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Let's go deep on Yola's 'Stand For Yourself'

Yola
Joseph Ross
/
Courtesy of the artist
Yola

If Yola's debut album, Walk Through Fire, was about surviving the struggle and overcoming the odds, then her new album, Stand For Myself, is about not being afraid to burn it all down, taking names along the way. Like her first album, Stand For Myself was produced by Dan Auerbach. The record showcases Yola's array of gifts as a singer, songwriter and performer, branching out beyond country and soul into blues, pop, gospel and more. Beyond genre, the true heart of the album is Yola herself. Tackling a myriad of subjects, from heartbreak to performative wokeness and sex positivity, Stand For Myself is a confident and necessary record.

We talk to Yola about what it means to "own thyself," shedding an inferior version of herself, working with Brandi Carlile and playing Sister Rosetta Tharpe for a new movie about Elvis Presley.

Copyright 2021 XPN

Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.