Hailing from Oakland, Goapele's signature voice and powerful songwriting has made her a staple Neo-soul, R&B, and underground hip-hop. Growing up with a South African father and German-Jewish mother, she became educated on human rights issues at an early age and got her start in music as a member of a youth activism group. This led Goapele to pursue her career in the Bay's local performance scene where she collaborated with Zion I, Hieroglyphics, and Martin Luther. She self-released her debut album "Closer" and the single of the same name became a timeless hit. She was the first Black woman to have a music video on YouTube and since then she has continued to tour, release new music, and use her voice to support social change.--For promo opportunities on the podcast, e-mail [email protected] of the Bay Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZUM4rCv6xfNbvB4r8TVWU?si=9218659b5f4b43aaOnline Store: https://dregsone.myshopify.com Follow Dregs One:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UNuCcJlRb8ImMc5haZHXF?si=poJT0BYUS-qCfpEzAX7mlAInstagram: https://instagram.com/dregs_oneTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dregs_oneTwitter: https://twitter.com/dregs_oneFacebook: https://facebook.com/dregsone41500:00 Intro01:54 The power of music11:38 Songwriting20:25 South African heritage28:16 Youth activism32:45 First recordings36:49 Zion I 41:08 Self-releasing first album46:41 “Closer” music video50:49 New projects