Yaa Yaa

Yaa Yaa
Yaa Yaa Performing at UMOJA[1]
Background information
Birth name Bertha Bridget Kankam
Also known as Bertha
Born (1990-01-25) 25 January 1990
Kumasi, Ghana
Origin Kumasi, Ghana
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments
  • Vocals.
  • Guitar.
  • Xylophone
Years active 2009–present
Labels
  • Pyramid Entertainment
Associated acts
Website yaayaaworld.com

Yaa Yaa (born January 25, 1990) is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter, recording artist and actress. Prior to her current stage name, she performed under her first name, Bertha.[2]

Early life

Bertha Bridget Kankam was born in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region 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.[3] 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.[4] As organizers of the reality television show, Charter House managed Yaa Yaa for two years.[5][6]

Her first two singles were; ‘Am I' featuring Sarkodie,[7] then ‘Incredible’ written by Chase.[8] 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.[9] Her other songs are "Kae",[10] "Dumb Drum" [11] and "Koryor".[12]

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.

Influences

Yaa Yaa’s musical inspiration is derived strongly from Western influences. Her other musical influences are Anita Baker, Brandy, Sade, Aretha Franklin, Aṣa and Whitney Houston. She seeks artists with similar voice textures to hers and gleans from their experiences to enrich her own.

Discography

Year Title Production credit Ref
2015 Am I (feat Sarkodie) n/a [13]
2016 Kae [14]
Incredible [15]
Koryor [16]
2017 Dumb Drum Yaa Yaa [17]
Life (feat FanteFante) n/a [18]

Awards & Nominations

Year Event Prize Recipient/Nominated Work Result Ref
2016 Ghana Music Awards Record of the Year Yaa Yaa - Dumb Drum Nominated [19]
Best Female Vocal Performance Nominated
Best Music Video of the Year Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Photos: Yaa Yaa treats patrons to an awesome performance at Umoja Africa - Proudly Ghanaian! - EnewsGH". enewsgh.com.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ http://entertainment.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201010/53599.php
  4. ↑ Online, Peace FM. "Bertha Wins Stars Of The Future Season 4". m.peacefmonline.com.
  5. ↑ "Bertha To Prove Herself @ Night of 1010 Laughs & Music". mobile.ghanaweb.com.
  6. ↑ "Efya, Bertha, D Cryme, Zigi Performs At Stars Of The Future Finale - Ghanacelebrities.com". 17 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Bertha ft Sarkodie – Am i.mp3 {Ghana} — Everything Music!". Favouritehitz.com. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  8. ↑ "Bertha - - Incredible". Ghanacinema.com. 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  9. ↑ "Pyramid Entertainment Records". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  10. ↑ "Yaa Yaa (Bertha) - Kae". GhanaNdwom.com. 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  11. ↑ Francis Banks Amissah. "Premiere: Yaa Yaa – Dumb Drum". TalkMediaGhana.com. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "Bertha ft Sarkodie – Am i.mp3 {Ghana} — Everything Music!". FavouriteHitz. Seth Kwame Glover. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Yaa Yaa (Bertha) – Kae". Ghana Ndwom. Epic Metrix. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Incredible (2016) - Yaa Yaa". 7Digital. 7digital. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  16. ↑ "Yaa Yaa – Koryor - TalkMediaGhana". Talk Media Ghana. TalkMediaGhana. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Listen: Songstress Yaa Yaa out with 'Dumb Drum' - MyJoyOnline.com". MyJoyOnline. Ernest Dela Aglanu. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "Yaa Yaa - Life (feat. FanteFante)". BeatzNation. BeatzNation. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Full list of Nominees for 2016 Ghana Music Awards MyJoyOnline.com". MyJoyOnline. MyJoyOnline. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
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