Purple St. James is an artist who invokes memories of the soul greats
of the past. Hip Hop had a baby with Tina, Parliament and Minnie. Her
name is Purple St. James. Funky, beautiful and passionate, her sound
pushes the envelope at times, while being subtly sexy and familiar at
other times. People who witness a Purple St. James performance usually
walk away with an adrenaline rush and a tingling feeling running up
and down their spines. In her former life, you may have known her as a
shooting black star named YahZarah. The former student from the
renowned Duke Ellington School of Music has performed with such
musical legendary geniuses as Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker and Dave
Brubek. She has made an incredible transformation in a short amount of
time. In a span of seven years, Purple St. James went from a music
scholarship student at North Carolina Central University to a
background singer for one of the founders of the neo-soul movement,
Erykah Badu. Now, she is a soul artist in her own right. Under the
name YahZarah , Purple St. James released two musical ventures to
date: "Hear Me" (released on the Keo Music label) and "Black Star"
(released on the Three Keys label). She has graced the stage with
artists like Floetry , Musiq Soul Child, Kem, Donnie, Amel Larrieux,
Goapele, Talib Kweli, Rahsaan Paterson, Raheem DeVaughn , Chaka Kahn,
Bilal Oliver, The Roots, and the list goes on and on.
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