Yohani Diloka de Silva (born 30 July 1993) is a Sri Lankan singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and YouTuber. She started her music career as a

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influe ...

. She soon gained recognition for her rap cover of 'Deviyange Bare' and released many covers of her singing and rapping which have earned her the title "Rap Princess" of Sri Lanka. She rose to prominence and gained global recognition for her cover of "

Manike Mage Hithe "Manike Mage Hithe" () is a Sri Lankan Sinhala-language song by Yohani, Satheeshan Rathnayaka and Chamath Sangeeth. An official cover for the song was done by Chamath Sangeeth and released on 22 May 2021. The lyrics were written by Du ...

". She also became the first Sri Lankan female singer to surpass a total of 3.44 million subscribers on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Personal life

Yohani was born on 30 July 1993 in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Sri Lanka. She is the daughter of a former Army officer

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Prasanna de Silva. Her mother Dinithi de Silva, was a former cabin crew member at

Sri Lankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations and was launched ...

. She is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and has practiced

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

since her early life. Yohani has one younger sister, Shavindri de Silva, who is currently studying medicine. Due to their father's military background, both girls grew up in different Army bases in Sri Lanka. Yohani's interest and practice in music began early in her life, and it was her mother who identified her keenness and prompted her to pursue this passion at a young age. She grew up surrounded by her parents' love of music as they often listened to the BeeGees, Spice Girls,

AR Rahman Ar-Rahman ( ar, الرحمان, ; The Merciful) is the 55th Chapter (''Surah'') of the Qur'an, with 78 verses ('' āyāt''). The title of the surah, Ar-Rahman, appears in verse 1 and means "The Most Beneficent". The divine appellation "ar-R ...

and Elton John.She completed her higher education in Logistics Management and Professional Accounting from the

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

prior to pursuing her career as an artist. She also obtained a master's degree in accounting from CQUniversity Australia.

Career

Yohani's music career took centre stage upon her return to Sri Lanka in March 2019. She joined Pettah Effect, a record label that was co-founded by Dilanjan, and had much young talent running the show. In February 2020, Prima Kottu Mee signed Yohani as their Brand Ambassador for two years, as one of her first-ever significant brand endorsements. In the months that followed, Yohani got signed by Red Bull Records, with her debut single "Aaye" premiering in August 2020. The latter part of 2020 saw new releases. The second being ''Sitha Dawuna'' a collaboration with Chamath Sangeeth in September 2020. The third being a song that reverberated with citizens who endured a 30-year war on the island. She got 200 million views for a YouTube video "

" cover song in May 2021. She had also completed her debut Sinhala album which features twelve songs and plans to launch it during a live concert around December 2021. She made her debut overseas tour as a music artiste to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

in India in October 2021 for a live concert with her band.

Discography

Non-film songs

Film songs

References

{{reflist 1993 births Living people People from Colombo Sri Lankan Buddhists Sri Lankan singer-songwriters Sri Lankan rappers Sri Lankan businesspeople Sri Lankan YouTubers Alumni of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Central Queensland University alumni Bollywood playback singers Expatriate musicians in India Sri Lankan expatriates in India Sri Lankan expatriates in Australia 21st-century Sri Lankan women singers Female YouTubers