YahZarah

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YahZarah (pronounced yah-zah-rah) is an American R&B/neo soul singer.

Born Dana Williams in Washington, D.C., YahZarah broke into the music industry alongside Erykah Badu, for whom she sung backup on Mama's Gun, and in turn established herself as a solo artist in a similar vein, releasing a couple independent albums during the early 2000s. YahZarah (whose name loosely means "Queen Mother is the brightest star" -- itself a tribute to her deceased grandmother from Ghana) was greatly influenced as a child by soul greats like Tina Turner, Prince, Chaka Khan, George Clinton, and Minnie Riperton, as well as the music of the church. She went on to study music at both the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and North Carolina Central University, and got her break into the industry alongside Badu, who featured Williams on the Mama's Gun album and tour. Following this experience, Williams took on the YahZarah moniker and went solo. She released a pair of underground albums, Hear Me and Blackstar. As a performer, YahZarah has shared the stage with such prominent artists as Stevie Wonder and Anita Baker, and has opened shows for many more, including Earth, Wind & Fire, Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Rahsaan Patterson, and R. Kelly.

A classically trained vocalist, YahZarah is also noted for her ability to sing in the whistle register, most notably displayed on tracks such as "Baby" (from the Blackstar album) and a rendition of "My Funny Valentine", which can be heard on jazz pianist Marcus Johnson's In Person - Live At Blues Alley LP.