Closer (Goapele album)
Encyclopedia
Closer was the début album of Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 singer-songwriter Goapele Mohlabane
Goapele
-Early life:Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled political activist who struggled against the Apartheid System. Goapele's New York-born Israeli Jewish mother Noa had been attending protests since the age of 12. Noa attended Friends World College and was studying in...

. It was self-released in a strictly limited run, only available at select brick-and-mortar outlets and Web sites throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. After copies sold out, she released a longer album through Hieroglyphics Imperium that got noticed by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

, which picked up that album
Even Closer
Even Closer was the second album and the first nationally distributed album by singer-songwriter Goapele, which was essentially an expanded version of her début, Closer...

 for worldwide distribution, added several tracks, and signed her to a contract through Skyblaze Recordings, her family-owned imprint. The catalog number is an in-joke reference to her birthday
Birthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...

 and initials of her name.

Several songs on this album were rerecorded for their inclusion on the follow-up album, and it is the only album on which the uncensored version of the song "Romantic" and the song "You" (a different composition from the song of the same name on Change it All) are available. It is now considered to be a valuable collectors’ item.

Track listing

  1. Closer (4:40)
  2. Childhood Drama (3:23)
  3. Too Much the Same (4:21)
  4. Romantic (Uncensored Version) (5:58)
  5. You (0:57)
  6. Catch 22 (Original Version) (5:29)
  7. Butterflykisses (3:23)
  8. Things Don’t Exist (4:32)
  9. Salvation (3:44)
  10. It Takes More (3:56)

Covers

  • Canadian rapper Drake
    Drake (entertainer)
    Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

    's 2007 mixtape Comeback Season featured a song titled "Closer," which used the chorus (sung by Andreena Mill) and backing instrumental from Goapele's original.
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