Yola is on the shortlist for the best new artist prize at the prestigious US music awards
The musician, who was born Yolanda Quartey and became Yola Carter before going by the mononym Yola, is on the shortlist for the best new artist prize at the prestigious US music awards following the release of her first full-length album this February.
Named Fire, the recording is up for best Americana album, and the opening track on her debut, “Faraway Look”, is a contender in the best American roots song category. The 35-year-old musician has also received a nomination for best American roots performance.
Yola, who was brought up in Portishead, near Bristol, and became homeless at one point, has written and performed work with several bands, and was briefly a member of the Bristol trip hop outfit Massive Attack.
‘A lot of sneaking’
Commenting after her nominations were announced, she revealed that her mother had tried to ban her from music when she was younger because she believed it was “too risky” a career path.
“We grew up on the breadline, so it’s not as if music was seen as a realistic option,” Yola told the BBC.
“The probability is always with you that it won’t go well.”
She added: “I discovered that the hard way earlier in my musical development when I wound up on the streets.
“So it wasn’t that [my mother] was exactly wrong – it’s just that her approach was very absolute and I had to circumnavigate it with a whole lot of sneaking.”
Yola said of her nomination haul: “It’s very validating to get something like this when you’ve literally risked everything you own.”
The Grammy Awards will be held on 26 January 2020 in Los Angeles.
