Bertha Bridget Kankam (born January 25, 1990), better known by her stage name Yaa Yaa, is a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

singer-songwriter, recording artist and actress. Prior to her current stage name, she performed under her first name, Bertha.

Early life

Bertha Bridget Kankam was born in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

, the capital of the

Ashanti region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...

to Ghanaian parents being one of five children. Yaa Yaa lived in Kumasi her entire life until moving to Accra to start her career in the reality television series ‘Stars of the Future’. After successfully completing the ‘Stars of the Future’ series, Yaa Yaa enrolled at University of Ghana, Legon in the School of Performing Arts. She majored in Theatre with a minor in Music.

Musical career

Yaa Yaa started her career as Bertha, auditioning for ‘Stars of the Future’ in 2009 with Whitney Houston's song, ‘Greatest Love of All’. She and her brother, Kankam, after they both auditioned in Kumasi, Ghana, made it to the semi-finals. Yaa Yaa was picked as one of the final 12, but unfortunately her brother was unable to contest further in the competition. She went on to win the competition. Yaa Yaa considers the win the starting point of her career. One of her prizes of winning ‘Stars of the Future’ was the privilege of being an MTN Ambassador for one year. Her tenure with them was successful and MTN continued to renew her contract consecutively for the next two years following her win. As organizers of the reality television show, Charter House managed Yaa Yaa for two years. Her first two singles were; ‘Am I' featuring Sarkodie, then ‘Incredible’ written by Chase. She then followed with a feature on a song by Okyeame Kwame "Faithful" which shot her to fame. Afterwards, she remained an independent artist until starting her own label, Pyramid Entertainment, which she currently runs. Her other songs are "Kae", "Dumb Drum" and "Koryor". Her debut album ''AGOO'' was launched at a private event in Accra in February 2020.

Artistry

Yaa Yaa boasts of a diverse vocal range but settles within the genres of Soul, R&B, and Highlife music. She plays the guitar and xylophone. Yaa Yaa's music is written in and sung in both English and Twi. She admits most of her songs are derived from personal experiences. Her debut album ''Agoo'' was live studio recorded.

Influences

Yaa Yaa's musical inspiration is derived strongly from Western influences. Her other musical influences are

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Aṣa Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982"There's 'Fire O ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

. She seeks artists with similar voice textures to hers and gleans from their experiences to enrich her own.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaa, Yaa Living people 1990 births People from Kumasi Neo soul singers University of Ghana alumni 21st-century Ghanaian women singers 21st-century Ghanaian singers