YolanDa Brown OBE, musician, broadcaster and Chair of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and philanthropist James ‘JP’ Drake, are proud to announce the winners of the 2023 Drake YolanDa Awards. The annual Drake YolanDa Awards are a series of cash prizes presented to emerging young musicians aged between 16-30, enabling them to showcase their talent and assist them in taking their careers to the next level. Ten promising artists will be awarded £3000 each, intended to support each winners’ artistic development in areas including touring, artistic development, recording new music, music videos, marketing, branding and purchasing new equipment.
This Years’ judging panel of industry experts including Dan Cairns, Music Editor, Sunday Times Culture, Sabrina Washington Award winning singer-songwriter and former lead singer of Mis-Teeq, John Harlev Ivor Novello award-winning composer and Professor Of Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Alexandra Heybourne, of Director of Freuds (Corporate, Media, Arts & Entertainment) and former Head of Communications BBC Arts, Radio 3, Classical Music and BBC Eastbank Studios have awarded the following artists with the prize (in no particular order):
ANOLAH / DOOMCANNON / FINN FORSTER / HELENA KAY / HELENA KAY / KOYESAX / NI MAXINE / RAQUEL MARTINS / RÓISE / PLANTFOOD
The winners will be presented with their awards and perform live on 25th September at a celebration concert, taking place at Pizza Express Live Holborn in London.
Speaking about the awards, YolanDa Brown comments: “Four years in to this award with over 60 artists as alumni and we continue to be blown away by the impact it has on the careers of these unique, genre bending artists. One of the biggest barriers to most creatives is access to finance and we are pleased to be able to answer that call for these artists and play a part of their evolving journeys at a critical stage.”
Previous recipients of the award include singer-songwriter Jerub, who performed at King Charles Coronation and with Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz, Singer and guitarist Rosie Frater Taylor now endorsed by Gibson guitars and regularly touring the world, soulful songstress BEKA, who subsequently embarked on a world tour with HONNE and trumpet master Ife Ogunjobi part of the phenomenal 2023 Mercury Prize winning Ezra Collective, also performing at sold out venues like Madison Square Garden with the likes of Wizkid and Burna Boy.
