Yebba Returns After 5-Year Break
Singer-songwriter Yebba has returned after a five-year hiatus with her new album *Jean*, which Rolling Stone describes as channeling "devastation and liberation" through intricate vocal arrangements and lush, soulful production. The genre-blurring artist's comeback project explores themes of both pain and hope.
While Yebba's Grammy-nominated debut album *Dawn* was an exploration of the profound grief following her mother's 2016 death by suicide, her new album *Jean* shifts focus. The new record is named after her late grandmother, who helped raise her and gave her the permission to be herself. The new album moves beyond raw grief to center on themes of inheritance, strength, and faith passed down. Yebba describes the 14-track project as a document of her "adulting years," a period where she realized no one truly knows what they're doing. She admits that as she began to feel healed, she also paradoxically felt more lost. *Jean* was created over five years in Arkansas, Dallas, and New York's Electric Lady Studios with collaborators John Rooney and composer James Francies. The lead single, "Yellow Eyes," signals a change in her vocal approach, with a more intimate and restrained performance compared to her previous work. Yebba stated, "I wanted to experience singing in a different way than I had before." During her five-year hiatus from solo work, Yebba remained an active and sought-after collaborator. She was a featured artist on tracks with prominent artists like Drake on "Certified Lover Boy" and Tyler, the Creator on his 2025 project *Don't Tap The Glass*. She also cemented her reputation as a powerful live vocalist through performances with jazz pianist Robert Glasper.
