Yebba

Yebba. Courtesy of Heather Sten.

At the tender age of 27, Yebba managed to accomplish many things that most musicians dream of and take years to attain including a grammy nomination. Abbey Smith, who is known in the music industry as Yebba might not be a household name. However, the line-up of talents with which the American singer has collaborated in her still-young career may very well have led you to believe that you had accidentally overlooked one of the world's top performers. Growing up in a church, with her father being a preacher, she soon became a worship pastor at age 15.

2016, was a great year for Yebba. She left college and relocated to New York, where she performed a captivating song called "My Mind" at a gig for the entertainment agency SoFar Sounds. A video of the performance was later released to YouTube in December of that year, and it went viral faster than she could have dreamed (Gordon, 2021). In the same year, Yebba rose to prominence once more following her appearance on Saturday Night Life, where she "stole" the spotlight, as tweeted by Chance the Rapper, by singing the backing vocals for him. She was subsequently co-signed by Ed-Sheeran's record label, helping her to release her first debut single in 2017, Evergreen (Kavanagh, 2021). These three events in her career aligned with one another perfectly, bringing her the recognition she deserved and catapulting her to stardom.

Tragic Setback

This rising prodigy was believed to have the music industry in the palm of her hand, but, her life came to a halt in the following short weeks. Yebba tragically lost her mother to suicide a week after singing her original "My Mind," which led to her original taking on a new meaning that signified mental wellness (Les Twins Perform My Mind, 2018). At the peak of her career, this incident sent Yebba back to her hometown of West Memphis, Arkansas, where she lamented her mother's passing and poured her feelings through her songs over the next five years (Adams, 2021). To honor her mother, she adopted Yebba as her stage name, which is Abbey written in reverse, a nickname fondly called by her mother (Moreno, 2021).

Debut Album + Collaborations

In 2018, Yebba discovered a creative match with producer Mark Ronson after a few experimental years and continuous series of stand-alone singles and collaborations. Eventually, Dawn, Yebba’s first debut album was released by RCA Records on September 10, 2021, after the culmination of countless bedroom composition meetings. The album was finished before the pandemic began, but Yebba chose to delay its release in order to focus on her psychological health (Gordon, 2021). For Yebba, whose genre incorporates alternative, pop, R&B, neo-jazz, and other elements, the album title also has a twofold significance. Not only is Dawn the name of her mother, but it also symbolizes the first rays of light in the sky after a long night of darkness (Moreno, 2021). Questlove, The Roots, A$AP Rocky, Kaytranada, Pino Palladino, Smino, James Francies, and Smokey Hormel are among the prominent collaborators on the 12-track album (Marsh, 2021). "Dawn" has a subtly concealed tenderness, and the tracks loosens up like an open wound that is healing. The concept of the album is somber yet emotional, integrating dazzling indie-folk, inviting R&B, and light jazz into a medicinal concoction, which brings a unique and spectacular listening experience to her audience. (Pearce, 2021).

My ultimate favorite song from her album has got to be “October Sky”. The track begins with mellifluous vocals, instantly provoking a level of intimacy between Yebba and her audience. The lyrics also appear to be a narrative regarding her mother's passing. The song and its lyrics replicate a childhood memory for Yebba—Dawn sending her children outside to fire off bottle rockets constructed by her high-school students—and her voice leaps into the stratosphere as she sings about the moment of the takeoff. The rest of the song revolves around that painted picture, that Yebba clings to as she struggles to understand what her journey in New York and the future would be like without the presence of her mother (Pearce, 2021). This particular track, however, required approximately 300 vocal sessions before she was satisfied with it (Gordon, 2021).

Yebba has already piqued the interest of industry heavyweights such as Missy Elliott and Timbaland, leading to invites to collaborate. She also had the privilege as the only duet on Sam Smith's sophomore album, The Thrill Of It All (Les Twins Perform My Mind, 2018). The prodigiously talented singer also collaborated with Maroon 5 pianist PJ Malone on a rendition of the Bee Gees’ iconic song, "How Deep Is Your Love?". In 2019, she was nominated and eventually won her first Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance (Stephens, 2022).

While Yebba may not be a familiar name to many yet, she is definitely one of today's most prodigiously talented artists. In the alternative music industry, Yebba is definitely someone that everyone should be paying close attention to, especially with her diverse creative range and mesmerizing vocals. Don’t wait till the break of dawn, listen now.