About Ya Minko

Ya Minko is a Gabonese, Takoma Park–based artist, audio engineer, songwriter, and storyteller working where melody, vulnerability, and passion meet.

He grew up between languages and between states of mind, with a dissociative ADHD brain and depression that never quite let him settle into one world or one version of self. Over time, music became the place he could exist whole. He describes his sound as TransAtlantic Hip-Fusion—a soul-forward blend of melodic hip-hop, alt-R&B, Afro-influences, world music, and French/English storytelling built on choir-style harmonies, call-and-response, and the need to find self, peace, meaning, and belonging.

His journey started in a high school spoken-word club in Gabon that turned into a hip-hop workshop. Recording a DIY mixtape with the group was his first time in a studio—and the moment he first felt what he would only understand fully years later: that music could hold what his body and brain couldn’t regulate. After moving to the U.S., he taught himself how to record and mix because he had neither the confidence nor the funds to be in the studio. That turned out to be a blessing. Engineering helped him make sense of the chaos. Since then, he has recorded and mixed hundreds of songs for himself and other artists, and has become a voting member of the Recording Academy.

Ya Minko describes his music as a refuge that he hopes to share with others. Executive Dysfunction at the Function was him trying to sing himself out of his head. GLIMMERS, his upcoming EP, represents the moment after survival—the acceptance of good, and the decision to choose presence, joy, gratitude, love, and breath without waiting for the sky to fall.

He was a 2024 Wammie finalist, Grammy-considered for Executive Dysfunction, and featured in The Diamondback and The Word Is Bond among other publications, as well as curated on playlists like 1993. In his words: "Ultimately, what matters most to me is making records that make others feel seen after

Recognition and Awards

Professional Memberships

• PRO: BMI
• Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) Voting/Professional Member