YahZarah: BlackStar Power

So much is in a name.

Dana Williams adored her grandmother so much that, after concluding a stint as a backup singer for Erykah Badu (Williams appeared on Badu’s “Mama’s Gun)”, Williams paid tribute to the dearly departed with a stage name meaning "Queen Mother is the brightest star."

Williams, born in D.C.,would be influenced during her youth by both the music she would hear in church and the sounds that would emanate from home. She studied music at both the Duke Ellington School of Music and North Carolina Central University before cutting her teeth with Badu.

YahZarah was born with the release of 2001’s “Hear Me,” with her sophomore release “Blackstar,” starting a buzz. Her supporting turn on the Foreign Exchange track “Sincere,” from the group’s 2005 debut “Connected,”--along with her sultry appearance in the song’s video--would get more heads open. 2008’s “The Prelude” would follow, but last year’s “The Ballad of Purple St. James”---thought by many to be her best yet---would find YahZarah with the full support of the FE crew.

Although “St. James” is considered by some to be part of a trilogy (with Foreign Exchange's “Leave It All Behind” and Nicolay’s “City Lights, Vol. 2” ), it has much to offer on its own, such as the uptempo, glam feel of “Why Dontcha Call Me No More” (complete with an infectious “Jem and the Holograms”-inspired video that undercuts the song’s scornful tone), the emphatic “The Lie,” the seductive,” Change Your Mind” and the breezy, resilient “Cry Over You.” (In addition to this achievement, YahZarah has performed with/opened for acts both legendary (Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, Earth, Wind & Fire), and modern (Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Rahsaan Paterson).)

Considering her growing fame, “YahZarah” may soon say it all.

Byron Lee, Contributor