We recently connected with Yaba Gobana and have shared our conversation below.

Yaba, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have been singing and performing since I was 9 years old and always dreamed of being a professional singer one day. Every time someone asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, that was my mental answer. However, I didn’t believe the music industry had a space for me. I am Muslim and a child of immigrants, so it almost felt selfish to expect a dream like that to come true, or to risk the opportunity my parents gave me by chasing it. I grew up on Egyptian Music, R&B and throughout school, I was a part of concert choir where I learned all different types of music in all different types of languages. Recently, I have been working with Oromo artists that I look up to and that has opened my eyes to what I have to offer to the music industry. Growing up, I saw my uniqueness as a weakness but now I realize the fact that I can write and sing in different languages makes me more relatable to different audiences and gives me the power to bring cultures together.

In regard to visual arts, I knew I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally the first time I ever shared my paintings online.
I started painting as a form of therapy and it actually took a lot for me to feel comfortable sharing my art with the world but almost as soon as I did, I got an overwhelmingly positive response from my community. My artwork is inspired by my Oromo culture and due to the history of oppression my people have faced, we are very underrepresented in most spaces-especially in the arts. Even more specifically than Oromo culture, my art represents Oromo women and their intersectionality. I think that the lack of representation created an untapped market that I decided I wanted to serve. As well as the positive response from my people, I also received a very encouraging and heartwarming response from the Black American community. I realized after getting a public response that my art was actually worth something and that people were willing to pay to see themselves represented in the art, they decorate their homes or clothes with.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Yaba Gobana. I am a visual and musical artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was born and raised here to a mother who immigrated from Egypt, and a father who came here as an Oromo refugee. In both mediums, my culture (American, Egyptian and Oromo) is what inspires my art. I have been performing since I was a young child, and in 2019 I started writing my own music and releasing it on streaming platforms. I feel passionate about representing my community and my unique intersectional ties because I believe it helps different people connect. I am a community organizer and youth worker, and I recently started a business that I believe will tie in everything I am passionate about in a way that will provide healing and comfort to my community. My business is called Black Honey and it is a cafe and art house. I plan to open a brick-and mortar space within the next year, where I can provide resources and space for artists to network and share their art. I especially love to focus on Oromo artists because back home, throughout our history, artists have used their gifts to give a voice to the liberation movement and many have lost their lives due to it. As an Oromo artist living in the diaspora, I feel a responsibility to use my privilege provide a space where Oromo art can be cultivated and celebrated along with delicious food and coffee.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

It might sound silly to some people but as I said before, growing up a Muslim girl and the child of immigrants, I did not know that art was a legitimate career path that I could take. I did not know that I could pursue a higher education in art. I am 100% self-taught, which makes me proud because I have accomplished a lot with my talent alone. However, I sometimes wonder the kind of skills and technical abilities I could have acquired if I would have studied Art in school instead of trying to force my brain to do something it did not feel passionate about. Thats something I will encourage my children to do if I see they have a natural talent in the arts. My mother did encourage me so much to pursue my dreams, even when people around me made me feel like a bad Muslim girl for doing so and I want to give her credit for that.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Something I have had trouble explaining to non- creatives (even though I believe everyone is a creative in their own way) is that I cannot produce art on demand. I am not a machine, and this is not a math problem. My art comes from inspiration and if I am not feeling naturally inspired, I cannot create. To be supportive, I think society could create space for artists to feel comfortable and taken care of financially so that they can get into their creative mode. It’s hard to think about creating art when it doesn’t pay your bills.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @balenciyaba, @blackhoneycafe_
• Facebook: Yaba Gobana
• Youtube: Yaba Gobana
• Other: check out my new song/video in collaboration with Oromo Rapper Bako Shekissa. It’s called “Bareeda” on all streaming platforms.