Jennifer Yaa Akoto Kieck (born 1988), known professionally as Y'akoto, is a German-Ghanaian singer and songwriter whose music blends neo-soul, blues, ambient pop, and Afrobeats. [1] [2] Her first two albums, Babyblues (2012) and Moody Blues (2014), both entered the Top 20 on the German albums chart, and she has received two nominations for Germany's Echo Award. [3]
Y'akoto was born in Hamburg, Germany, to a Ghanaian father, a highlife musician, and a German mother. [4] She spent much of her childhood in West Africa, living in Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, and Togo before returning to Hamburg at the age of 11. [5] [6] During this time, she began singing and learning to play the piano. [6]
After completing secondary school, she studied dance education and became a qualified dance teacher in 2008 before deciding to pursue a career in music. [4]
Y'akoto began performing in her teens and formed her first band at 13. [7] She signed with Warner Music and released her debut album, Babyblues, in March 2012. [5] The album reached the Top 20 in Germany and included the single "Tamba," a song about a child soldier. [7] In 2013, she received an Echo Award nomination for Best National Rock/Pop Female Artist. [8]
Her second album, Moody Blues, was released in 2014 and debuted at number 11 on the German charts. [5] The album addressed topics such as migration and single-parent families. Its release led to a second Echo Award nomination in the same category in 2015. [9]
In 2017, she released her third album, Mermaid Blues, which blended blues, neo-soul, and pop. [5] [3] In 2020, Y'akoto released the EP Obaa Yaa. A year later, in 2021, she was featured in Matthew Herbert’s single “The Way”. [10] In 2022–2023, she collaborated with Los Angeles-based producer Nabeyin and Ghanaian rapper Jay Bahd on the singles "Secret" and "WMYT (What Made You Think)". [11]
Her fourth studio album, Part 4: The Witch, was released in July 2024. [12] The album featured collaborations with Nabeyin and U.S. hip-hop artist REASON and incorporated pop and Afrobeats styles. [13] [14]
Studio albums
EPs
Y'akoto has twice been nominated for the Echo Award for Best National Rock/Pop Female Artist, first in 2013 and again in 2015. [8] [9]