Ayoka Bader

Ayoka Helena Bader (born October 1, 1974) is a German singer-songwriter, rapper and actress. Her musical career started in the mid-1980s, when she began performing in a children's choir.

Early life
Ayoka Helena Bader was born on October 1, 1974 in, , the daughter of Karline Bader (1945–2022), a German composer and songwriter, and musician Deji Otedola (born 1944). Otedola was born in, and came to Munich in the late-1960s to study at the.

Bader's parents separated a year after her birth and her mother remarried to American jazz musician Leo Peterson (1945–2019). From her stepfather's side, she has two brothers, Maximilian "Maxi" Peterson and Karsten Peterson, and a sister, Sigrid Peterson. Through her father Deji Otedola's marriage to Mirjam Otedola (née Berghofer), she is the half-sister of singer Kaylah, film score composer JC Otedola and record producer Hanno Otedola.

1985–1995: Early career
Bader's career began in 1985 when she began singing as a part of a local children's choir in.

1995–2000: Fresh Grooves and PopWorld
Bader began her career as a "serious" pop music performer in 1995, signing with and beginning a series of collaborations with Swedish producers Stellan "Wild Dog" von Bahr and Krister Brattström. She released her debut single "In My World" in August 1995 in and. Her breakthrough single, the pop-rap/R&B song "Hey You (Don't Steer Me Wrong)", came soon after, reaching the Top 10 throughout continental Europe and also reaching the Top 20 in the UK. They were included on her debut album Fresh Grooves.

Bader's US breakthrough came through in 1996 when "Hey You (Don't Steer Me Wrong)" and the dance-pop/R&B singles "Dreaming of a Guy Like You" and "Snapshot" reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.