The character arc of Yola
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born Yolanda Claire Quartey on 31 July 1983 in Bristol. Between then and now sit a father who left before she was two, a single mother who was against her singing because the family thought it was not a realistic career, a grammar school that was her first taste of freedom, a student loan spent on making music, a dropped degree, an eviction, six months without a home in her twenties, a week begging on the street for the fare back to Bristol, years of guest vocals on other people's records, her mother's death in 2013, a first solo EP in 2016, a debut album in February 2019, four Grammy nominations, and a Broadway debut in July 2024. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Yola?
Her own family told her it was not realistic. She was right and they were wrong.
Her father left before she was two. Her mother raised her alone and struggled to stay afloat, and was against her daughter's dream of being a singer, because the family thought music was not a realistic career. That is the starting position: not indifference, opposition, from the people closest to her.
Grammar school was her first taste of freedom, and she started pursuing music there. She went to university in London and used her student loan to stay afloat while making music, which is a plan that works exactly once. She dropped out, and was evicted because she could not pay her rent. In her twenties she was homeless for six months, and spent a week begging on the streets before she had enough money to travel back to Bristol.
The work she got afterwards was real and almost invisible. Under her given name she sang as a guest vocalist and occasional songwriter for a run of British acts across dance, trip hop and rock. If you listened to British music in those years you heard her without knowing it.
Her mother died in 2013, and that is when she decided to launch a solo career. The first EP came in 2016, self-released. In February 2019 her debut album arrived on Dan Auerbach's label, and the title referenced a fire that had damaged her home and that she had escaped. The reviews were extraordinary: one critic called it an extraordinary record designed to be part of a grand musical tradition, another said it was the work of an artist sure to stun audiences for years. It brought four Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist, for a woman who had been singing professionally for well over a decade.
What followed was a festival where, in one weekend, she became the most sought-after voice there, singing with everybody from Dolly Parton down. A part as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the woman called the godmother of rock and roll, in a 2022 film. A second album in 2021. A sold out Madison Square Garden in October 2021 as an opening act. A Broadway debut in July 2024 as Persephone. She is still adding trades.
The moments
Yola's timeline.
The 1980s
Born in Bristol
Everyday. Bristol, and a family that would not be behind her.
Her father leaves
Setback, and it changed everything. Under two years old, and down to one parent.
The 1990s
Told it is not realistic
Setback, and it changed everything. Not strangers telling her no. Her own mother.
Grammar school, and freedom
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The first place nobody was stopping her.
The 2000s
University, and a loan spent on music
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The loan was for a degree. She spent it on records.
She drops out and is evicted
Setback, and it changed everything. No degree, no flat, and no plan anybody approved of.
Six months without a home
Setback, and it changed everything. A week of asking strangers, to afford the fare home.
The 2010s
Singing on other people's records
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Her voice on hit records, with somebody else's name on the sleeve.
Her mother dies
Setback, and it changed everything. The person who told her not to, gone, and the decision made.
Keep singing for other people, or go solo
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: put out her own record, taken, or stay a session voice. Her debut album brought four Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist.
A first solo EP
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Thirty three years old, and a first record of her own.
Walk Through Fire
Milestone, and it changed everything. A debut album at thirty five, named after a fire she got out of.
An American television debut
Milestone. A new country, watching for the first time.
The most wanted voice at the festival
Milestone, and it changed her direction. One weekend, and everybody on the bill wanted her on stage.
The 2020s
Four Grammy nominations
Milestone, and it changed everything. Best New Artist, after fifteen years of singing for a living.
Cast as Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Playing the woman who invented the thing everybody else took credit for.
Stand for Myself
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A title that reads like an instruction she gave herself.
Madison Square Garden
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Twenty thousand people, thirteen years after the street.
Broadway, as Persephone
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A fourth trade added, at forty.
A woman her own family told to be realistic was nominated for Best New Artist at thirty six, having sung professionally for fifteen years by then. What she set moving is a line that spends its whole first half being told no by the people who loved her most, and does it anyway.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers has six months without a home in it, and a debut album at thirty five. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Yola: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Yola's character arc?
Was Yola homeless?
Who did Yola sing for before going solo?
Why did Yola start a solo career?
What does Yola's album title Walk Through Fire refer to?
Has Yola acted?
Where does this timeline of Yola's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Yola, English Wikipedia biography.
- Her own public account of the eviction, the six months without a home and the week spent begging for the fare back to Bristol.
- Release and award records for Walk Through Fire on 22 February 2019, the four Grammy nominations, and the Broadway debut on 2 July 2024.
- No detail is added to the homelessness beyond what she has said herself.