Yola

Yolanda Claire Quartey (born 31 July 1983), known professionally as Yola or Yola Carter, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Her debut studio album Walk Through Fire (2019) received critical acclaim and earned her four Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist. Her follow-up, Stand for Myself (2021), received similar acclaim and earned her two more Grammy nominations. Yola made her acting debut in 2022, portraying "godmother of rock n roll" Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrman’s biopic Elvis. Early and personal life Yola was born to a Ghanaian father and a Barbadian mother in Bristol, England. Her family tried to discourage her from music at a young age, as they thought it was an unrealistic career option. When Yola was just under 2 her father left her and her mother behind. A single parent struggling to stay afloat, her mother was against Yola's dream to be a singer. It wasn't until Yola went to grammar school she had her first taste of freedom and started to pursue music. She later went to university in London and used her student loan to stay afloat while making music. She ended up becoming a university drop out and was evicted due to being unable to pay her rent. Yola was homeless for six months in her 20s and spent a week begging on the streets before getting enough money to travel back to Bristol. Career Yola first gained notice as a member of the Bristol band Phantom Limb; she was a member from 2005 to 2012 using the name Yolanda Quartey. That band released two albums. Yola has also performed as a guest vocalist and occasional songwriter for British musical acts like Sub Focus, Massive Attack, Bugz in the Attic, Ginger Wildheart, and Duke Dumont. Yola decided to launch a solo career after the death of her mother in 2013. She released her first solo EP, Orphan Offering, in 2016. In February 2019, she released her debut album Walk Through Fire on Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound label, to much acclaim. The album title references a fire which damaged Yola's home and she escaped. AllMusic called the album "an extraordinary record, one designed to be part of a grand musical tradition, and it contains enough emotion and imagination to earn its place within that lineage." Brittney McKenna of NPR Music's First Listen declared, "It's the work of an artist sure to stun audiences for years to come." The Wall Street Journal stated, "The album is an introduction to a seasoned, major vocalist that stands to be remembered as a breakthrough."