyblues’ is a splendid collection of songs full of meaning and depth which Y’akoto wrote herself in the course of the past two years in close collaboration with Mocky, Haze and the Kahedi production team (Max Herre, Samon Kawamura and Roberto Di Gioia). “A number of songs on the album such as ‘Good Better Best’ or ‘Moving’ have a very strong Afro feel to them, but for me, they are, above all, folk music, because I want to address people at a very personal level. The songs deal primarily with real life, with the things that happen to each and every one of us every day of our lives; stories that everyone has experienced and can empathize with.” In consequence, Y’akoto’s tracks excel so impressively for reason of a fascinating universal validity which they express with no trace of being clichéd.
With her songs, Y’akoto follows in the footsteps of such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Erykah Badu as she manages effortlessly to encapsulate grandly intense feeling in exquisite narrative vignettes, moving miniatures in which the concerns of a single individual become the concerns of many. And yet, Y’akoto is simply on a hegira of soul-searching.
At least that is what a spiritually empowered woman in Africa asserted, who Y’akoto consulted - just for fun, actually - in the course her latest sojourn there. The old lady took Y’akoto’s hand, looked deep into her eyes and solemnly declared that Y’akoto had lost her soul. A short, sharp shock. “Then the old lady said that I was in constant search of my soul, which immediately made perfect sense to me” declared Y’akoto, late of Hamburg. “And I then realized that’s why I’ve always refused to say that I perform ‘soul’ music. ‘Soul-searching-music’ would be the better term.”
And indeed, Y’akoto is actually on a hegira of soul-searching.
One thing’s for sure: a voyage of self-discovery like that can hardly be undertaken alone. You need a crew of capable, trustworthy hands to make a musical manifesto out of this soul-searching mission. And Y’akoto found this crew of kindred spirits in Mocky, Haze, as well as in Max Herre, Samon Kawamura und Roberto Di Gioia aka Kahedi. “What I like best about Mocky is his impulsiveness”, enthused the female vocalist about her work with the Canadian now residing in Berlin. “Without wasting words he knew immediately what I wanted. He always managed to bring the right spirit into our studio work and his love of experimentation was perfectly in tune with my approach to music.” Her collaboration with Max Herre turned out to be similarly rewarding. “Things could get tricky and complicated while recording vocal passages where raw, inmost feelings are revealed, but since Max is a vocalist himself, he has a profound understanding of my needs as a singer” states the 23 year-old about the studio sessions and adds: “Everyone involved were, first and foremost, really great musicians. Each an every one of them, a master of his craft. But what amazed me most was the fact that every one of them poured so much work and love into this project. Everything came so harmoniously and naturally, everything felt so right – it didn’t feel like just another job.”
And this feeling of uncompromising consistency is a recurring theme joyously audible through all the songs of the album. Each effortlessly rendered track leads smoothly to the next, the appeal of each individual song seemingly interwoven with that of every other in the album, within the greater context of an encompassing love for music which is the leitmotif.
Take, for instance, the lively and infectious song ‘Moving’, a musical allegory of melancholy mysticism and effusive sensuality. ‘Moving’ is a track which stays with you, imprinting echoes of itself in your mind, a breathtaking, continuous adventure which seems to have neither beginning nor end, with a compelling melody which stems mostly from Y’akoto’s experimental side, from her penchant for non-conformist artistic expression.
This individualistic bent is also strikingly manifest in the choice of track for her first single off the album: then instead of regaling the public with a cheerful effort like ‘Good Better Best’ styled with the help of Haze into a nimbly catchy world music hymn replete with captivating allusions to the music of traditional African dance, Y’akoto chose the moving ‘Tamba’ where she tells of the terrible fate of an African child-soldier. The song is fraught with mordant images which bury themselves into the listener’s mind like a spray of shrapnel, making the frightful lot of the child-soldier a thing to be heard and felt. “Of course, this isn’t a song that conjures a smile on the listener’s face. But it gives him food for thought” offers Y’akoto as explanation for her choice of ‘Tamba’ as first single release. “Music simply doesn’t always have to present a pleasant face. Sometimes music must hurt to make a difference.” That this album will have lasting impact is undeniable.
‘Babyblues’, where Y’akoto reveals her innermost feelings, is testament to the emotional gravity in which she was occasionally immersed in the course of writing her songs. More than anything, her title track ‘Babyblues’ underscores the mystery and darkness inherent in such an otherwise luminous personality as Y’akoto’s, where, accompanied by delicate strains of the piano, she mines the depths of her soul for that black, lightless pulsing core which she then brings to light, transmuted into a glittering prize. “There was actually a time when I felt the blues within me” confesses Y’akoto and laughs. “I got totally absorbed in the blues and that was hard – still, it was fun. A rather silly, childish sentiment came to life at the time – that’s the reason for the title ‘Babyblues’.”
The way in which the 23 year-old adds astounding weight to the meaning of her words with profound emotion; the way in which she combines her youthful vitality with the technical accomplishment of an avowed female vocalist of stature and experience; the way in which her acute flair for creating moving moments of emotion and sensibility emerges from her supreme artistic composure – all this touches the soul, moves the listener; makes a lasting impact.
There is this urge which impels her never to stand still and always to keep growing and learning. This feeling of never arriving yet always being there. The conviction that one must lose oneself first in order to someday, find oneself.
It is restlessness which drives her.
Sites: De.Wikipedia
Save You
Y'akoto Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Save You' by these artists:
.damaged Today I found a letter While getting up off the ground The…
.Simple Plan Take a breath, I pull myself together Just another step unti…
3xiLe What do you do when I'm not around Without me you're…
Alber-K No I can't Be the One to Save you No I…
Anders Johansson You sing that you're in love, but tell me what…
B-Tone It's one of those nights again I can feel it just…
BACK LIFT I wonder, my heart opens the door You hold my pleasure…
Chika Feel like nobody take me serious I know it's a couple…
Code 64 Have you ever been left all alone Wondering where everyone …
ddSimple Plan Take a breath I pull myself together Just another stair Unti…
Denial Waits Grew up Without your father When your birthday came around H…
DJ I.C.O.N. Yeah Yeah Let me talk my- I tried to save you, knowing I…
E.lemental I can't save you (I can't save you) You're stuck in…
Emilie How do I save you from a fate so sweet As…
Empty Isles I think I can save you We don't need to look…
Fight Like Sin You dropped the axe Your conscience is folding Behind your b…
Freaknik (T-Pain) Yeah Freaknizzle I'll save ya Yeah Yeah Ladies and gentleme…
Gemini's Edge Leaps and bounds from where it should be In between what…
genisys I just called her late night, where she at She ain't…
Ginger Snap5 If I save you now Will I regret? I take this muddy…
GOT7 대체 뭐가 널 불안 하게 해 왜 (불안해 불안해 왜) 필요할 때면…
Heimdall Son, watch around This is my home Now burns in flames And I…
here/now You snapped your jaws like a dog in a trap I…
Holly Drummond I don't know what to believe anymore The juries out on…
Hot Rod Circuit Is this what it's like to feel Somehow I forgot to…
J.P. Hoe Let's get away, get away now Yeah I swear there's better…
J.Yung You make my Head spin, I need answers to these questions But…
James Vickery Remember when you took the stars from me I didn't even…
Kelly Clarkson I can tell I can tell How much you hate this Deep down…
Kelly Clarkson(凯莉 克拉克森) I can tell, I can tell, How much you hate this. Deep down…
Kodak Black Hold me down Hold me down, hold me down Just hold me…
LAY I can give you everything that you're missing Take you …
leftmore Don't get to close to me I'm drowning And don't get to…
Lenachka I wanna rock-n-roll I wanna give my soul I'm wanting to beli…
Liv Lauren Baby you told me to slow it down Baby you know…
Lloyd P-White Let's get away, get away now Yeah I swear there's better…
Loch Vostok When the truth unfolds I will be the one to save…
Maddhatr I'm going to Save You Whether it's worth it or not 'Cause…
Manafest We're all told we should be afraid But I won't bow…
Matthew Crawford Well I often feel the same, wish I didn't cause…
Matthew Jones I wanna rock-n-roll I wanna give my soul I'm wanting to be…
Matthew Perryman Jones I wanna rock-n-roll I wanna give my soul I'm wanting to beli…
matthewperrymanjones I wanna rock-n-roll I wanna give my soul I'm wanting to be…
Misty I wanna rock-n-roll I wanna give my soul I′m wanting to beli…
Mr. SOS I'm back in the flesh with the classical text He canceled…
Naomi Lareine No, I can’t be the one who saves you No money,…
okaywill There you go Just hanging on How’d you stay so strong This…
Past & Present VERSE I know it went south tonight Even though you…
Pearl Jam Gonna save you fucker,.not gonna lose you Feeling cocky and …
Pearl Jam䌀 Gonna save you fucker,.not gonna lose you Feeling cocky and…
Peter and the Roses Look at yourself Do you feel it in your bones? Can you…
phemiec There was a darkness That soothed me and raised me up…
Pulsars You took us for a ride stone face and no twitch…
Ray Rockman Would you really kill yourself You tell me that your suicida…
Richard Durand & Christina Novelli If I could wrap you up If I could keep you…
Riot Ten Why must I feel this way? My heart can't take much…
Robert O'Connor I didn't know your heart was broken Tell me now what…
Robot Zombie Army Body cold and comatose Locked away from the ones who need…
Rose Cora Perry You tried to see you're blinded by your own eyes…
rum.gold You′re the air I couldn't breathe You′re the sky I wanna…
S I really should have seen it coming Don't know why I…
Sabai & Kermode Hey you (hey you) I wrote these words Got something to say…
Saixse Uh pretty baby don't you cry I understand why you're sad…
Sarah Ikumu Fighting your way through the pain Do you remember, i rememb…
Scenes From A Movie Listen up and listen close Okay, so maybe I wasn't clear…
Seasons After Watch you lose control Of the ride Watch you lose control …
Silvio Carrano Vs. Frankie T Tonight we’re gonna paint the town Set’em up and knock’em do…
Simple Plan Take a breath, I pull myself together Just another step unti…
Simple Plan | www.virtuarock.net Take a breath I pull myself together Just another stair Unti…
Simple Plan(简单计划) Take a breath, I pull myself together Just another step unti…
Spencer Diamond Girl it's something Something in your eyes I can see that yo…
Stormy Strong Streetlamps, they serve to light your path And in, an ordin…
T-Pain You ain't gotta watch your kids You can get your…
T-Pain (ft. One Chance) You ain't gotta watch your kids You can get your…
T-Pain feat. One Chance Yeah Freaknizzle I'll save ya Yeah Yeah Ladies and gentleme…
T-Pain Ft One Chance You ain't gotta watch your kids You can get your…
The Dark Tenor Rex tremendae majestatis Little girl come and walk with me …
The Moxy I'm calling you off the ledge Toes hanging over the edge If…
The Riverboat Gamblers Say you finally make your stand I don't like it, I…
The South And when I try my best I always fail Because nobody…
Three Legged Fox We don't change Darling that's the truth I saw it then Like …
Venus 5 SAVE YOU Verse I am weak I am hurt Like I walk in reverse…
Veruca Salt It's only perfection You're only running scared You just mig…
Waik I wake to find you in my arms The warmth…
wuant They keep coming, tears are falling Like rain down my face,…
Zim Takes cover but he ain't undercover He likes my vibe because…
[s] I can tell, I can tell, How much you hate this. Deep down…
¼òµ¥¼Æ»®(Simple Plan) [Verse 1] Take a breath, I pull myself together, Just anothe…
•Simple plan Take a breath, I pull myself together Just another step unti…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Y'akoto:
All I Want Ay ay ay ay Ay ay ay ay ay Ay ay ay…
Carry This They talk Innocently Light Teasing their destiny They can ha…
Come And Go And if my face fades I'll come back and let you…
Come Down To The River Wait for me, I'll come down I'll be with you, I'll…
Diamonds You got to crack the code Live your life You are too…
Don't Call A man said he cannot fall in love with you He…
Drink My Friend This ship has been sailing for seven days (Come, come, come)…
Fool Me Once Say it's not my fault My heart resigns But I don't want…
Forget You look into my eyes And tell me that you love…
I Will Go Down If you put me on this friendship I'll jump off If…
Love Me Harder Coffee is not strong enough The shower is not cold enough I…
Moving I should be so hurt Coz your rejection is so obvious And…
Perfect Timing I'm probably making this up in my head You and me…
Reception Walking mainstream Talking same stream Think in big dreams W…
Sunday You don't have to be alone on a Sunday It's family…
Take Him Back Can she please come take you back? 'Cause I don't want…
Talk to Me I don't wanna change you I think you're quite ok You're stro…
Tamba (Radio Version) Your name is Tamba, The bush is your home You don't…
Truth I love you And I feel nothing in between I, I see…
we walk the line Rubbing my eyes they itch me so It's like unfinished busines…
Who I Am When you're riding through my city And the people that you'r…
Without You When I saw you, the night was blue I pursued by…
Y'akoto's Babyblues The love of my life pushed me down to valley Disappeared…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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