Hailing from Germany, Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck AKA Y’akoto, is a rising star in the music industry. Y’akoto’s unique sound brings together different genres and cultures, creating a sound that is all her own. Her music has been gaining recognition worldwide, and she is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new talents in the industry. In her honeyed, totalizing voice, Y’akoto taps into the tradition of quietly powerful singers from Sade to SZA and lives on pop’s most luxuriously imaginative edge.
In 2018, Y’akoto returned to Ghana and felt a strong connection to her roots. “I always felt connected with my roots, and to be an artist to me means expansion. In Ghana, I love the culture and the language and the pace of the capital,” she says. A frequent visitor to Accra’s clubs, Y’akoto sat and listened to the city’s underground DJs for hours, watching revelers and feeling the bass in her stomach; inspired, she decided to inject her new music with the city’s energy. “The sound of Accra really touched something inside of me – running around in West Africa really triggered this deep feeling that I needed to get back into the studio.”
Y’akoto has pushed her artistry even further than ever before with WMYT, a dazzling, R&B-laced track she recorded in LA recently. She creates music with an exquisite blend of spirituality and sensuality. West African pop music, modern dance, and contemporary R&B converge to create a sensational blend of Afrobeats and other forms of West African pop music. Y’akoto’s sound is a unique mix of soundscapes from the past, present, and future, and her most recent release, accompanied by a music video, is no exception. Her music is a reflection of her African heritage and her own personal journey. Her sound is truly one of a kind.
‘WMYT’ is “a true story of me taking off in the middle of the night leaving my ex in the dust, realizing that I will never let another living human humiliate me again” explains Y’akoto – ‘Yaa’ to her friends. “I often ask myself why women stay in relationships that hurt them for way too long. Coming from an abusive home, it’s a question I’ve been asking myself for way too long. It turned me into a beast. A soldier for female self-preservation. I can only talk about the female perspective because I am one. On top of that, I’m black”.
Examining the video closely, the visuals complement the music without a doubt. With a strong mystical aura surrounding it, we get a good representation of Y’akoto’s dancing talents. With flashing lights and vibrant colors, we’re presented with an almost surreal world. The music video gives us a clear insight into her artistic vision, and it’s clear to see how much thought and effort was put into the production. All in all, it’s a visual delight that is sure to leave anyone in awe. From the opening scenes, we can tell it’s a well-thought-out piece, with close attention to detail. As a whole, the video is an engaging piece that captures the mood and feeling of the song perfectly.
Keep your eyes and ears open for her upcoming music in the coming months. Soon we’ll get details about her most ambitious wider, and boldest project to date.
