Biography
Camille Yarbrough (often honored as “Nana” Camille) is an American singer, musician, dancer, actress, poet, activist, television producer, and author, born January 8, 1938 and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois.[1][5] The youngest of seven children, she began her artistic life as a teenager dancing with the renowned Katherine Dunham Company, grounding her work in African and African‑diasporic movement and culture.[1][3][5] After moving into theater, she appeared on Broadway in productions such as “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and “God’s Trombones” and worked as Cicely Tyson’s understudy, while also acting in film and television, including a role in the original 1971 film “Shaft” and the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow.”[2][3] Throughout the 1960s and 1970s she was deeply engaged in the Black Arts and civil rights movements, using performance, poetry, and music to comment on Black life, resistance, and pride.[3][4]
In 1971 Yarbrough created and toured her one‑woman spoken‑word and music show “Tales and Tunes of an African American Griot,” which was staged at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York in 1973 and then toured nationally through the 1970s and 1980s.[1][4][5] That show became the basis for her debut album “The Iron Pot Cooker,” released on Vanguard Records in 1975, a concept work mixing soul, funk, jazz, blues, and spoken word that has been widely cited as an important precursor to modern rap and hip‑hop for its narrative style and socially conscious lyrics.[4][5] The album features her best‑known song, “Take Yo’ Praise,” written to honor those who struggled in the Black civil rights movement and later sampled by Fatboy Slim in his global 1999 hit “Praise You,” which brought Yarbrough’s voice and message to a new international audience.[1][4][5] In 2003 she released a second album, “Ancestor House,” a live spoken‑word/soul/blues recording on her own Maat Music label, captured at Joe’s Pub in New York City.[1][4][5]
Beyond music, Yarbrough has had a major impact as an educator and writer. She taught in New York City public schools and later served for about 12 years on the faculty of City College of New York, where she taught African dance and worked with the Black Studies Department, while also teaching community classes in Harlem.[3] Her experience with students’ attitudes toward themselves and Africa led her to write children’s books focused on Black history, family, and self‑love; her 1979 picture book “Cornrows,” illustrated by Carole Byard, won a Coretta Scott King Award and became a classic of African‑American children’s literature.[1][3] She has since written several additional children’s books, as well as essays and poems, and continues to be celebrated as a cultural griot, using song, story, and performance to affirm African‑diasporic heritage and inspire community consciousness. Yarbrough has long resided in New York City and is regarded as a multi‑disciplinary “renaissance woman” whose work bridges music, theater, literature, activism, and education.[1][3][4]
Fun Facts
- Her signature song “Take Yo’ Praise,” written to honor people who fought in the Black civil rights movement, became globally famous more than two decades later when Fatboy Slim built his hit “Praise You” around a prominent sample of her vocal.[1][4][5]
- Before her recording career, she toured as a teenage dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company, one of the most influential Black dance ensembles in the world, giving her early international performance experience and a strong foundation in African‑diasporic dance.[1][3][5]
- Her 1975 album “The Iron Pot Cooker,” adapted from her one‑woman show, has been described as a precursor to modern rap for its fusion of spoken word, music, and sharp social commentary years before hip‑hop’s commercial breakthrough.[4][5]
- Her 1979 children’s book “Cornrows,” inspired in part by her experiences teaching in New York City public schools, won the Coretta Scott King Award and is regarded as a classic that helped normalize and celebrate traditional Black hairstyles and family rituals in children’s literature.[1][3]
Musical Connections
Mentors/Influences
- Katherine Dunham - Yarbrough danced with the Katherine Dunham Company in her teens, absorbing Dunham’s pioneering blend of Afro‑Caribbean, African, and modern dance and its strong cultural and political grounding; this early experience shaped her own integration of African‑diasporic movement, narrative, and activism in later work. (Touring repertory with the Katherine Dunham Dance Company (teen years, pre‑recording career)) [1950s]
Key Collaborators
- Vanguard Records production team - Collaborated with producers and studio musicians to record and shape the concept album “The Iron Pot Cooker,” translating her one‑woman stage show “Tales and Tunes of an African American Griot” into a recorded blend of soul, funk, jazz, blues, and spoken word. (Album: The Iron Pot Cooker (includes “Take Yo’ Praise”)) [Mid‑1970s (recorded c. 1974–1975, released 1975)]
- Joe’s Pub (live band and production team) - Worked with a live ensemble and recording crew at Joe’s Pub in New York City to capture the performance that became her second album “Ancestor House,” combining spoken word with soul and blues accompaniment. (Album: Ancestor House (live recording at Joe’s Pub, released on Maat Music)) [Early 2000s (recorded and released 2003)]
Artists Influenced
- Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook) - He sampled the opening vocal of Yarbrough’s “Take Yo’ Praise” extensively in his 1998/1999 hit “Praise You,” bringing her performance style and message to mainstream electronic and club audiences and highlighting her as a foundational voice for later generations of producers. (Single: Praise You (built around sample from “Take Yo’ Praise”)) [Late 1990s (single released 1998/1999)]
- Early hip‑hop and spoken‑word artists (collective influence) - Critics and commentators have described Yarbrough’s 1975 album “The Iron Pot Cooker” as a precursor to modern rap because of its extended spoken‑word narratives, rhythmic delivery, and socially conscious commentary, positioning her work as an influence on later hip‑hop and spoken‑word traditions even when specific artists are not individually named. (Album: The Iron Pot Cooker (especially its spoken‑word cuts and “Take Yo’ Praise”)) [From late 1970s onward (as hip‑hop and spoken word developed)]
- Black children’s and YA authors/educators (collective influence) - Her Coretta Scott King Award–winning book “Cornrows” and subsequent children’s titles are cited as groundbreaking in centering Black family life, hair, and heritage, influencing later authors and educators who create Afrocentric children’s literature and curricula. (Book: Cornrows (1979) and later children’s books) [1980s–present]
Connection Network
Discography
Albums
| Title | Release Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| The Iron Pot Cooker | 1975-01-01 | Album |
| Ancestor House | 2003-01-01 | Album |
| Back to Mine (DJ Mix) | 2020-11-06 | Album |
| The Iron Pot Cooker | 1975 | Album |
Top Tracks
- Take Yo' Praise (The Iron Pot Cooker)
- Ain't It A Lonely Feeling (The Iron Pot Cooker)
- Take Yo' Praise (Mixed) (All Back To (DJ Mix))
- But It Comes Out Mad (The Iron Pot Cooker)
- Can I Get A Witness (The Iron Pot Cooker)
- Dream - Panic - Sonny Boy The Rip-Off Man - Little Sally The Super Sex Star (Taking Care Of Business) (The Iron Pot Cooker)
- All Hid (The Iron Pot Cooker)
- Take Yo' Praise (Loose & Juicy)
- Tell It (Ancestor House)
- Elders (Ancestor House)
External Links
References
Heard on WWOZ
camille yarbrough has been played 1 time on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.
| Date | Time | Title | Show | Spotify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 2025 | 21:32 | take yo praise | R&Bw/ Your Cousin Dimitri |