Zakiya Hooker
Zakiya Hooker was born in the Motor City (Detroit, Michigan) but also into the blues. You could even say she had a front-row seat to the best the genre had to offer, right in her own living room : her dad was the renowned blues giant, JOHN LEE HOOKER. The blues has literally been with her from birth.
Zakiya was privileged to see and hear some of the greats that shaped the history of the Blues, as we know it. To be the daughter of a living legend is a major obstacle; to choose to follow in his footsteps is a major undertaking.
Zakiya made her debut performance in 1991 with her legendary father at the Kaiser Center Theatre in Oakland, CA. Since then, she has gone on to perform shows with the likes of ETTA JAMES, CHARLES BROWN, JOHN HAMMOND, TAJ MAHAL, CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE and many more, at the world-famous Fillmore Auditorium, The San Francisco Blues Festival, The Monterey Jazz & Blues Festival, The Avignon Blues Festival in France, the Copenhagen Blues Festival in Denmark and The Chicago Blues Festival.
Her music paints a broad swath in the styles it covers. A strong and versatile vocalist, the jazzy, blues sound on her debut European release " Another Generation Of The Blues ", and her second international release " Flavors of the Blues ", draws you into her world. In 1998, Zakiya was included in the Every Woman’s Blues compilation, and in 2002 she was invited to perform with JOHNNIE JOHNSON on " One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer ", on the Clarksdale To Heaven tribute album. In 2003, Zakiya released a live recording in Buenos Aires " Colors Of The Blues ". In 2004, she performed " Mean Mean World " and " Rock These Blues Away " on her father’s Face To Face album. Her albums " Keeping It Real"" (2009) and " In The Mood " (2015) were released on their family label " Boogie With The Hook Records ".
She picked up the guitar in 2017 because she wanted to become more involved with her music : she wanted to write the music the way she felt it and heard it. 2019 saw Zakiya complete her album " Legacy ", with the help of her producer Ollan Christopher, in which she produced, wrote all the songs, and composed all the music on the entire project.
Zakiya has graced the cover of several well-known trade magazines including Billboard. Her voice can be heard on advertisements for LEXUS and AIWA, also on the soundtrack of the movie " Chalk ", which won both the Camera d’Or at Cannes and the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in San Francisco. Zakiya Hooker is John Lee Hooker’s living legacy. She is the daughter of an American icon and she is carrying her father’s seminal blues torch confidently into the new millennium.
