Hump Day isn’t so bad when you’re performing at one of the world’s largest independent record stores, Amoeba Music in Hollywood. On Wednesday (June 6), R&B soul singer, songwriter, producer, activist and fashion designer Goapele celebrated the release of her new Dreamseeker EP with a live performance, meet and greet, and album signing.
If you’re a Drake fan, you immediately recognize Goapele as the sample on his hit single “Closer To My Dreams,” found on his 2007 Comeback Season mixtape. Performing the record on stage in Los Angeles’ one stop shop for all things vinyl, nostalgia hit all those that were in attendance.
“I love that ‘Closer’ has had so many lives,” Goapele says reflecting on her career. “People have been remixing it now for over a decade. I’m fans a lot of those artists that have touched on it, from Drake, to YG, to Kendrick, to different folks. I appreciate it.”
Goapele sings the chorus, “Closer to my dreams / It’s coming over me / I’m getting higher / Closer to my dreams /I’m getting higher and higher / Feel it in my sleep.”
It’s been 16 years since her Closer project. The Oakland-bred artist explains if she had, in fact, reached her dreams as she continues her journey in the industry.
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“I feel like I reached the dream I was striving for when I first wrote ‘Closer,’ and I have new dreams now,” she answers. “And I think that’s part of why I call this project Dreamseeker, because I feel like it’s kind of never-ending. Every time I get to the next place, there’s so much more that I want to do. I think it’s just to connect to people through music, and make them feel good.”
“With this project, I just really wanted to put out vibe music, and reconnect with my fans,” Goapele continues. “And connect with the next generation of fans, that are representing Soul/Hip Hop. And also represent people that are striving to follow their passions. And help people fuel the flame of following their passion and their dreams.”
From the project comes a duet with BJ the Chicago Kid called “Stay.” She says she is a fan of the Grammy-nominated artist and shares why she connected with him creatively.
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Goapele expands, “It was great to work with BJ the Chicago Kid. I wanted to do something that felt like a classic R&B ballad, but kind of a hard edge. I think that’s a comfort zone for both of us. We worked with a mutual friend- Corn produced the track. Good vibes. He’s doing great music.”
Goapele also gave her thoughts on the current state of R&B.
“Well, I feel like where R&B is now has kind of come full circle,” she shares. “It’s where soul and R&B and Hip Hop production meet, and it kind of feels like when I was first putting out music… in the early 2000s. It feels like it’s in a good place. I feel like the genres don’t have it so boxed in right now.”
When asked if she found it a challenge to cater to this new generation, she answers accordingly.
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“I think the challenge of now is just the attention span,” she says, “feeling like you have to put out so much music and so much content.”
In the ever-changing industry, Goapele’s latest gift to her fans is the Dreamseeker project, which can be streamed above.
