When you hear Goapele’s name, songs like “Closer” and “Play” might instantly pop into your head. But the soulful songstress representing Oakland, Ca. took a different approach on her latest album, Strong as Glass.
“I wanted to push myself on this album,” Goapele says. “I surrounded myself with people who would challenge me vocally and even with my writing.”
Wanting to do something up-tempo that still felt like her, Goapele collaborated with Estelle and Grammy-award winning producer Keith Harris for her hit single “Hey Boy.”
“I’ve been a fan of Estelle for a while,” Goapele says. “We didn’t know how we would get to collaborate, so it was perfect that she put her flavor on this song.”
Goapele took her new sound to a different level adding Snoop Dogg on the remix and plans to work with more hip-hop heavyweights in the future.
“I just got in the studio with Hit-Boy which was exciting for me,” Goapele says. “But that was just the beginning of a song, so in the future I think we’ll do something more.”
Collaboration was one of the key factors that made this album different than Goapele’s last. Not to mention she’s in a much different place than she was during the making of her 2012 release.
“With Break of Dawn” there were a lot more moments when I was just by myself in the studio,” Goapele recalls. “A lot of it was talking about life and death. I had just become a mother, but I also just lost my father and grandmother.”
During Goapele’s time of reflection on life, she would often times go in the studio and write pieces on her own like “Tears On My Pillow” that were very intimate and personal.
“I feel like with this album I wanted to get input from other people that I really respected and have it be more of a collaborative process,” Goapele says. “I wanted to have more fun!”
And she did just that. Strong as Glass offers more playful songs like “Powerful,” a dancehall inspired song with hard-hitting drums. Goapele will definitely have you dancing on this album, but she stays true to her neo-soul sound in the process with heart-wrenching ballads like “What In the World” and “Some Call It Love.”
Experimenting with different people and sounds, Gaopele was able to reinvent herself on this album without sacrificing the integrity of her unique sound and flavor.
She continues to offer a soundtrack for people going through love, heartbreak, and tragedy but doesn’t forget to show us how to have a good time.
“I want to give my fans something they can feel and something that motives them in their own life in whatever they’re trying to do,” Goapele says. “I try to keep the songs personal so I’m giving of myself in that process.”
Strong as Glass is now available in stores and on iTunes.
(Photo Credit: Lance Gross)
