Blackville native named "Rising Star" artist

MeMe Yahsal may be better known around Barnwell County as Felicia Thompson-Brooks– a little girl who grew up singing gospel in the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Blackville.

Now, Brooks is better known as MeMe Yahsal, and is setting the stage for the southern soul genre on a national scale.

Brooks was awarded as the Next Rising Female Artist at the inaugural 2022 AMG/Southern Soul Life Awards at the Atrium Performing Arts Center in Stone Mountain, Ga. on December 2.

“Southern soul is like a traditional R&B genre of music,” said Brooks. “I am hoping I can open doors for the southern soul community so the majority of people know there is another genre of music here to listen to.”

After this win, Brooks was inspired to introduce more people in Barnwell County to the depth of the southern soul genre and hopes to maintain the upward trajectory of her music career.

“I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember,” said Brooks, whose interest in music started in her family’s quartet group or listening to her parents sing R&B, blues, and gospel in their band.

They were known as The Family Gospel Singers, and the group released two albums before her mother fell ill.

Her parents, Curtis and the late Eartha Thompson of Blackville, played a fundamental role in her passion for music.

Although her stage has changed from her familial choir and church in Blackville to larger venues, Brooks still makes music alongside her family members known as the 803 Soul Band.

“We all collab together,” said Brooks, who is the oldest of her siblings.

Brothers Anthony D. Brooks, Tionne L. Brooks, Tarrence "T Da Wizard" Thompson of Go Brickhouse Production LLC, and sister Tomeka Wright are all singers who play an essential role in producing and promoting music by MeMe Yahsal.

Her siblings were a major influence in Brooks’ return to the spotlight, a place she withdrew from years ago.

“I stopped singing for a while to raise my daughter, and then my mother passed and I completely stopped singing,” said Brooks.

Brooks got back into southern soul in 2019, right before the COVID-19 pandemic, and had no idea where her career was headed given the circumstances.

“I didn’t know that my music would take off, but I got on the charts,” said Brooks.

Brooks’ debut album, ‘Just Being MeMe - Southern to my Soul’ was released in 2020, and has eight songs available on Apple Music.

‘Eye Candy,’ a song on her debut album, now has over a thousand views on YouTube. This song was also named a 2020 Best Debut Finalist by Daddy B. Nice’s Southern Soul RnB.

Daddy B. Nice’s Southern Soul RnB Top 10 “BREAKING” Southern Soul Singles Preview of the top ten in July 2022 featured Brooks’ single ‘Hard Working Brutha.’

These charts were the confirmation Brooks needed to know she was on the right path as a singer and songwriter.

Brooks looks up to the late and iconic Marvin Sease, a Blackville native who was a major voice in the southern soul genre and started as a gospel singer, similarly to her.

Sease is known for his 1986 album ‘Ghetto Man’ which started his professional career both locally and nationally.

Following in Sease’s footsteps, Brooks too does shows at home such as performing at the Blackville Music and Arts Festival in recent years and holding a private show back in March.

From here, Brooks hopes to continue hearing her music on the radio and opening the door for other southern soul artists in Barnwell County. She will also be performing a springtime 2023 show in Canada.

Brooks hopes anyone who remembers her singing in church will give her music a listen.

To listen to MeMe Yahsal, visit Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok or Instagram all under ‘MeMe Yahsal,’ or call (803) 480-9618.