In line with his debut A COLORS SHOW, we spoke to Yamê about the spiritual meaning behind his artist name, how assimilating to life in France felt like being a double agent, and why, for him, motorbikes are the ultimate symbol of freedom.
Where does your artist name, Yamê, come from?
My dad’s a musician and he used the word ‘yamê’ a lot in his lyrics. When I decided to pursue a career in music and was trying to pick an artist name, I asked my dad to tell me what ‘yamê’ means. It’s a word from the Cameroonian language and the Mbo tribe, which I’m descended from. To put it simply, yamê is like a spiritual energy or chakra that is shared by everyone. It connects us all despite our religious differences.
What is your first musical memory?
The first instrument I ever played was the piano. I was around 6-years-old, living in Douala—a coastal city in the southwest of Cameroon—and I thought it was easy: All I had to do to make a sound was press the keys! Soon after, I started taking proper piano classes. I can still remember the first song I tried to write when I was a kid. I even think I can still play it. My dad sang it, and I was so proud of what I’d created.
Who were some of your earliest musical influences?
I was really inspired by African artists like Meiway, Papa Wemba, Grace Decca, and Ben Decca, as well as some American artists like Usher, Justin Timberlake, and Michael Jackson. The way Cameroon was cut during colonization made the country the center of Africa. As a result, it is a cultural melting pot, where you can discover a lot of different styles coming from the west, east, and south of the continent. Two of the strongest features of African music are its complex rhythms—which people used to use to communicate—and its lyrics that often address deep subjects and harsh realities in funny and cool ways. Both of these things have really influenced my approach to music.
I was also exposed to a lot of French music through my mum, who played and sang along to it in the house. She passed away while we were living in Cameroon, and we moved back to France shortly afterwards.
You launched your professional music career during the global pandemic, right?
During the first lockdown in Paris, I lived in a house with multiple other people. I would work from home and spend the rest of the day playing video games, enjoying the sun, or the company of my flatmates. I realized I didn’t enjoy my job, and that the effort I was putting into it wasn’t being sufficiently remunerated. I decided that, even if my boss agreed to give me a raise, I wanted to quit and pursue music professionally. I was given two years of severance pay, which I used to fund my music and projects. A year and a half after I left the company I blew up on TikTok.
How would you describe your musical style?
I always struggle to define my music, because I feel like it’s split between two categories. Some of my tracks are really aligned with the French rap scene, whereas others draw on soul, blues, and jazz influences I’ve picked up by attending jam sessions in Paris. I think that creating and releasing more will help both me and my audience define what my style is.
My dad’s a musician and he used the word ‘yamê’ a lot in his lyrics. When I decided to pursue a career in music and was trying to pick an artist name, I asked my dad to tell me what ‘yamê’ means. It’s a word from the Cameroonian language and the Mbo tribe, which I’m descended from. To put it simply, yamê is like a spiritual energy or chakra that is shared by everyone. It connects us all despite our religious differences.
What is your first musical memory?
The first instrument I ever played was the piano. I was around 6-years-old, living in Douala—a coastal city in the southwest of Cameroon—and I thought it was easy: All I had to do to make a sound was press the keys! Soon after, I started taking proper piano classes. I can still remember the first song I tried to write when I was a kid. I even think I can still play it. My dad sang it, and I was so proud of what I’d created.
Who were some of your earliest musical influences?
I was really inspired by African artists like Meiway, Papa Wemba, Grace Decca, and Ben Decca, as well as some American artists like Usher, Justin Timberlake, and Michael Jackson. The way Cameroon was cut during colonization made the country the center of Africa. As a result, it is a cultural melting pot, where you can discover a lot of different styles coming from the west, east, and south of the continent. Two of the strongest features of African music are its complex rhythms—which people used to use to communicate—and its lyrics that often address deep subjects and harsh realities in funny and cool ways. Both of these things have really influenced my approach to music.
I was also exposed to a lot of French music through my mum, who played and sang along to it in the house. She passed away while we were living in Cameroon, and we moved back to France shortly afterwards.
You launched your professional music career during the global pandemic, right?
During the first lockdown in Paris, I lived in a house with multiple other people. I would work from home and spend the rest of the day playing video games, enjoying the sun, or the company of my flatmates. I realized I didn’t enjoy my job, and that the effort I was putting into it wasn’t being sufficiently remunerated. I decided that, even if my boss agreed to give me a raise, I wanted to quit and pursue music professionally. I was given two years of severance pay, which I used to fund my music and projects. A year and a half after I left the company I blew up on TikTok.
How would you describe your musical style?
I always struggle to define my music, because I feel like it’s split between two categories. Some of my tracks are really aligned with the French rap scene, whereas others draw on soul, blues, and jazz influences I’ve picked up by attending jam sessions in Paris. I think that creating and releasing more will help both me and my audience define what my style is.
“Yamê is a spiritual energy or chakra that is shared by everyone. It connects us all despite our differences.”
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