YahJah rides waves of success with single ‘Sunrise’
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Yahjah Kandous comes from a large, artistic family. She’s the youngest of nine siblings – the oldest of which is 22 years older than her. Many of those siblings enjoy careers in the arts. One sister sang in choirs and recorded a couple of songs. One sister is a poet and preformed what she coined as “Hiphopoetry.” A brother is a visual artist who works in a variety of mediums. And yet another brother incorporated his construction skills into designing and building original furniture pieces.
But none of them has found local recognition in the music industry like YahJah. Performing since she was a young girl, YahJah was inspired by Lauryn Hill, India Arie and Alicia Keys. And she has chosen to use her musical talents to pursue a career emulated by those prominent, famed female artists. She took her first step on that journey in 2014 with the release of her first original single, “More to Me.” YahJah has since gone on to write and record more original tracks, including her most recent hit single “Sunrise.”
“It’s a fun song that’s a strong mixture of R&B and Pop,” YahJah described. “It’s basically about girls getting together for fun and dancing until the ‘Sunrise.’ It’s about having drama-free fun – guys can look, but don’t touch.”
YahJah said she’s particularly proud of the music video she created for the song. She spent much of 2017 raising money through GoFundMe. Eventually, she raised enough money to transform her house into a club scene, hire choreographers, dancers, and an entire crew to shoot a high-quality music video. Her family and fan-base went wild over her first video.
“Sunrise” is one of six songs that YahJah said she will put on an EP, which she hopes to drop later this year. It is a project that she said will showcase her versatility and originality, all wrapped around her unique “soft” voice. While “Sunrise” is more of a dance/pop song, others on the EP will show off her abilities to write ballads, hip-hop and even neo-soul sounds.
“I want my music to be fun and dance and commercial but always with a hint of positivity,” she said. “As an artist you influence so many people, and I think it’s important that you connect with what you’re selling and try to represent that in your daily life. That makes it authentic and portrays your inner self and the message you want the world to hear. I always want to be mindful of the message behind my music.”
YahJah said her proudest moment so far was performing at the House of Blues in New Orleans with her dancers. She said being on that stage was “an amazing feeling. With the lights and the crowd’s response, I felt like a star!” YahJah said she has another single that she’s planning to drop in April, with more songs coming by the end of summer – all leading to the release of the EP by the end of the year.
To listen to YahJah’s music or to follow her on social media, please visit:
Snapchat: @yahjahsings
House of Blues Performance
“Sunrise” Music Video