Yatta Zoe

Yatta Zoe (born 1942), previously known as Victoria Snetter and affectionately called Ma Yatta, is a Liberian folk singer, percussionist, dancer, and cultural icon from Bomi County. Dubbed the "Queen of Liberian Folk", her music career spanned four decades. Zoe is known for the hit singles "You Took My Lappa", "All the Pocket Pickers (Have Gone to Bella Yalla)", "Young Girls, Stop Drinking Lysol", "Don't Lie", "Mano River Union", and "Tolbert Yesi". Between 1964 and the mid-1980s, she released twenty-four singles and six albums in the Gola and Mandinka languages. Zoe was a former member of the dance groups Les Ballets Africains and the Zulu Dance Band. She toured Africa, Europe, and the Americas during the 1960s and 1970s, and networked with Fela Kuti and Miriam Makeba.

Life and career Early life and career beginnings A member of the Gola ethnic group, Yatta Zoe was born in 1942, in Bomi County, Liberia. She lost her mother in 1970 and her father when she was a little child. Following her encounter with Harry Belafonte, she joined the Zulu Dance Band, a South African ensemble that included Miriam Makeba. She also performed at several events with Tecumsay Roberts during a two-month stay in Sierra Leone in the mid-1970s, and rehearsed with Dr. Dynamite and the Jazz Leone National.

Zoe toured Africa, Europe and the Americas during the 1960s and 1970s, and networked with Fela Kuti and Makeba. Yatta Zoe at FESTAC, her live album and debut project, was released through King Sunny Adé's record label. Zoe is known for the hit singles "You Took My Lappa", "All the Pocket Pickers (Have Gone to Bella Yalla)", "Young Girls, Stop Drinking Lysol", "Don't Lie", "Mano River Union", and "Tolbert Yesi". Zoe has been called the "Queen of Liberian Folk" and has a four-decade music career. She worked as a costume designer and recruitment officer in the later years of her career. The initiative began with the Mano River Youth Heritage Awareness Fest, which had the theme "Telling Stories, Not Lies". The EJS Center hosted the sixth ECOWAS Human Rights Day, which was attended by Jewel Taylor and Yemi Osinbajo, among other notable guests. "All the Pocket Pickers (Have Gone to Bella Yalla)", a song recorded in Nigeria in 1971 and named after the infamous jail that housed political prisoners, was one of two songs Zoe performed at the occasion. Taylor and Sirleaf made a pledge to renovate Zoe's home during the event.

Artistry Primarily singing in Liberian English and Gola, Zoe also recorded in Vai, Kpelle, Mende, and Gbandi on occasion. She made folk music and emphasized the need for Liberians to embrace their own traditional music. Zoe's music addressed contemporary social issues and their solutions. Her song "Young Girls, Stop Drinking Lysol" addresses themes of betrayal and teaches young ladies not to sacrifice themselves because of love. Zoe played the saa-saa, a gourd rattle instrument.

Personal life While dancing with Les Ballets Africains, Zoe met a Guinean man named Sorromou, whom she later married. She is related to poet and novelist Bai T. Moore, who was her father's cousin.

Selected discography

Solo albums Love Me (1977) Yata Zoe, Vol. 2 (1978) Tolbert Yesi Compilation albums The Sound of Liberia (1977) Young Girl (1977)

Live albums Yatta Zoe at FESTAC (1977) Singles "Don't Lie" "You Took My Lappa" "All the Pocket Pickers (Have Gone to Bella Yalla)" "Young Girls, Stop Drinking Lysol" "Mano River Union" "Tolbert Yesi"