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There’s a moment in every artist’s story when the world suddenly makes sense. For Yama Laurent, it happened in a Dominican church choir, surrounded by students far from home. At 21, studying medicine while secretly writing poems, she discovered something more powerful than a stethoscope: the ability to transform lives through sound.
Today, Yama is a singer, UNICEF ambassador, and Inclusion Solidaire advocate, though these titles barely scratch the surface of who she’s become. Her story isn’t about choosing between a medical degree and a microphone. It’s about refusing to choose at all.
Born in Léogâne, Haiti, raised between continents, Yama’s journey defies the linear narrative we expect from artists. She was supposed to be a doctor. Her family expected it. The system anticipated it. But when friends at university heard her voice, not just the technical ability, but the emotion behind it, something shifted. “You have a kind of different voice,” they told her. “You have a beautiful way of talking about what matters.”
What followed was a race against bureaucracy. After five years studying medicine in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and months of working with friends to raise $2,000 for a US talent competition, visa complications forced an unexpected detour. The Haitian government offered her a Canada visa instead. It wasn’t the plan. But sometimes the universe has better directions than we do.
The path led her to Quebec, where in 2018, Yama Laurent became the first Haitian woman to win La Voix (The Voice Canada), claiming victory with 60% of the popular vote. It was the breakthrough moment many thought she deserved.
Yama describes her art with the precision of someone who once studied anatomy: “I don’t want to sing just to have people hear my voice. I want to use my voice to tell stories, to share my emotion, to bring hope and remind people of their own strength.”
This isn’t performance as spectacle. This is music as testimony. Every song carries the weight of her roots, Haiti’s resilience, the Dominican Republic’s warmth, Canada’s refuge. But it also carries something universal: the recognition that everyone has a story, and everyone deserves to be heard.
Her role as a UNICEF ambassador isn’t a separate endeavor from her music. It’s the logical extension of it. Having witnessed the contrast between the struggle for basic survival in Haiti and the opportunities available in Canada, she felt a responsibility. Not obligation, responsibility. The kind that comes from understanding that visibility is a tool, and a voice is a platform.
Working with Inclusion Solidaire, Yama has found an organization that mirrors her own philosophy: inclusion isn’t a buzzword, it’s a necessity. As an ambassador, she uses her platform to amplify marginalized voices, particularly those of women, children, and young people. “I think all the people need their place,” she says. “I think we need to connect together to make a better world.”
What strikes you when you talk to Yama is that she doesn’t separate her ambitions. She wants to make great music, absolutely. She wants to bring her culture and roots to audiences worldwide. But she’s careful about the kind of success she pursues. She’s not chasing fleeting fame or empty accolades. She wants legacy. She wants impact.
In a world obsessed with what you do, Yama Laurent is building something around who you are and what you stand for. Her dream isn’t to be known for her voice alone. “I want them to know me because I stood for someone,” she says quietly, and you understand that this isn’t modesty. It’s clarity.
The voice is the vector. The message is the destination. And that message, that your circumstances don’t have to define your future, that empathy and compassion are revolutionary acts, that humanity itself is a radical choice, resonates far beyond any stage.
As she continues to build her career, one thing is certain: Yama Laurent’s song is just beginning. And the world is listening.
Yama Laurent is a singer, UNICEF ambassador in Canada, and Inclusion Solidaire ambassador. Her work spans music, humanitarian causes and advocacy for women’s rights and child welfare.
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