| Yonas | |
| Birth Name: | Yonas Mellesse |
| Birth Place: | Bronx, New York, United States |
| Origin: | New York, New York, United States |
| Genre: | Hip hop, rap, alternative hip hop, pop |
| Years Active: | 2009–present |
| Associated Acts: | Logic, Macklemore, Roscoe Dash, XV, Wale |
Yonas Mellesse, known by the stage name YONAS, is an American hip hop artist from New York City.[1] He has released three albums, The Proven Theory (2011), The Transition Deluxe (2013), and About Time (2018), as well as several EPs and mixtapes.
In 2009, Yonas released his first EP, New Golden Era, independently, winning a Billboard Songwriting Award for his single "Banga".[2] A year later he released his first mixtape, produced by Sean Ross, entitled I Am Us. In 2011 he released his first album on iTunes, The Proven Theory. The music video for his single "Shy Kidz" was featured on MTVu and Fuse TV on Demand, after he won an audience vote in a contest for independent artists.[3]
His next mixtape, The Transition, was released in 2012. It was downloaded 70,000 times in the first two months. Yonas was featured as a Breakout artist in XXL magazine in June 2012.[4] Yonas performed a 50-city nationwide tour in the fall of 2012, opening for Aer.[5] Yonas has performed with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Wale, Juicy J, Timeflies, Gorilla Zoe, The White Panda, and Logic.[6]
His music video "Fall Back" appeared in the motion picture, The Place Beyond the Pines (2012).[1] His EP The Black Canvas, released on February 4, 2013, reached no.4 on iTunes Hip-Hop/ Rap charts and no.25 on the iTunes overall album chart.[7]
Yonas is married to Shaelyn Mellesse.[8] Their daughter was born on March 3, 2018.[9]
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| "I Could" | 2010 | Betterdays Media |
| "Shy Kidz" | 2011 | Betterdays Media |
| "Pumped Up Kicks" | ||
| "Fall Back" | ||
| "The Transition" | 2012 | Betterdays Media |
| "Don't Give A Damn" | ||
| "Girls of Summer" | 2013 | Betterdays Media |
| "Rollercoaster (feat. OCD: Moosh & Twist)" | 2013 | Betterdays Media |
| "Leaving You" | 2014 | Jakob Owens |
| "4AM" | 2015 | Nick Marfing & Cory Hammon of Altamira Film Co. |
| "Blank Space (Remix)" | 2015 | Jonnie Baker |
| "Centuries (Remix)" | 2015 | Nick Marfing & Cory Hammon of Altamira Film Co. |
| "Take Me To Church (Remix)" | 2015 | Nick Marfing & Cory Hammon of Altamira Film Co. |
| "Uptown Funk (Remix)" | 2015 | Nick Marfing, Cory Hammon & Matt Lohmann of Altamira Film Co. |
| "Live It Up" | 2015 | Jakob Owens |
| "Night Is Young" | 2015 | Hunter Lyon |
| "Hello (feat. Living In Fiction)" | 2015 | Mike Squires |
| "Summertime Luv | 2016 | Mike Squires |
| "Roll One Up (feat. Roscoe Dash & Sammy Adams)" | 2016 | Mike Squires |
| "Photo" | 2017 | Mike Squires |
| "I'm Good (feat. XV)" | 2017 | Mike Squires |
| "You F#cked Up " | 2017 | Mike Squires |