My new single “Quiereme”

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Nakeiltha Campbell is an extraordinary multicultural percussionist, teaching artist, and producer whose work promotes empowerment through African Diaspora music and culture. Born in Colon, Panama, and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Nakeiltha uses drumming to express her unique Afro-Caribbean Latinx lineage. Nakeiltha (na kel ta) means Hope and Love, a unique name her mother created. Introduced to drumming through the Mandinka and Afro-Cuban traditions in Los Angeles, Nakeiltha is rooted in a diverse repertoire to create her unique sound and extend a legacy of women drummers.

Nakeiltha has more than 15 years of working as a professional musician and shares her talent and knowledge with public school students, arts healing justice in federal prisons, women drummers from across the USA, and the people of her home country as a form of healing and cultural identity. Nakeiltha considers herself fortunate to study with local and international artists such as Mamady Keita, Balandugu Kan, Aboubakar Kouyate, Robertito Melendez, and many more. Nakeiltha is a recipient award winner as an apprentice to study West African Music with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. She received the Ambassador Award from the Los Angeles Viva Panama Organization for contributing to the educational and musical fields.

In 2021, Nakeiltha released her first single, Afro Raices, a fusion of Mandinka drumming and Jazz with members of Extra Ancestral. Her recording experience includes percussion in the theme song "Let the Games Begin" by Aloe Blacc and Kendrick Lamar's track for his historic "All Right" performance for the Grammy Awards, Percussion for The Rebirth Album "Being Through the Eyes of a Child," Adaawe album Passage and the track Chocolate (on the Coco Farm) by MC activist Maya Jupiter. Nakeiltha currently tours with Lila Downs; Past tours include Les Amazones, "The Women Master Drummers of Guinea," Viver Brasil dance company, Adaawe, and The Rebirth.

Nakeiltha has performed with world-renowned artists Stevie Wonder, Lila Downs, Aloe Blacc, and La Santa Cecilia and performed at the NAACP Image Awards with Will I AM, the 53rd Grammy Award with Rihanna, and American Idol with Janelle Monae and Jidenna. She has performed for the World Culture KCET Women in Jazz celebration, the 4th and 5th Annual Palm Springs Women's Jazz Festival, and the 13th and 17th Panama Jazz Festival. Additionally, she recorded a video with the youth for Sesame Street honoring Latin Heritage Month.

In 2015, Nakeiltha founded Puentes de Poder, a music exchange program that promotes empowerment and unity through the drums. She began traveling to Panama to teach, perform, and present music as a form of cultural history. Nakeiltha supports and encourages people of all ages, genders, and nationalities to explore drumming to understand cultural identity and history.